A Transformation, a Prince and a Baby
By Angie Matthiessen
This is a real life Cinderella story, except there are no gowns, magical pumpkins or fairy godmothers. But there is a transformation and a prince, and a baby.
The United Way of Charlotte County Board of Directors recently welcomed Elizabeth (Liz) Sides to the board. I had the pleasure of meeting Liz a few years ago when she was nominated for our Women United Award called Woman of Courage. This award recognizes a woman facing challenges with resilience, and overcoming adversity with determination, perseverance and strength to reach her goals and dreams. This describes Liz perfectly.
According to UWCC Board President, Charlotte Miller, Liz was invited to join our board because we want a perspective from those we serve on our governing board. The Board is thrilled to welcome Liz. The vision is to have a committee of persons representing our programs to give a voice to the needs in this community. This will additionally give us opportunities to groom future leaders.
What I want you to know about Liz is that she has overcome more in her young life than most. Yet she has transformed right before our eyes. Liz is a part of our UWCC funded community collaboration Kids Thrive. While pregnant, she was mentored and learned how to ensure a healthy delivery through skin on skin contact, breastfeeding, Finnegan scoring, reading to the bump and the best way to care for her baby.
It wasn’t long afterwards that she joined the newly formed Circle of Parents Peer Support group where she was encouraged and mentored. Fast forward three years, Liz along with other moms through their leadership, mentoring and growth are set to start a second Circle of Parents Peer Support group. She is truly a leader in the making.
What Liz wants you to know about is her son, who means everything to her. Otto was born on February 13, 2019 and she has recently welcomed another healthy baby boy. Now her main goal is taking care of her sons and being the best mother she can be. She vows that she will never put her sons through the things she experienced. Her prince is her husband who has stood by her through her struggles and helped her to get help. Liz is grateful to him and all of the people who have helped her transition into motherhood.
One of Liz’s biggest goals is to be able to help other women. She prays she can have more opportunities to do so. When asked why she wanted to be on the UWCC board, she replied, “So that I can help shed light on what mothers in Charlotte County deal with and what they need. I hope by being on the board I can help our community have a better future by helping families raise smart healthy children. I hope that I will have the chance to share my story with more people and be able to help them lead more fulfilling lives like I am now.”
In closing, Liz shared she would like everyone to know that people can change and if someone is trying to better themselves don’t hesitate to give them a chance. She added we all deserve a second chance and she wants the community to know that there is help out there if you ask for it. There are people here who care and are working to make a difference.
If you need help with treatments or addictions, please go to: www.drugfreecc.org. For more information about United Way of Charlotte County’s mission: Mobilizing the power of our community to break the cycle of poverty please contact Angie Matthiessen, the Executive Director of United Way of Charlotte County. She can be reached at director@unitedwayccfl.org or at 941-627-3539.