Maya Gwynn
With KVCR Public Media. I'm Maya Gwynn with Black Perspectives IE, a show where we learn about the amazing things members of the Black community are doing in the Inland Empire. My guest today is Yvonne Choyce, Executive Director of Little Seeds Matter. Thank you so much for being here today, Yvonne.
Yvonne Choyce
Thank you so much, Maya. I'm happy to be here.
Maya Gwynn
So what inspired you to start Little Seeds Matter, and before founding your company, what was your personal history in providing health education to the community?
Yvonne Choyce
Prior to Little Seeds Matter, I did childcare in my home for 25 years, and during that time, I started creating resources, because it just wasn't enough, and it seemed health and wellness was just that thing that attracted me the most. Seeing children come into the home with babies with silver teeth already, and realizing that they weren't getting the proper nutrition, or the parents weren't getting the proper education to know what to do early on. And a little bit on my background, I came from Detroit, Michigan, nine girls and a boy, and we were community. Before I even knew what community was, my mother would always cook food, and clothes and take this down the street and hand it out. So we took care of our community. And so that is something I'm very conscious about, and it's rooted in me. I started writing children's books, and I created these characters, five of them, which represent all the race groups, and they were called the Seed Pals. And from that, I started creating the curriculum for that. And as time went on, I lost my home in 2011 to the recession. But it was like my heart was like, I just still want to work with the kids, right? So I formed Little Seeds Matter, and I began to use my resources and get into the communities and start educating the parents and the children. And I was finding that, you know, parents will send their children out to programs, but they don't participate, right? And so for me, Little Seeds had to be a family engagement program. And I think when you teach the children, you teach the parents, because kids will be the ones that come home and say, no, they told us we shouldn't eat that. So it has grown from far more than what I ever imagined it to be.
Maya Gwynn
What are some of the biggest barriers families in Riverside and San Bernardino counties face when it comes to health, wellness and education funding?
Yvonne Choyce
Yeah, they can't afford to eat healthy. It's a barrier for me. So I know it's a barrier for them, but a lot of the eating healthy and things, it's set up still so that they can't afford it. Yeah, you know, you would think fruits and vegetables and things would be something that would be more accessible, but it's even harder now that it has become like a thing that would be the greatest barrier is having access to be able to eat healthy and to go play healthy. You know, a lot of kids living in cars, you know, growing up in places where they can't play. When we grew up, we were like, go outside and play and be back when the street lights come on, you know, so they don't have that, and they're not able to do that.
Maya Gwynn
Your mission with Little Seeds Matter emphasizes innovation and wellness and education. Can you share an example of unique or creative program that Little Seeds Matter has implemented?
Yvonne Choyce
One of the programs that I'm really happy to say we're launching now. It's called Hazel's Health Quest. Okay, you know, kids are glued to the TV. I have 14 grandchildren. Wow. I watch everything they watch, because I want to see what they enjoy. But you know, let's cut down the screen time to make it something healthy that you're watching. So Hazel's Health Quest will be a YouTube show where Hazel is taking them on these quests. And it's a quest to find healthy foods. It's a quest to find ways to exercise. It's a math quest, but we are making sure that we always integrate academics in everything that we do in our programs. Just recently, we had all of our CHW's that got their certification through IEHP. So our program, Lit-Well, is what we do in the communities. So we start off with a story, and from there, we have a full discussion about it, and then we have activities that will reinforce that lesson. So I don't call them story books. They're lesson stories, but that is basically what our program is geared to do. And then we're doing jumping jacks. So parents know you don't get to sit over there. We're doing frog leaps. You're doing frog leaps because I'm getting old, you know, yeah, and my CHWs are amazing. Yeah, without them, I wouldn't have a program.
Maya Gwynn
And what is your vision for the future of Little Seeds Matter? And how can the community support your efforts?
Yvonne Choyce
My biggest vision for Little Seeds is to get in a building, because when you have to go from community center, community centers here, or, you know, kind of plead to get in space to provide if you plant it, they will come. But it's hard to plant when you don't have anywhere to plant your seeds. And so that's our biggest struggle. We would really need a place that we could call home for our program, in the heart of the community, though. Where it's needed, because it's our black and brown families that are suffering. And literally, wherever we go, we draw a crowd. We have fun. It's not just a program where you come in and you're listening to lecture, we have fun. And I think having fun is how you learn.
Maya Gwynn
It makes you remember stuff, when you're creating memories. And we're gonna jump into our rapid fire question portion. So just the first thing that pops to your mind. If your work had a theme song, what would it be?
Yvonne Choyce
Don't Stop.
Maya Gwynn
Oh, okay, that's good. And if you had to teach a master class or give a TED talk in a random skill, it could be something serious or silly. What would it be?
Yvonne Choyce
Self care.
Maya Gwynn
And what is your favorite Inland Empire restaurant, or like a landmark that reminds you of the Inland Empire?
Yvonne Choyce
I love seafood. So I'm gonna have to say Market Broiler.
Maya Gwynn
Oh yes, I love that restaurant. I love seafood. And how can people keep up with you and support your work?
Yvonne Choyce
Well, we are on our website, littleseedsmatter.org. I would say My Healthy Reader because My Healthy Reader is under Little Seeds Matter, and it has all the resources, so they kind of go hand in hand. But also they can reach me at 951-488-4253. That's directly to me.
Maya Gwynn
So she gave her phone number, so do not abuse that, okay, you guys. Only call with good stuff. Thank you so much for being here.
Yvonne Choyce
Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.
Maya Gwynn
Yvonne Choyce is Executive Director of Little Seeds Matter. Support for this segment comes from Black Equity Fund at IECF, advancing racial equity and supporting long term investments in black led organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Join us again next week for Black Perspectives IE. For KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn. Thank you.
