Choose to Awaken with the WUE Nation!

On March 29, 2020, Spirit of A Woman, LLC, launched the Wake Up Everybody (WUE) Virtual series in partnership with community healers, thought leaders, coaches, medical and mental health professionals, educators and artists from across the nation. WUE was created to provide community members, from across the country and abroad, with an opportunity to keep their mental, emotional,  physical and spiritual well beings balanced and whole as they navigated the impact of the devastating impact of the COVID-19 global health crisis. 

WUE was  originally designed as a 30 day offering that would provide “temporary” covering and support for participants until the quarantine period ended, however, the producers and community members quickly realized that the WUE journey would last much longer than they originally anticipated. 

The series was created by Shawnee Benton Gibson, CEO, of Spirit of A Woman (SOW) Leadership Development Institute, who was inspired by the lyrics of the song  “Wake Up Everybody” by Teddy Pendergrass, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. The song, which was popular in the 70s, speaks of issues that we are still glaringly relevant today; (racism, war, poverty, sickness, political strife, corruption, etc). The WUE Virtual series was designed to “WAKE UP” the masses by providing empowering messaging, holistic healing tools, guidance for daily living and strategies for addressing the injustices, pain and imbalance that exists in the world. 

All of the “Wake Up Everybody” sessions take place 5 days a week (every Sunday, Tuesday, & Thursday from 7:00am - 8:30am EST and every Monday and Wednesday from 7:00am -7:30am EST.) over Zoom and Facebook Live. Every session is facilitated by powerful and prolific presenters from various backgrounds and areas of discipline. Each facilitator guides participants through an interactive experience that fosters education, conversation, new insights, empowerment  and expansion. 

The WUE Family invites you to join our phenomenal community so that you can share, heal and grow as part of the collective. You are free to join as a community participant, as a session facilitator and/or a member of the admin team to support the magic that happens behind the scenes. We hope to hear from you. 

Show WUE Some LOVE!

The Wake Up Everybody community space was created for us, by us — rooted in love, cultural wisdom, collective liberation, and healing. Our volunteer team and facilitators work diligently, leading from the kindness of their hearts. They share their gifts, talents, lived experiences, expertise, and — most importantly — their time for the healing and upliftment of our community.

We invite our community to pour back into this exchange of energy through love offerings and donations that help sustain and further enhance the Wake Up Everybody experience for all. We recognize that time is currency, and our volunteers and facilitators generously offer their time, energy, and wisdom to bring each session to life in service of collective healing.

Love offerings are not payments for a service. They are sacred contributions toward sustaining the ecosystem we call Wake Up Everybody (WUE) — an ongoing exchange rooted in reciprocity, care, and community.

We believe that money is energy — as our host, Shawnee Benton Gibson, reminds us:
M.O.E.Y. — My Own Energy Yields.

What we give circulates.
What we invest grows.

When we give from a place of gratitude and reciprocity, we are not simply transferring dollars. We are honoring labor. We are valuing time. We are choosing to sustain what sustains us.

Your offering helps us:

• Honor the time, preparation, and emotional labor of our facilitators

• Maintain the platforms that allow us to gather live

• Cover the costs of text messaging systems, email communications, and community updates

• Invest in new tools and advancements that help us grow

• Ensure this space remains accessible and community-centered

When you give, you are not just supporting a session. You are strengthening a movement. You are helping us maintain integrity, independence, and sustainability without relying solely on external funding or institutions.

Wake Up exists because we choose to sustain it together.

This is reciprocity.
This is community economics.
This is love in action. 💛

Upcoming Facilitators   

Sunday, May 17th

"Pollution in the age of progress"

 Facilitated By: Lawanda Banks

Lawanda Banks is a wife of 19 years, a mother of two children ages 20 and 17, an educator of over 24 years of experience, entrepreneur, lover of nature, and published author.

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Monday, May 18th

"What You Mean vs. What People Experience"

 Facilitated By: Tirza Barnes

Tirza Barnes is The Rebuild Coach and a Leadership Development Consultant, helping women rebuild after major life transitions and helping organizations develop conscious, high-performing leaders. With 25 years in the nonprofit sector, she designs and facilitates leadership experiences that strengthen self-awareness, communication, accountability, and team culture. She is also the creator of More of Me, a transformational program supporting women to reclaim identity, rebuild self-trust, and move forward with clarity after divorce or an unhealthy relationship.

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Tuesday, May 19th

"Creating Without Apology: Releasing the Creator Within"

 Facilitated By: Sam Awudemi

Mr. Samuel Adewumi, Founder and President of Creative Achievement Success (CAS Prep), holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University and a Masters Degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Virginia. A product of the New York City public school system he went to the prestigious Brooklyn Technical High School where he graduated with honors and eventually returned as a teacher for 13 years and head football coach for 4 years. After spending several years in corporate America and as an entrepreneur, Mr. Adewumi was led towards the teaching profession and became a teacher in 2001. Here he discovered his love of educating and sharing his life experiences with children through the mediums of math, engineering and computer science. Mr. Adewumi founded CAS Prep as a means of providing quality SHSAT test prep services to underserved students in the Bedford Stuyvesant community. Since its inception in 2013, CAS Prep has grown beyond just providing SHSAT test prep services but also supports students from third grade through high school through its various programs. CAS Prep students currently come from all areas of Brooklyn and across New York City. Through its enrichment and SHSAT prep programs, CAS Prep has been responsible for sending students to the Specialized High Schools (SHS) each year of its operation and even more importantly has helped all of its student increase their confidence, desire and determination to succeed academically and in life. CAS Prep students who do not enroll in a SHS still continue on to have great high school careers and end up at the same top colleges and universities across the country as their SHS counterparts. CAS Prep alumni are in great high schools and colleges across the country or are gainfully employed and are pursuing their dreams. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, CAS Prep has pivoted its services online and is effectively using this platform to successfully educationally enrich the children it services. CAS Prep has also expanded its services to include SAT prep, and provides free virtual math instruction on a weekly basis to the students of NYC.

In addition to his leadership of CAS Prep, Mr. Adewumi is an advocate for the need to improve the education offered our children and also the need to support supplementary education for communities of color. He has written numerous op-eds on education for the Amsterdam News and other media and has presented at conferences and workshops. Mr. Adewumi believes that CAS Prep is a model that illustrates the possibilities of what can occur when dedicated adults of a community decide to bond together and support their children academically. His desire is to continue to provide more services to more children of our community and to inspire others to provide this experience to the so many gifted and talented children of NYC.

Sam Adewumi is a father, coach, teacher, healer and writer. He is cocreator of Ink and Insight and the LovecoLab a series of workshops and curated experiences aimed at personal and communal transformation. He believes in the power of community as a means of manifesting the healing that is needed and desired in our lives.

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Wednesday, May 20th

"Black History IS American History"

 Facilitated By: Gina Leito-Diouf

Gina Leito-Diouf is the owner and operator of Sankofa Sojourns. At Sankofa Sojourns, she shares her vision of healing the world of racial trauma by providing positive, transformational travel experiences. 

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Thursday, May 21th

"Door 3: The Deep Dive: Releasing What You Carry, Returning to Yourself"

 Facilitated By: Jaimie Lloyd

Jaimie Mone’t Lloyd, also known as The H’Eye Healer, is a healer, Reiki practitioner, tarot reader, yoga instructor, and healing jewelry artist, maker, and teacher. Through her work she blends spiritual practices, embodiment, and creative expression to help others reconnect with their inner wisdom and healing power. She is the creator of The Yonilogues, a womb-centered healing journey designed to help women release the stories they carry and reclaim their voice, rhythm, and personal power.