( ENSPIRE She Did That ) Philanthropist, Entrepreneur and International Speaker Dawn A. Witte Empowers People to Live Their Greatest Calling
ENSPIRE Contributor: Jules Lavallee
Dawn Airhart Witte is the founder of the Desire to Inspire Foundation, which is supporting impoverished children in Uganda, Kenya, and beyond. Witte introduced The Be Line Products to bring love and creativity to the world.
From Be totes, hoodies, beanies, perfumes, and onesies, you are sure to find a gift that transcends your holiday love. $7 of each purchase goes to the Desire to Inspire Foundation. Get to know more about this amazing initiative below.
You are a true inspiration for others. Share your work as the founder of Desire to Inspire Foundation.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to share my work. I love, and being able to share that love with children is such a gift to me. There is a quote by Pamela Leo that sums it up so nicely, “Children need at least one person in their life who thinks the sun rises and sets on them, who delights in their existence and loves them unconditionally.” We all need that person in our lives and I get to be that person to so many. To inspire others to see the greatness within themselves and help people put their own unique gifts and talents into the world is the most rewarding and fulfilling thing I could ever do. I am truly blessed.
What have you seen as a result of your work?
Before I went to Africa for the first time, I was working with the amazing Laura J. Swan and she and I did a guided meditation about what my trip might be like. I saw visions of beautiful African children, and then an image of a PVC pipe cut flush against a wall came into my mind. Laura said, “maybe you are going to bring them water.” That thought had not crossed my mind because I was going there to meet the children I had dreamed about meeting my whole life. Since that time, three and a half years ago, I have collaborated with The You At Heart Foundation, and we have drilled three boreholes to bring thousands of people clean water. We have built a sickbay in a village called Nzulezu whose previous medical facility was a canoe ride and long car trip away. We have provided vocational training and extra classes for children in Ghana. We were able to move our girls in Sierra Leone from a one-room home, where they all slept on the floor, to a home with beds for each girl. We have been helping to meet basic food needs for hundreds of children in Uganda, Ghana, and Sierra Leone, and we have given out almost 2500 “Little Books of Be…” to children in five countries in Africa and the U.S. I have been able to touch thousands of people’s lives in love and kindness and I will not stop until I take my last breath.
Tell us about your book, “Be,” and your new book, “Recipes of BEing: The Power of Seven.”
Recipes for BEing: The Power of Seven delves into seven words that help you celebrate living your life of purpose by design—kind, grateful, inspired, happy, strong, genuine, and love. The co-authors of Recipes for BEing: The Power of Seven come from the U.S., Portugal, Mexico, Croatia, and Namibia. They live these words and are well-versed in self-care. Their stories and ideas are meant to help people set themselves on a course for living their very best life full of purpose and passion. This book launched our Recipes for BEing series, and our next book, Recipes for Being: The Power of Kind, will be available within the next week. We are so excited to share the lessons we have learned to help others be their very best selves.
You just launched Be Line Products. What excites you the most?
We will be spotlighting artists so that they can put their work out into the world. Being able to help creators share what they do excites me the most. Our current artist spotlight is on the amazingly talented photographer, Davis Hidink Oching. His photographs are stunning, and I am so happy that we are able to help him share his gift with the world. His work is featured in our 2021 calendar and our beautiful framed prints. I am so very proud to share his talent with others.
What are the cool inspirational products we can find in Be Line Products?
We have so many fun gifts on our shopping site. I created the Be Line Products website to be a Giver’s Marketplace to help fund our work. $7 from every item purchased will be donated to the Desire to Inspire Foundation. We have shirts, hats, pillows, cell phone cases, tote bags, and my signature BE fragrance, using my seven words that we all choose to be—love, grateful, inspired, happy, genuine, strong, and kind. We also have a beautiful calendar and framed prints featuring Davis’ stunning photos of Africa. I have them hung all over my office because they inspire me, and they are a constant reminder of all of the magic, miracles, and love I have in my life.
You have many projects in the works for 2021. Tell us about them.
Our future goals are to build sustainability centers that will help lift entire communities by creating meaningful work and educational programs. We want everyone to be able to use their unique gifts and talents to create their happiest and most fulfilling lives full of purpose and love. We are raising the funds to build our first center in Busia, Uganda to help Mama Josephine and the 67 children she is lovingly raising. We will be purchasing bricks from Father Henry Murillo, which will help him earn money to take care of his family and the orphaned children he has taken in while building a safe place for Mama and the children to live, and we will be providing educational programs for all of those who live in the village. Our goal is to lift the entire community and help all live into their highest and greatest calling.
Visit The Be Line Products online store to find an excellent holiday gift. You can also find out more about Dawn A. Witte’s Desire to Inspire Foundation on the organization’s official website.
