Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Hart.
Hi Ashley, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
When COVID-19 first began surging, I think we all imagined a short quarantine followed by a reemergence into “real life.” Maybe we even imagined ourselves emerging refreshed but when George Floyd was murdered in May 2020, we quickly understood this was not the case. Not only would we be saying goodbye to reality as we once knew it, but we’d also be staring adversity directly in the face. S.H.I.F.T. was born out of necessity. After the uprisings, Minneapolis was destroyed; our team lived on the Northside. We used our social media platforms to collect donations of money, food, clothes, shoes, medicine, and other essentials and made them available to people in need. After raising a little over $14,000 individually, we knew we were capable of providing relief on a regular basis, indefinitely. On July 13th, we became The S.H.I.F.T. Cooperative; a Black, Woman-led Non-Profit Organization located on the Northside of MPLS. Our mission: is to provide relief to families of color, (most especially) Black families who have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Over the last 2 years, we’ve continued to pour financial resources into our community via mutual aid, grants, scholarships, and wellness opportunities. We’ve evolved from providing emergency relief to including sustainability opportunities – offerings like gardening and yoga. This is an effort to provide our communities with more than just government resources. Our goal will always be to offer better solutions to poverty, trauma, and systemic oppression to people of color, most specifically Black people living in America.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nothing about this road has been smooth. It seemed like as soon as I started a non-profit, everyone had something negative to say about non-profit organizations! Pair public perception with systemic hurdles like redlining, lack of access, stringent rules to grant writing, racism, and lack of resources, to put it briefly: everything becomes A LOT harder. Even applying for a 501c(3) status was a big challenge. These are all hurdles we still work through regularly (because the issues don’t just disappear). We’re also still a pretty small organization. We’re all learning as we go; this comes with its own set of issues. I think all in all, when doing work people consider “charity,” there will always be struggles and challenges, especially if you’re trying to provide an alternative to what’s already out there.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember. I’m a singer by nature. I’m also a writer – over the years I’ve written poetry and rap music. Actually, I had a really rocky start to my rap career. I learned a lot of tough lessons early on and began to understand and receive those lessons as blessings. I’ve worked with major indie artists, written for licensing companies, and ghostwritten for artists across genres. I’m also a licensed yoga instructor and am very passionate about that. I’m really proud of my ability to grow into each of these roles naturally. Both music and movement are intuitive for me and as I build them in tandem I see myself evolving. I’m really interested in what my efforts look like in the future. I think I’ve set myself apart by even beginning an NPO. I never imagined I’d do something like this but I’ve always wanted to build something different than what I saw around me. I’m slowly becoming that change I want to see.
What are your plans for the future?
We’ve got a lot of plans for the future! When we began S.H.I.F.T. it was to serve as immediate relief to an immediate disaster. We want to continue those efforts AND expand into a space where health and healing go hand in hand. We want to teach ourselves and our communities about alternative forms of wellness through yoga, mindfulness, movement, and gardening. We’re planning to participate in FLOW’s annual Northside Arts Crawl this year and have our fingers crossed for some other big possibilities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theshiftcooperative.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshiftcooperative/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheShiftCoop/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/theshiftcoop
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChsWb0tvsevflLJ-DVicCAg
