The Kidney Bean Foundation has a profound foundational meaning. When speaking with the founder and CEO, Chantelle Jones, you feel her passion for her project. One of the stand-out quotes that she stated during the interview was that she had to “get away from the stronghold of a place that only told me what I could do”. Growing up, she was placed in an environment where she was strictly told what to do and was not allowed to explore her true passions. That quote seems to be the primary purpose driving this project and these values of relinquishing adversity align with the primary objective of the PIECE Token x GATS Movement It is for this reason that this foundation is the proud recipient of the third charitable donation.
The Kidney Bean Foundation focuses on bringing music and fine arts concentrations to the Morris Brown campus. They do this by offering scholarships to aspiring students who want to enter the music and fine arts programs. Ms. Jones states that “The Kidney Bean Foundation will be instrumental in restoring the Music and Fine Arts programs. It will focus on bridging the gap between inner-city high school students and music programs and HBCUs. By providing scholarships in furthering their post-secondary education with Morris Brown Colleges’ Music and Fine Arts programs being the initial focus.” At one point Morris Brown, a prosperous HBCU (Historically Black College/University) lost its accreditation. It has been an uphill battle but the accreditation has been restored. As a proud member of Delta Theta Sigma sorority, initiated on the Morris Brown Campus in 1995, now Ms. Jones is at the forefront of trying to rebuild Morris Brown from the ground up in more ways than one.
When asked why she named the foundation the “Kidney Bean Foundation” she gave me a bit of an anatomy lesson. During her time working with Dr. Milton Howard, she was able to get a firsthand view of his work with spatial therapy. It was then that she learned that your sacral chakra area, around the adrenals and kidney area, is the center of your creativity. She then went on to state that it took her having a kidney disease for her to get to a place where she believed in herself. Once she found out that the kidney helps with creativity, she knew that she had to tie her disease in with her philanthropic efforts.
Growing up, she lived with a mother that had low self-esteem and confidence, and hearing problems. So, from a young age, she always did a lot for others but nothing really for herself. Through her participation in Clubhouse, and her efforts with her foundation, she has found a newfound love within herself and she wants to share that lesson with everyone that she meets. “Now I’m working on something that makes me happy. If I am happy, then I can make others happy. I had a limited-belief based childhood and I want to give others a chance to live out their dreams. Being told no has a mental effect on you. I want to be able to help others live out their dreams without money being a factor.”
Right now, the foundation itself is in its developmental stage. “I’m excited about the developmental stage because I’m discovering the real me! I’m so excited about life”. That excitement and passion will take not only her foundation but also the future of Morris Brown, to new heights. This GRITS (Girl raised in the South) loving woman is going to do amazing things and the PIECE Token x GATS movement is proud to be a part of the journey.
Honorable mention
For those who are interested, Ms. Jones referred to a book that helped shape her mindset very early on. She urges everyone to read Betty Miles’ book “The Real Me”