Meet Dasha Kennedy - Founder of The Broke Black Girl

DELUX Magazine caught up with Dasha Kennedy, founder of The Broke Black Girl group. As Facebook’s hottest new girl group—we wanted to get to know the woman behind this phenomenal display of sisterhood. As we meet up at a local coffee shop, Dasha gives us the story behind who she is, her personal struggles, and what motivated her to stop the cycle of brokenness among black women.

Here’s her story.…….

Sometimes in life, what looks like a disaster, seemingly turns out to be rather great. For Dasha Kennedy, this was the case. To her, what started out as a punishment, ended up being a blessing in disguise. Like most teenagers, she had her share of unruliness growing up. The kind of behavior that landed her in front of a judge—not realizing this was a step towards her purpose. “I’ve always been very transparent about my upbringing.

Coming up, I was a firecracker and I got into trouble in high school,” Kennedy said.

As required, she fulfilled the court-mandated community service. And then, something happened—Kennedy fell in love with helping people. Volunteering at a thrift store, she became passionate about giving back and helping those in need. Whether it was the stories she heard, or the people she interacted with while there, either way, she was hooked.

At 17, she looked at this as an opportunity to do more. Kennedy continued with volunteering long after she fulfilled her required hours. This, in turn, led her to take her passion a step further. Moving into a new neighborhood, Kennedy noticed the lack of togetherness and sense of family she felt in her previous neighborhood.

“I had lost my car, and I was riding the bus. I would get off carrying bags of groceries and noticed no one would ask if I needed help.” Realizing she may not be the only person feeling like this, Kennedy decided to do something about it—giving birth to Rebuild the Village.

Rebuild the Village is a non-profit organization Kennedy holds dear to her heart. As a newly-divorced mother, Kennedy felt she couldn’t have been the only person in her neighborhood who needed help or felt alone.

Canvasing her old neighborhood, she decided to do a survey. She found out what the people needed, collected the items, and then set up a shop. The organization creates a neighborhood shopping experience that provides people in the neighborhood with essential items they need. The idea is centered around people in the neighborhood coming together to shop and mingle, instead of just existing next to one another.

“I wanted people to get to know who they were living next to. I figured if someone was wearing the other person’s coat, it was a perfect way to start a conversation.”

To read the rest of this interview—be sure to download our Summer 2018 Issue here.