WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Fourth of July is traditionally a time where Americans celebrate the freedom and opportunities living in the United States affords us.
And sitting in the comfort of her beautiful Winter Park home, it’s clear for one local woman, the American dream is real.
“My parents are immigrants. So they came here from Iran in the 1970s,” said Negar Sharifi. “And that was around the time where the Shah, the king, got overthrown. And the country was taken over by like, the religious regime. So they didn’t go back. But they were some of the lucky ones that were in this country and got to stay in this country.”
Sharifi’s mother was pregnant with her at the time. She said she feels blessed with that one decision that changed the trajectory of her life.
“I was raised by parents that, you know, were constantly pushing me, my work ethic like work harder, work harder, work harder,” said Sharifi. “They just always told me, ‘You’re going to have to outwork everybody, you’re not going to have the same opportunities as families that have been in America for generations, we don’t have connections. We don’t know anybody with money, we don’t know anyone to get you into the right schools. But what you have is your brain, and you have a supportive family unit.’”
That supportive family unit ended up making all the difference for Sharifi, and contributed to the success she has seen today. But the reality is, not every child has the benefit of that family support.
“See, what’s sad is, a lot of the youth don’t even know what opportunities exist out there,” said Sharifi. “If no one’s telling them, no one’s encouraging them, if no one’s saying, ‘We have your back, you can call me, don’t you know you have so much opportunity?’ or ‘You have so much potential’, right? If someone’s not telling them that, they’re not going to have to rise up to the expectations.”
Sharifi is referring to the thousands of children in Florida that are in the foster care system.
“I think the community has a huge opportunity to take care of those that are most in need,” said Sharifi. “So organizations like Embrace Families, or The Faine House, they’re there to kind of replicate that.”
Embrace Families works to help keep struggling families together, or provide support and mentoring for those kids that can’t remain in their homes. The Faine House serves kids from 18 to 23 that are aging out of the foster system and helps them to reach goals to become productive members of society.
“I firmly believe that if you have a child or a young adult or a tween that has all the skill sets, and they just need someone to guide them in the right direction, then that’s worth donating to because I can change their path and life,” said Sharifi.
As a single working mom of three kids, Sharifi doesn’t have a lot of extra time. But what she does have a lot of connections and a little extra money. So to help give those kids the opportunities and a leg up, she focuses on donating through her Sharifi Family Foundation to causes that directly impact families and children.
“You just got to be generous, how much do you need in life?,” said Sharifi. “Like, I don’t think I live in a world of scarcity. I don’t think ‘Oh my God, these are my Legos. I can’t give away any of my Legos. I can’t share any of my Legos. Because I think we can get more Legos, or have a lot more fun in life, if I play Legos with somebody else.’ I can’t imagine living any other way. Honestly, whether I make this amount of money or this amount of money, a certain amount of my money would always be going to charity to help people. I mean, things are just things, once you have the necessities, then why not share beyond that?”
But Sharifi likes to get creative with her donations and fundraising events. For example, she was one of the dancers in the Embrace Families Dance Dream and Inspire 2023 dance competition. She said no the first time she was asked, but it turned out to be an amazing experience for her.
“They assigned me to a local professional. And I got paired with Shawn. And then from there, he came up with the routine,” said Sharifi. “I would say on average, we practiced two days a week. The choreography was hard for a novice. I had fun because Shawn’s a lot of fun. So I had a lot of fun, but it’s it was hard work.”
Sharifi said although she was nervous to be on stage, one of the great parts of the event was getting to hear about the kids in foster care the fundraiser was benefitting.
“You know, without Embrace Families, they may have been lost in the system. But having placed them with good families. with the financial means, support, and resources that Embrace Families provided, that hit home to me,” said Sharifi. “We were able to raise, goodness, I don’t know how much money, we raised $35,000 for a dance competition.”
She also likes to put on her own fundraising events.
“So I’ve held a lot of fundraising events at my house,” she said. “We set up a poker event was for The Faine House. And it raised, I think, like $25,000 in one night, and everyone had a really good time playing poker. And then another event I had and it was so amazing, well, I had a Bridgerton themed ladies-only tea party. And it was the most hysterical thing you’ve ever seen. Everyone came in clothes from that era, and we had a high tea. And there are about 60 to 65 women that came to my house. And that also raised about $30,000 in one afternoon.”
All to support local children in need and possibly put them on a better path.
“I just feel like we have such an opportunity. With that age group, if you catch them at the right time, there’s still a chance for them,” said Sharifi.
And all it takes to make a difference is a few minutes of your time or a few extra dollars.
“Even if they can only donate five dollars, imagine if everyone in Central Florida in one day donated five bucks to one charity,” said Sharifi. “My parents also constantly reminded me how lucky I was. So I just want to try to replicate that as much as I can for other people. And so if I can be a small part in helping change another kid’s life, in kind of a different way, then yeah, I’m going to do it.”