The Clayton County teenager who defied homelessness and graduated valedictorian of her class is getting a taste of what it's like to be a rock star.
Chelesa Fearce, 17, has kept a dizzying schedule since she disclosed last week during her valedictorian speech to her Charles Drew High School classmates that she and her family were homeless throughout most of her time in the school.
It’s been a whirlwind few days of media appearances and offers of help. Notes of adulation and gifts of clothing, money — one even offered a ride to college in the fall — have poured in from all over, many of the offers coming from people who wish to remain anonymous.
The story has traveled worldwide, moving some to tears as they learned how the family lived in a car for a time or that Chelesa would study by a small stove light in the extended stay hotel where they often stayed when there weren’t in homeless shelters.
Beyond the material gifts, people say the family of five, who now live a home in Forest Park, have given the gift of inspiration to them.
“People were emotional,” said community activist Derrick Boazman, who featured the family on his radio show, “Too Much Truth” (1380-AM WOAK) earlier this week. Their two-hour appearance was one of his “most memorable” shows, said Boazman who has set up a fund for the family.
“The phone just constantly rang. We all look at this family and wonder what is it about them that makes them so connectable to us?” Boazman said. “They just understand this (homelessness) was a thing you go through. They did not accept the fact they were victims of the economic situation or homelessness, things that would make the average person enter a woe-is-me state of mind. They just kept going.”
And going. Last Friday, Chelesa and her older sister Chelsea were honored with a dinner at Pier 1 Restaurant in College Park for their scholastic accomplishments, courtesy of Delta Air Lines. The next day, Chelsea, 18, graduated as salutatorian at Atlanta’s George Washington Carver High School.
On Sunday, MSNBC sent a car for Chelesa so she could be interviewed on the cable network. Later that day, the girls and their mother, Reenita Shepherd, flew to New York to appear on “The Today Show” on Memorial Day. On Tuesday, they were featured on the “Tom Joyner Morning Show,’ where Shepherd was chosen for the show’s weekly Thursday Morning Mom segment. Winners of the segment receive $1,000.
On Saturday, Chelesa is booked do a more in-depth interview with MSNBC. The sisters will finish out the week speaking to the teen ministry program at their church, World Changers, on Sunday. In June, Chelesa is set to speak to Greater Elizabeth Baptist Church and she has been asked to speak at an out-of-state conference in March 2014.
“They’re excited,” Shepherd said Thursday. And a bit tired.
Wednesday was the first time that her two oldest daughters took a break from their celebrity travels to just hang out with friends and get back into their normal routine. Both spent time this week getting ready to go to college in the fall. There were rounds of vaccinations and Chelesa set up her first bank account.
She’ll attend Spelman College. Chelsea is headed to the University of West Georgia.
“We’re trying to use the blessings people have bestowed upon us and we’re trying to get back to some sort of normalcy,” Shepherd said.
Interested in making a donation? A fund has been set up by community activist and Atlanta radio personality Derrick Boazman on behalf of Chelesa Fearce and her family. A website has been established with a secure link to PayPal. Go online to www.thefearcefund@eventbrite.com
About the Author
