Frances Lawrence is a mother, a wife, and a philanthropist. Frances, along with her husband, have both been afforded the ability to customize their lives as entrepreneurs, philanthropists and stay at home parents who work with a select group of people each year to help them do the same. “To whom much is given, much is expected.” “I firmly believe that if we are blessed to have economic opportunity, then we are also blessed with the opportunity to give back,” Frances shares.
Currently, Frances is the Vice President of the Justice Project Honduras. The Justice Project Honduras, was started by Gracie and Lee Murphree, and it was the first mission trip that Frances attended at the age of 15. The profoundness of the experience forever changed her. The Justice Project fights for victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking in Honduras.
It was during her first mission that Frances truly understood how blessed she was, and she knew then that she had a tremendous responsibility to use and share her resources with those who were born into less privileged circumstances.
This was on the door of her airplane when she was returning home from her mission trip. Frances had tears in her eyes when she read these words, as they resonated so deeply. As Frances shared so poignantly, “I knew I had a responsibility to the people I had just met, and so I made a commitment at the tender age of fifteen to always do whatever I could to help the mission and its people.”
When her father passed in 2008, her family started the Frank T. Lawrence mission center, which is a part of the Justice Project, in his honor and by his request. Frances’ mom signed on as VP herself . This is very special to Frances because she is able to honor both her parents as well as the mission by serving as the current VP.
“My dad kept a bookshelf in the garage that was very special to him. The books it housed were all in the realm of personal development. I became interested in the bookshelf shortly after he passed, only to feel closer to him. I had no interest in learning anything, only to read his handwriting in the margins. However, what happened to me during the process of reading the books was a total transformation. I began to realize that if I was going to create better results in my life I had to shrink my sphere of influence to only the experts, those of whom I found on the shelf as well as others I began to seek out. That was the start of the journey that led me to be able to truly customize the life I had desired. A journey that I wanted to then be able to share with others. I realized the key to my success was not only in the authors who’s words I studied, but mostly in the mentors I sought out. This made me realize that the best gift I could pass on was the gift of mentorship…”
She was also a part of the founding team for Operation Christmas 2017. The sole purpose was to bring hope to the lives of families who are struggling and may find their holidays bleak. Together with her husband and the other founding members, they were able to raise over eighty-five thousand dollars in less than two months. They were able to provide Christmas for over 100 families.
The amount of people that Frances been able to impact either through her mentoring or her outreach, is nothing short of remarkable. She humbly quantifies success in how many people are better off because she and her husband have lived. “While we feel it okay to celebrate our accomplishments and are proud of the results we’ve created, we also know there’s a lot more work to be done, and therefore, we have a long way to go.” Her devotion is never-ending.
She shares that her motivational speaking is just a natural byproduct of the mentoring. The stage provides a wonderful platform to spread her influence to others, thus broadening the overall initiative.
I am deeply inspired by Frances’ philosophy, and how boldly and clearly she holds true to it from the inside out. “My husband and I simply believe that to whom much is given, much is expected and so we want to be a river not a reservoir and challenge our loved ones to do the same,” shares Frances. What a beautiful credo to live by. She has certainly manifested this vision into an incredibly successful organization, helping those who are so very deserving of care and opportunity.
Take a moment to follow Frances on her socials and her website.
Website: http://FrancesLawrence.com
Instagram: @francesdiana
