Meet Jo Patterson of Sarah’z Girlz in Dallas and Tarrant County

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jo Patterson.

Jo, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am native to Dallas and grew up in Oak Cliff to a single parent mother, an older brother and a younger sister who had different father from my brother and me. I grew up in a very turbulent household, which was both physically and psychologically abusive at times, due to my mother’s struggle with her mental health as well as childhood and adult trauma. After years of enduring the pain and frustration of my self-esteem and self-worth reduced to next to nothing, I also began to suffer sexual abuse at the hands of my mother’s “common law” husband, who lived with us on again and off again throughout my adolescent and teen years at home.

There were repeated attempts of molestation and him exposing himself to me in my mother’s absence, only to be ridiculed and reprimanded for doing “something wrong” that led to this unwanted and unsolicited attention and threats. I became increasingly aware that I could not remain in my mother’s home for much longer before something life threatening would end up happening to my mother or to myself. My mother was also a victim of domestic violence and I had witnessed her being beaten and verbally abused almost on a weekly basis. As with many of our black families, it was taboo to speak of such things outside of the home and mental illness was never addressed, neither was incest and molestation within the home. We were told that those kinds of things can’t be shared and must be kept a secret, or it would destroy the family structure.

I realized that the life I was living didn’t have much of a family structure to begin with and out of fear for my own mental and physical safety, I ran away from home at the age of 15 after being threatened by my mother that she was going to kill me when she got home from work. Her schizophrenia and manic episodes had caused her to believe that I was in “cahoots” with someone on her job and was trying to have her killed, so she was going to get me first. I wasn’t going to wait to see if she’d do it or not, so I ran away.

After living from couch to couch (and a truly long story in between), I finished my high school senior year living with my high school sweetheart and his mom until I graduated and we eventually moved to California to attend college. Shortly after that, I moved back to Texas after a 6.0 earthquake hit West Covina, which is a suburb of L.A. in the fall of 1987. I didn’t get to know my biological father until I was 16 years old and it wasn’t until after I married that my father and I truly began to bond. He passed away in 2000 and my mother unfortunately passed away in 2012. I was afforded the opportunity to make amends with them both before their passing, so I had a good relationship with them in the end.

I married my high school sweetheart in 1991, and that young man has been my loving husband for over 27 years! We have 3 amazing children, Joshua 22, Jordan 18 and our daughter JoHanna who is turning 15 in October. We are both ordained elders in a world-renowned mega church in Dallas, where we’ve attended since 1999 and have been in ministry together for over 27 years.

When I became pregnant with our daughter, I felt like God had given me an opportunity to have a second chance at this mother/daughter thing and that I would give to her and share with her all the things I wanted but never got to experience with my own mother. She was my “second chance” and she has brought such healing to my heart and mind (as well as my two incredible sons). Our mother/daughter relationship inspired a movement called Sarah’z Girlz, which is my heart’s cry through ministry, “to speak destiny into the hearts of God’s daughters.” Since 2013, our girl’s enrichment programs, conferences, special outings and summer programs have encouraged, enriched and empowered hundreds of girls to be their best most authentic selves and to love others and the world around them!

Sarah’z Girlz, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) that I proudly oversee and we partner with other youth organizations, school enrichment programs and girls’ ministries.  We have begun to travel to other states to share our programs through workshops and tailor made enrichment sessions. Our name comes from the biblical character Sarah, the wife of Abraham who was the father of many nations, so that would make Sarah the mother of many nations as well!  The name Sarah means Princess or Noblewoman (a high ranking woman). That makes us Sarah’z Girlz!

There is so much more that we are currently developing to improve the lives of young adolescent girls and teens, but the bonus has been watching the love and the bonding it has created between the mothers and their daughters. It was good for me to have been afflicted (Psalm 119:71) because out of that pain, we are training and raising confident, stable and focused young women, who know themselves and their God and we have only just begun!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road at all; in fact, it’s been quite treacherous at times. Learning to trust and to let my wall down hasn’t been easy because so many people don’t mind taking advantage of you – I mean truly don’t care that they’re causing you harm and anguish. People don’t naturally expect good any more, it’s like it’s something foreign.

Regardless, I’ve pressed on knowing that the things I’ve suffered were never really about me, but for the greater good. God knows that our testimonies are to help others when they become lost or feel that they’re the only one going through these types of trials. The comfort is you’re not alone and you’ll truly win, if you don’t quit!

As a result and a culmination of things, I am the first to graduate from both high school and college in my immediate family and I am the Founder and CEO of a nonprofit organization. My sons have both their high school diplomas and Assoc. Degrees and my oldest son graduated college and is working on his Masters. My youngest son is entering college as a junior and our daughter begins high school this fall.

I’m proud of the legacy my husband and I are leaving to our children, most importantly, their relationship with our savior Jesus Christ!

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Sarah’z Girlz – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
As a nonprofit organization, our sole purpose is to create a vibrant atmosphere for girls to learn, be creative and rediscover themselves and all the beauty that makes them unique. We want to strengthen their inner image of themselves and to know and appreciate all the beauty of who God created them to be!

Our organization began with bi-annual conferences that were centered on specific themes and activities that promoted a fun, energetic environment where girls from 5 to 15 years old could learn more about themselves and the world around them. I work with an incredible team of women and guest speakers who are entrepreneurs, business professionals, artists, life coaches, CPAs, leadership trainers, health specialist, etc. We host a day-long conference with breakout sessions, catered lunches and lively praise and worship music as well as a live DJ that keeps the fun pumping! The day culminates with prizes and giveaways, conference attendee gift packages and most importantly, we pray with the girls upon request before closing out the conference.

We’ve since branched out to do workshops and enrichment programs and eventually we will host summer camps and after care within select school districts. My vision is to open regional chapters for Sarah’z Girlz, Inc. and launch our online curriculum, which is being developed now. We are for every girl which means it doesn’t matter your race or your social or economic background, we are here for encouragement and to spark exploration into who you were created to be and what you were created to do and to become the very best version of you that you can truthfully be!

I am most proud of the joy and the love that we get to experience from the girls and witness between each mother/guardian and daughter. This holistic approach helps to stimulate conversation that can be continued, further discussed and reinforced long after the conference or workshops are over!

Our organization is different in that it’s for the younger girls through tweens and young teens. We are not bound by color, but I believe that we are a glimpse of what heaven looks like…every girl! Since we are faith-based, we are able to truly minister to the heart of certain issues as well as provide a fun, vibrant atmosphere for the girls. After 6 years and a whole lot of giggles and tears, we see a definite place in our communities for Sarah’z Girlz, Inc. for years to come!

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Some of our “future plans” are in incubation and we are working towards them now, so we want to leave some surprises for our girls, but we are certainly going to begin leaning heavily on our online presence, community outreach and philanthropic endeavors.

We will need big money to do big things, so increasing our donor base, researching grants and funding and networking will be top priority this year! Look for us at the 2018 North Texas Giving Day September 20th as well!

Go Sarah’z Girlz!!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sarahzgirlz.org
• Phone: 214-772-9673
• Email: info@sarahzgirlz.org
• Instagram: @thereal_sarahzgirlz
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahzGirlz/
• Twitter: @sarahzgirlz

Image Credit:
Joshua Patterson
Jessika Reese

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