Meet Jaarona Hannah Stuart | President of Sunflower United

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jaarona Hannah Stuart and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jaarona Hannah, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?

I was known as a “sunflower” in high school and that remained my nickname for many years. I posted it everywhere, I wore it, my notebooks had them, everywhere. You know, yellow is such a happy color, so many people would associate my bubbly and positive personality with a sunflower. The affectionate nickname also inspired the informal label of the brand; the name was originally The Sunflower Company when I hosted small bible-based discussions on social media for my peers. My team includes my beautiful mother and the best father anyone could have, Dwight and Renesse; they assisted with the branding when we embraced the charity aspect of it. Sunflower United incorporates all aspects of the brand itself. I was like “Eureka!” That’s perfect.

Our slogan is “bloom where you are planted.” Sunflowers do just that. I avoid limiting creativity or stifling the possibility of what things could be, and so the name, Sunflower United, encompasses our potential. Often as young adults or people in general, we anticipate the next step before we decide to tap into our potential, only to leave this earth with the same seeds God gave us at birth. What we want people to realize is that their situation may be bleak but all we have is all we need. Right where you are, you can still bloom and be the most radiant sunflower that this world has ever gazed upon. Our avenues to accomplish this primarily include outreach into the homeless population. We want those experiencing homelessness to understand that this is not the final destination. We want to be a central hub of resources so that the less fortunate individuals and their families can still bloom.

I was born in South Florida but I was raised in the Bahamas with my mother and father. My father grew up in Miami and I would visit for summers; I even spent some time here during middle school. I was 17 years old when I chose to settle in America for college, and then I began truly delving into defining myself and what route I wanted to take in terms of my life passion. My father always encouraged me to follow passion over profit and he would remind me that the issue that stirs up my soul the most is the one I was born to solve.
While the young 18-year-old me was on an orthodontic brace journey in Downtown Miami, I would hop off of the bus in the early morning and walk about a mile to the orthodontist’s office, often seeing people lining the streets for blocks in 50-degree weather during the subtropical winter. Of course, I had never seen this personally before despite my upbringing on an island that is 21 miles long by 7 miles wide; New Providence–the capital island of the Bahamas–also has its share of homelessness, but the handful of people who receive resources and assistance had been rather consistent for as long as I can remember. It still hit home for me. It tugged at my heart. I began doing what I could. I took extra change with me just in case anyone asked. I found myself running late for appointments because I would purchase a handful of sandwiches from the nearby Burger King to feed those that I could. I researched how I could provide relief for those in situations similar. I wanted to take the little paycheck that I would get from working part-time at the Hard Rock Stadium and purchase supplies, but honestly I suppressed the idea. I felt as though my little just would not be enough in such a huge city like Miami. The need was too great and I barely knew anyone here or how it worked. I asked myself: why is it that the Magic City has people subject to these conditions?
The crazy thing is that I tried to dismiss the notion but it would not leave me alone. I took it to the shores where I knew that I could utilize my influence. I had already booked my ticket to visit my home city in Nassau and decided to do it there instead. I created a little flyer to spread the word to all of my colleagues that we were doing a clothing drive. My best friends and I rode around Nassau picking up bags of gently used clothing and shoes to distribute to those in need. We hosted the little event on my mother’s church grounds. Since then my mother and I put together about $1,500 to purchase school supplies and distribute to the kids in my old neighborhood in the Bahamas. My mother even began to provide meals to the homeless community twice monthly.
But in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and a lot changed throughout the world, from accessibility to travel to Nassau every other month to restrictions on transport. Notwithstanding the pandemic, the vision was still alive. The need began to stir in my spirit once again. After living in America for 3 years, I felt that it was time. My passion for people never changed. I did my research and launched my non-profit here in Miami. I went into the various communities and conversed with those that I could, provided little care packages for them. At current, we stay hopeful that we can eventually purchase a shower trailer and a truck as well as construct our very first pantries, shelters, and resource center. We want others to find sanctuary in us. We want to restore hope among the hopeless. We want people to dream again. We want them to bloom where they are planted.
Sunflower United is committed to advocating for the unhoused community of South Florida as well as Nassau in the Bahamas. As of January 2020, Florida had an estimated 27,487 experiencing homelessness on any given day, as reported by the Continuums of Care to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. With no shortage of thanks to its questionable housing market, Florida also Has the second highest risk of evictions in the nation. We aim to connect those experiencing homelessness with establishments that can provide the necessary resources to assist our target audience. We collect food items, hygienic products, and clothing items to distribute to our communities. Our values are founded upon the idea that it is our responsibility to care for our community. We shouldn’t leave issues unturned for someone else to solve, it is our responsibility. In our first year of operation, we have distributed 2,000 hygiene packs, 3,500 plates of food, hundreds of grocery item packages and innumerous amounts of love and support.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I would like to say that I live my life in partnership with Yahweh, my God and friend. He is creative and compassionate. He sees far beyond what I can see and He also created me with the likeness and ability to create something from nothing. He created me with the longing and desire to help with whatever little that I have. I consult with him on where I should go and what I should do. Because I showcase the love that he has given me to His people, He gives me more. I am in partnership with God; He gives me the necessary tools to create and love people, and that is a reward in itself. I am honored to have His grace and his favor.

On the natural side of things, I am among a network of professionals who uplift each other, provide each other with opportunities and catapult each other forward. My desire is to show anyone that it does not take much to start. I would like to say it was easy because I feel it simply takes dedication, the desire to learn, and an ounce of personality. Be yourself: as loud, weird, unique, regular as that may be. Be that. The biggest lesson I learned thus far is to just try. Life is about failing and winning. Yes, success is great but the experience of failing is also rewarding, even if it is in bittersweet experience. I have found the quote, “What if I fall? No, but what if you fly?” to be the basis of any project I put my hands to. It’s rewarding to fail. It would be unfulfilling to experience W’s every time we try something.

My other suggestion is to work smart, but do not work hard. The easiest route to take is the one where God can make your path straight and direct you on it; it is effortless and peaceful. I want the world to look at the organization we built and experience true love without judgment, shame or ridicule. I want people to be led to also love others despite color, creed, origin, tongue or tax bracket. I want hope to be restored in humanity and for people to be reminded that now is temporary. I want our smiles and the works of our hands to remind people that God’s love is present and it’s still alive and it’s for everyone if they want it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Believe it or not, my best friends are often in and out of town, especially my friend Chris from the village of Gambier, not far from Nassau in the Bahamas. Usually, I drop the top on the car and take them to the art district for great photo opportunities. Fort Lauderdale Beach in Florida is always a great place to have a fun-filled and action-packed day. Nor would Miami be Miami without the Cuban coffee, so that is a must-have. Honey Uninhibited is also one of my favorite Breakfast/Brunch spots. It is always filled with great energy and even better food. I would have my friends try their chicken and waffles as they are to die for. For lunch, I would take it a bit further north to Miami Gardens to Bamboo Shack for some authentic Bahamian food, especially since it is honestly like none I have had before. I would wrap up the day with dinner from Tap 42. They specialize in craft beer and burgers. You can taste the love in every bite. And finally, Jalezcia “Jay” Smith’s Cravin’ Flava is the only catering company that I trust to deliver quality food and exceptional service for house parties and personal events.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The backbone of our entire establishment is my mother, Renesse Stuart. I gave her the vision that God gave me and she didn’t hesitate. She immediately strapped up her boots and played the field. We are ever-evolving and improving because of her dedication to loving the community that has been deemed unloveable. She heads the Nassau branch which is expanding with every outreach event. Sunflower United’s success is owed to her kindness and meekness. I appreciate her most because of her distinct level of humility and dedication to the cause. We recently held an event in April of this year where I finally got the opportunity to watch her put the entire operation together from scratch, which inspired me. Operations of such magnitude can be tedious but she did not complain, as she just completed the tasks set before her.

Website: sunflowerunited.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/sunflowerunitedinc?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/snflr/

Image Credits
Photo Credits to Iyana Smith, Linaj Stuart, and Jaarona Stuart.