The Blessing Project
Mindy Michel-Ezeh: Being a Blessing unto Others
Balancing work and a social life has been an age-old conundrum, especially among healthcare workers whose stress and burnout rates are up to 70%, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Managing the demands of being a mother and wife with finding time outside of the workplace to create, lead and actively coordinate events for a volunteer group feels almost impossible. But then there is Mindy Michel-Ezeh, a Parkland Health employee who co-founded The Blessing Project alongside friend, Lauren Bowen. Through rain, sleet, snow, hail or COVID-19, The Blessing Project has been a consistent resource for marginalized and impoverished communities.
Per their website, The Blessing Project is a group of dedicated individuals who meet monthly to serve organizations geared toward helping those who are homeless or underprivileged in the DFW area.
Started in October 2017, the service organization is 7 years old and seems to grow stronger as it ages. Time management proved difficult early on, but not insurmountable as Michel-Ezeh learned to prioritize.
“It’s like time slowed down, I don’t know how to explain it,” the 41-year-old said. Despite responsibilities pointing her in every direction, she decided that if it were really that important to her, she would create the time for it.
“And so, I found myself making time.”
Where the love for giving began
A second-generation American, Michel-Ezeh was born in Brooklyn, New York to immigrant parents from Haiti.
After moving to Jackson, New Jersey, her parents stressed the importance of education, church and giving back to the community.
“My parents grew up not having much,” Michel-Ezeh said. “In Haitian culture you band together with the people around you and figure it out.”
She banded together with younger sisters, Vanessa and Stephanie, establishing leadership qualities early on. Her humble beginnings helped mold the appreciative, selfless and empathetic person who became co-founder of The Blessing Project.
“It’s natural for me because that’s the way that me and my two sisters were raised.”
A move to Dallas to work as a Critical Care and Trauma Nurse Intern at Parkland in 2008 was originally thought of as temporary until she never left. “I thought I was only going to be here for two years to get experience,” Michel-Ezeh said.
Now a Nursing Operations Specialist, two years quickly turned into 16 and as the time passed, her love for the hospital grew.
"Parkland has a place in her heart that is not shared with anything else,” Bowen said.
Party of two
Every corporation, partnership or service group starts with an idea. Michel-Ezeh and Bowen’s friendship started after meeting 13 years ago at a networking event where the latter was promoting her hair business.
“Our personalities just clicked immediately,” Bowen recalled.
They eventually lost touch and contact over the years, but Bowen reached out in October 2017 and the two had dinner. Aside from the life updates, the takeaway from the evening was that both shared a desire to serve the homeless community, subsequently planting the seeds for The Blessing Project.
“We both had the same goal of bridging the gap because a lot of times people refer to homeless people as ‘those guys over there,’” Bowen said. “Those guys over there are just as part of the community as we are.”
The intention was to be accountability partners and volunteer somewhere once a month. After asking God for a sign, it came in the form of a homeless man moments after their dinner. The two friends decided to head to Walmart to buy him some items including a rolling suitcase, toiletries and granola bars. However, the life-altering part came when a 30-minute conversation ensued afterwards.
“It was really interesting because he started ministering to us, sharing scripture, and encouraging us,” Michel-Ezeh said. The serendipitous interaction was the reassurance they needed to kickstart their first event where they handed out 50 sandwiches. They began telling family and friends who immediately showed interest in participating, which led to Michel-Ezeh and Bowen launching The Blessing Project as its co-founders.
Mindy’s sister Stephanie came up with the organization’s name, while Bowen’s best friend designed the t-shirts. Additionally, Mindy’s husband, Mario, created the logo and website.
“We have a picture of the very first event and it’s me, Mario and Lauren,” Michel-Ezeh said. “The next month there were eight of us and it’s never gone below that since."
What started as a party for two ended up becoming a family affair.
Strength in numbers
After hitting the ground running, uncertainty defined the next couple of months for the group as calamity struck both Michel-Ezeh and Bowen, who would need to take extended leaves due to health-related matters.
“I started to look at this project as my baby,” Michel-Ezeh remembers as she struggled with infertility. In a stunning turn of events, she revealed her pregnancy to Bowen in January 2018, just months after starting the group. Now pregnant with first son, Elijah, she would soon have to delegate The Blessing Project-related duties to others.
The delegation wouldn’t end there as Bowen discovered she had a new brain tumor in July 2018. Emotions were expectedly high as adversity seemingly spawned left and right. Bowen had dealt with strokes and other cancer recurrences, but things were different this time.
The Blessing Project hit a groove and was trending in the right direction, so the 44-year-old saw her diagnosis as another potential impediment to the continued growth of the group. She felt as though an antagonist was trying to sabotage the organization by diverting the attention of both leaders.
“But what he didn’t know was the support that we had behind us.”
Bowen credits Stephanie for her ability to adapt quickly and take charge of the responsibilities for the group she originally named, especially when both she and Michel-Ezeh were unavailable.
“She’s the most amazing person.”
Teamwork makes the dream work
Colleges worldwide stress the importance of networking. Hard work and intentionality are also instrumental but are at the risk of being lost without making professional connections. And with any successful group or organization, Michel-Ezeh learned to master the art of relationship-building to develop these partnerships.
Starting with a few Google searches, she would find different homeless outreach programs throughout DFW. “I would just cold call or email them, introduce myself, give them a description of the group and offer help,” Michel-Ezeh said.
One of the group’s most frequent collaborators is the Union Gospel Mission (UGM) Dallas- Women and Children’s Shelter where Patrice A. Denning, CPA, serves as the campus director.
Now nurturing a six-year relationship, Denning remembers when she first met and worked with Michel-Ezeh: “I couldn’t believe how mobile she was even though she was expecting; She just got in, rolled her sleeves up and organized everything.”
UGM and The Blessing Project teams up for at least two service events a year. These events include preparing the rooms in the shelter, making toiletry baskets, helping serve food in the kitchen and organizing winter wear for children.
“We couldn’t do what we do without the time, energy and sweat equity that they give,” Denning said. “It’s a tremendous blessing.”
The working relationship between Denning and Michel-Ezeh developed into a genuine friendship that involves checking up on each other, talking about motherhood and exchanging professional advice.
Denning described it as "a family reunion," referring to the moments when they reconvene for a service project, having built close relationships with her sisters, nieces and children.
Cup runneth over
The familial bond and closeness of its members has kept The Blessing Project afloat and it starts with the leadership of Michel-Ezeh.
“She’s the planner, the detailed one and the person who keeps us grounded,” Bowen said.
The group is eagerly looking ahead to 2025, anticipating new opportunities to meet and have a lasting impact on new people. “We’ve already found a couple of new places,” Michel-Ezeh said. “We’re not doing the same exact scene, it’s always different.”
The Blessing Project, with no signs of stopping, has been featured on WFAA Channel 8, painted several shelters, collaborated with Streetside Showers, and volunteered at the Taste Project, a nonprofit lunch eatery with a pay-what-you-can policy.
One of Michel-Ezeh’s most treasured experiences is meeting a man who lost his home and was living in his truck. He came to wash himself at Streetside Showers for several months then suddenly disappeared causing great concern over his well-being. He returned months later and thanked everyone for their services and care. He revealed that he was back on his feet and now had a place of his own.
Michel-Ezeh remembers the man thanking them for helping him get through the hardest time of his life. “You never know what people are going through,” she tearfully recalled. “We’re all one or two missed paychecks away from not having anything.”
Her perspective keeps her leveled, and it permeates through the rest of the group. Look no further than the number of workers they have each month. The overflow of volunteers, driven by the limited available slots, reflects the strong sense of care and fellowship the co-founders have cultivated.
“Mindy’s a one of a kind,” Bowen said, citing her fellow co-founder’s ability to be a wife, mother of three, Parkland employee and leader of The Blessing Project.
Despite the weight of the world seemingly on her shoulders, Michel-Ezeh remains dedicated to her work and to serving as a vessel for altruistic efforts in her community.
“I’m not going to stop until God says it’s over,” she declared with conviction.
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