Name: Rickie Chaffold
Company: More Than a Rib/Seven Entertainment
Title: CEO, Founder
Years in the business: 15
What inspired you to create this movement?
I am a certified life coach and my partner, Seven the Poet, is a licensed counselor. We have worked together managing Seven Entertainment for 15 years. About three years ago we decided to use our resources to create More Than a Rib to aid in the empowerment of the family unit. When looking at the 2015 family unit which consists of 15 million single parent women ran households we not only examine the female role but the roles of the father and the child in the single and married family unit as well. I was raised in a drug-filled and domestic abuse household. As I grew up and navigated my situations, I’ve come to a place now where I can give back. I also have three children outside of my current married household and I look at the interaction that I’m having with the mothers of my children and their husbands and significant others. I learned by observing how our children and the adults who are involved navigate the situation. I also noticed that the community plays a significant role in the family unit substructure. As I drive around I see that we as African Americans need help in so many different areas and it all goes back to the empowerment of the family unit and how we can make it stronger.
What’s next for Seven Entertainment and More than a rib?
Currently, we are on a comedy tour with Seven and Nephew Tommy. Following that, we will come back to our hometown of Houston to host the Robert Glasper Concert on April 25 at St. Johns Downtown Methodist Church. We will also have a day of mentoring for male and female youths at the church. The program will teach how to tie a tie and belt distribution for the boys. The girls will be measured for their correct bra sizes and taught personal hygiene methods. Both groups will also learn how to interact with a man when there is no man in the household. The adults will be engaged through our new “night sessions” platform were adults can come out and mingle with like-minded individuals as an alternative to going to the club. Coupled with the mentoring program and night sessions event will be the book series were we disseminate information and resources to help the family unit become stronger. As the family unit becomes stronger, the community around the family unit becomes stronger. Right now we have the female book series, which will be preceded by the men, and then the children book series. We are working it one family member at a time to let them know their role and what they need to work on so that they can come together collectively and make the family unit better.
What are four things that all family units should incorporate?
– Communication is the greatest thing that we are missing when it comes to the family unit. We must all learn how to communicate our emotions and feelings better.
– Flexibility, to know that your way isn’t always the best. We have to get out of thinking that it’s just about us if we want to grow in a relationship. As adults we have to look at the feelings and emotions of others and be flexible in the knowledge that we provide our children to help them become great pre-teens and up standing adults.
– Love yourself and pass it down to your children. When one doesn’t love him or herself that causes negativity and hate in the household. If you can’t love yourself you can’t effectively love someone else and those ideals are passed down to the next generation.
– Forgiveness is a necessity. When you forgive and let go of what has been holding you back it can release you and that person of so much stress and drama that you can become a whole new person.
For more information, visit www.Morethanarib.com www.facebook.com/rickchaffold www.Facebook.com/seventhepoet.
