Today we’d like to introduce you to Carla Shellis.
Carla is a woman who lives with a passion to see the female-side of humanity living her life in the fullest measure of freedom. Raised in a hometown of Del Rio, Texas where she was taught by example by her parents and beloved late Grandmother the importance and value of family & tradition. In her teen years her family made a big move to Dallas.
In 1991, Carla and her husband opened their roofing company which they both run together today (www.spsroof.com). In 2000 she opened the first of her five restaurants. In 2012 she felt a strong call on her life into women’s ministry and sold her last restaurant.
Since 1991 Carla and her husband have owned and operated SPS ROOFING where they have successfully installed over 60 million square feet of roofs.
Carla can clearly remember in 2007 a burden was placed on her heart for women who were stuck in a life unfulfilled & living in emotional pain. It was then she started on her journey to her own healing & freedom. In August of 2013, Sparkle Living, Inc (a 501(c)3 Non-Profit) was born. In the beginning years of ministry,
Carla ministered to women who were in crisis in their homes and marriages. In 2015, she started her work in restoration of girls who have been rescued from sexual exploitation & trafficking.
With her passion to help see women live at their fullest potential together with her extensive experience in business the formation of restoration homes for rescued girls of human trafficking was the next step in her work inside this population. In December of 2017, Bochy’s Place was opened its doors.
Bochy is the name of Carla’s late mother who passed away suddenly in August of 2014. Through Bochy’s Place, her legacy of family, warm traditions & loving home life lives on.
Bochy’s Place is a home that offers girls who have been rescued a Christ-centered loving, safe, nurturing environment to live while they learn how to walk out their new life. Our goal is to give them a REAL chance to walk out this second chance at life they have been given.
Carla is the founder of:
– Bochy’s Place opened in December 2017, is a safe house for girls rescued from sex trafficking.
– Bochy’s Box, a subscription box where the profits are used to help pay for the healing and restoration of residents of Bochy’s Place and other restoration homes.
– carlashellis.com which offers Arise Academy, an online video curriculum offering 12 steps to stop the pain in relationships and life in order to regain control and discover joy.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Building anything always brings obstacles. When you set out to build a non-profit it seems there are more obstacles than normal. Some of the biggest struggles are funding. As a businesswoman, my normal would be capital, budgeting, etc. When you are building a non-profit, there is no capital, therefore, no budget. Without a track record, industry relationships or established time, there are very little organizations and/or partners who are willing to trust at this early stage of building.
While in the start-up phases of this non-profit, I decided the best way to start was to begin as though everything I needed was already in the bank. I made the decision to not wait until everything was perfect until every “T” was crossed or “I” was dotted.
I decided to begin as though every volunteer I needed was already in my contact list. I got vision, created a vision board, looked at it and spoke over it as though it had already happened. I planned and set up meetings & fundraisers, although every penny I needed was already in the bank. I spoke about this non-profit & vision with a passion of fire. I got behind the vision. I was my own best partner and volunteer.
In order to put supercharge to my vision and it’s launch, by sowing seeds everywhere I could. When I had no money to sow, I looked for opportunities to serve other non-profits because I knew I would need people to serve mine one day. For every dollar that was donated, I sowed 10% back to my local church. I continued to sow an additional 5% back to other non-profits I loved. Tony Robbins says, “There are only two principles to all the success every wanted in life. GIVE & GROW. ” So that is exactly what I did. I read every book I could find, talked to others in the industry and learned from them. I gave money every chance I could find and without fail, the non-profit started to grow and grow exponentially.
During this growth, trials always made their way to me. Knowing the vision and where you are going, you are able to stay on track and not let the trails and attacks take you off track.
The last advice I would give is to never allow anything you are building get put in front of your family. I have always kept my family first. I made a decision I would not go save the world and lose my family. I made a decision early on. I would end my day by 6 pm and I would then focus on my family.
There will always be emergencies, drama, deadlines and more. That is not “seasonal” it is the normal. When we accept that at the beginning and prepare for those before they hit, we can manage our lives and put our priorities in order. When you honor your faith and family first, success is so much sweeter.
Please tell us about Bochy’s Place.
Bochy’s Place a subsidiary to Sparkle Living, Inc. (a non-profit 501C3 Texas Corporation) A safe house focused on rebuilding the lives of women who have been rescued from sex trafficking and exploitation.
Our mission is to provide a Christ-centered, nurturing family environment to enhance women emotionally, physically and spiritually according to God’s design.
The Founder Carla spent two years serving in a safe house in Dallas ministering to and helping to restore girls rescued from exploitation and sex trafficking. Over the course of her time working in this safe house, she quickly realized how wrong she had been about these victims over the years past. She saw first hand the desperate hope embedded in their souls which was seen through their eyes. After serving these girls for two years, she felt a call to step out & expand the resources to offer hope and healing.
We teach the new way of thinking, speaking, a new life to walk in and new ways to live which will bring radical transformation & new life to everything she touches.
The scripture shows us the blessing in the home will lead to a blessing in the community. We believe by this, the change in one woman’s life will lead to miracles in the lives of many.
We believe as we help to rebuild these very broken girls, their healing and Resurrection of their lives will begin to bring change & blessings in their own communities & families.
Bochy’s Box is a subscription box filled with gifts & goods provided by survivors, influencers, & brands, whose mission is to empower and restore exploited women. When purchasing the box, you become part of her journey to recovery and freedom.
Bochy’s Box is a quarterly box created and shipped in February, May, August, November as a compliment to the beginning of a new season.
There are over 300K victims of human trafficking& under 100 beds for safe healing and restoration in Texas alone. For every 200 subscribers of Bochys Box, we are able to give ten girls healing and restoration for two months. The mission of Bochy’s Box is to fund the opening and operation of safehouses.
The residents of Bochy’s Place have no way to make an income while in recovery. One of the goals of Bochy’s Place is to teach the residents a new type of independence. During their 12-18 month stay, we encourage creativity in earning income outside of a standard job. Each box curated and shipped with items made by the residents. By buying this box our subscribers are giving the survivor the opportunity to learn how to create items to sell, branding, pricing and more.
Bochy’s Box is a part of the eco-system being created by the founder to build a sustainable model for long term solutions to eradicate Human Trafficking.
Proceeds from the sales of Bochy’s Box are used to fund outreach, rescue & restoration efforts of girls trapped in sex trafficking.
When you take a step, she takes a step.
Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
I feel the biggest barriers in female leadership today is within the female. I believe the female is the most significant, mountain-moving, anointed, powerful creature on earth. Too many times as females, our insecurities and emotions are king. We search for outside sources to complete our identity. I see this as the biggest contradiction ever. When she starts her search internally, she will never need to depend on outside influences to complete her identity.
I believe when SHE knows WHO she is and the power she carries within her fiber as a female any perceived barriers disappear.
Pricing:
- Bochy’s Box Quarterly subscription $69.99 per quarter
- Bochy’s Box Annual Subscription $249.99 per year
- Buy a Brick to help build a safe-house $100/per brick
Contact Info:
- Address: We have two websites to share, www.bochysplace.com is the safehouse website.
www.bochysbox.com is the website for subscription boxes. - Website: www.bochysplace.com
- Email: @bochysplace
- Instagram: @bochysbox
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/bochysplace
Image Credit:
Jade Shellis
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