2018 Dare to Dream Grant Recipients

Tierra Burke, just 21, dreams of achieving a certification leading to a career in the field of information technology. She has always enjoyed the challenge of computers and serves as the “go to” person in her family for anything to do with technology. She is the first person in her family to attend college. Enrolled at Lord Fairfax Community College, Tierra plans to take a fundamentals class in computer technology per the recommendation of the college.

Awarded  $900 to cover her educational expenses.

Ms. Viviane Knight lives in the area with her husband and two young grandsons. She has a BS in Biology and numerous nationally recognized fitness certifications including AFAA/NASM Personal Trainer, Jazzercise, YogaFit and Silver Sneakers Group Exercise Instructor, Precision Nutrition Sports Nutrition Coach and Functional Aging Specialist. She owned, operated and taught classes in a Jazzercise Dance Fitness franchise for 10 years.  For the past 11 years she has worked as a personal trainer, group exercise instructor and nutrition coach at Fitness Evolution here in Front Royal.

Her dream is to bring free group exercise classes to the Front Royal Community. She has been given space to hold these groups at Marlow Heights Baptist Church. Her grant request is for the cost to license an exercise instruction program NarrowRoadFitness.com. This will allow her to offer an exercise class that invites all members of the community to move their bodies at their own pace, create new friendships and learn about nutrition to support their health.

Awarded $500 towards cost of health exercise program license.

Phyllis Carmean moved from Indiana to Front Royal at the end of 2016.  In Indiana she worked full time as a LPN while also attending school full time pursuing her Bachelors in Nursing. She moved here to help her daughter who had a high risk pregnancy and needed help with her two other children.
Ms. Carmean currently works part-time and goes to school full-time at Chamberlain College of Nursing in Crystal City, VA.  Her lifetime dream has been to be a RN. She currently has five classes to complete to obtain her degree. She requests the grant to help pay her remaining tuition.  In the meantime she continues to help her daughter and her 4 girls ages 6, 2, 1 and 8 weeks.

Ms. La Tasha Do’Zia-Earley is married with two children. She graduated from the Governor’s School for Performing Arts then went on to study Musical Theatre at Shenandoah University. She started and runs the Selah Theatre located here in Front Royal. She has provided dramatic arts and education for area youth for six years. In 2017 she took 12 high school students to the Virginia Theatre Association conference in which her students, the majority of whom are from Warren County, were the only community theatre high school program to perform in the VTA Fringe Festival.

The Selah Theatre Project is a dramatic arts program for youth ages 13 to 18. Ms. Do’Zia has seen how the theatre arts can impact the lives of young people by helping them gain self-confidence and self-worth along with giving them a safe place off the streets and being a part of a larger ensemble/family.Her dream is to establish a full-time, tuition-free performing  arts school in Front Royal.

This summer Selah Theatre Project will hold a musical theatre camp with the award winning Dolly Stevens of Loudon County as summer director. The camp will run four weeks with it culminating in the production of a full-length musical.
She requests funds to provide three Warren County female middle school age students with tuition for the summer camp at $300 each.

Awarded $900 from the Kim South Girl Grant.

Valerie Knight worked as a validation consultant in the pharmaceutical industry until her health issues (rheumatoid arthritis) caused her to stop working. She has been an artist since she was young and throughout her science career she participated in art exhibits and sold her work. In 2012 she found an online art market and began selling her collectible miniature paintings on eBay. She has sold more than 171 paintings online, providing her with both an income and a sense of having something to offer others. Valerie was awarded a $600 Dare to Dream grant to purchase an adjustable ergonomic chair and art equipment to help her organize and produce her art while also addressing her health needs.

Jennifer Avery is a single mother of three children. She has a marketing degree from West Chester University and has held several corporate sales positions in the past. As a real estate agent, Jen also began to a video/marketing business three years ago. She created community videos for small businesses and nonprofits in the area at no cost and also created Town Tip Thursday. After producing 400 videos using basic video equipment, Jen launched a video marketing business called Jenspiration. Jen was awarded a $1,000 Dare to Dream grant to support the purchase of a professional quality video camera that will step up the quality of her videos and grow her business.