CLEVELAND — We are so happy to have Danita Harris with us here at WKYC as part of the GO! morning show.
She officially joined us on the air Monday for a very busy day with the total solar eclipse and Cleveland Guardians home opener, but now we’re getting the opportunity to learn more about her mission to help people within our community.
“I love Northeast Ohio,” Harris said Tuesday morning. “I love the people here in Northeast Ohio, and I love the opportunity to help them. In fact, that is the very heart of the organization I founded -- S.H.I.N.E.”
She said S.H.I.N.E. was started out of a dark time in her life.
“It’s kind of interesting that something so bright and so good could come out the experience I was going through.”
The organization’s mission?
To help women visualize and achieve personal and spiritual goals by giving them information that will inspire them to overcome life’s challenges, position them for success and empower them to discover their divine purpose.
“Giving them empowering messages to help them get on with their lives, and giving them the tools as far as financial literacy, nutrition, those types of things,” Harris explains. “Women say they love S.H.I.N.E. I get as much back from the women as I give to the women. It really helped me to come up, it helped me to find my light and to keep my light shining.”
The organization then started to expand.
“My son said to me, ‘Mommy, what you do for women, you need to do for girls.’ S.H.I.N.E. Girlz was born.”
In October of 2018, Harris says their pilot program was at the Dike School of the Arts in Cleveland.
“We adopt one school for an entire year,” she explains. “We have our own curriculum. I have a team of women that help me mentor 4th through 8th grade girls.”
From there, S.H.I.N.E. grew again -- this time with a focus on boys. That’s when Harris gave former Cleveland Browns player Josh Cribbs a call.
“I said, ‘Hey, Josh. Can you come do an assembly for these boys and talk some sense into them on how to behave?' He says, ‘Yes. I will come.’ Just watching how great Josh is with the boys, but also how the boys are responding and listening to Josh.”
Then, in April of 2023, Harris launched S.H.I.N.E. Men of Integrity.
“Such a good feeling to see men from Northeast Ohio, the diversity of it. Coming together in a positive fashion -- and they just have a great time.”
She said that S.H.I.N.E. gives her a good feeling to know that she’s creating a legacy that’s helping people in Northeast Ohio.
“What I love is there’s sisterhood and there’s brotherhood. That is what it’s all about.”