Fueled by faith

Nonprofit executive gives thanks for opportunity to bolster the community

LaRita Barber loves her life. Not because she is without worry or trouble, but because she feels she is exactly where she’s supposed to be.

“I have had a wonderful professional journey and been afforded some awesome opportunities,” she says. “I am just so grateful each day and I wake up thanking God for blessing me and placing me where I can use my gifts and make a difference.”

Barber, Goodwill Industries’ senior vice president of community engagement, sees a pattern here, each opportunity paving the way for the next. She never knows where she’s headed, but she follows in faith.

“The theme that runs through what I’ve done is community service,” Barber says. “And how do you find a way to make contributions to the community for the greatest good?”

Barber joined Goodwill five years ago as vice president of development, and her primary role was to raise money. Prior to that, she volunteered with the organization and served on its board of directors while working with UNC-Charlotte’s Urban Institute after earning her master’s degree in public administration there.

During her tenure at UNCC, where she served as Urban Institute senior associate director, and later as senior vice president of community relations for Bobcats Sports and Entertainment, Barber learned how to make community connections and to raise funds. She became an expert in her field, specializing in facilitating strategic planning efforts and interacting with government, nonprofit and corporate officials to assess the community's needs and help meet them.

Barber also served as vice president of Small Business and Area Councils for the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.

When her path led her to Goodwill, she enthusiastically “answered the call.”

“I knew I wanted to do something that mattered,” she says. “I wanted to take the skills, expertise and experience I’ve had to do good. I chose Goodwill by design.”

Devastating loss and a deliberate reassessment of life

Once dreaming of a career in television, Barber majored in communications at the University of North Carolina. But during her senior year in Chapel Hill, just months after marrying her college sweetheart, tragedy caused her to reassess her plans after her husband was killed in a car crash.

She was devastated but knew that she had to regroup, refocus and rebuild.

“I wasn’t quite ready to plunge into what I thought I had gone to school for,” she says. “So I came home to Charlotte, and in graduate school I found what my passions were and ... developed the foundation for a lot of what I’ve done in my life.”

Goodwill allows her to combine all those passions – politics, service to the community, connecting with and engaging people – to help people.

As a social enterprise, Barber says, Goodwill isn’t forced to live and die by grants and donations, though they are needed and appreciated. This model allows her to focus on community relations as well as fundraising and, on a more personal level, assist the individuals who turn to the agency for help.

Many clients, she says, are in dire need and face significant barriers to employment and, generally, success. The fascinating part for her is watching the transformation: seeing people shift their thinking about themselves, assess their values and determine just what they want to accomplish in life.

‘My work … fills me up, gives me joy’

“Through my work I am reminded how my life is enriched and my blessings continue to flow when I am working to be of service to others,” Barber says. “It fills me up, gives me joy and makes me grateful.”

Despite being a self-described workaholic, Barber is deliberate in her efforts to balance work and family life. She has remarried and describes Sam, her husband of 23 years, as her “best friend and biggest fan.” The couple have two teenage sons and if Barber’s life and work have taught her anything, it’s to take nothing for granted.

The recent unexpected passing of her mother – whom she calls her “angel” – underscores that philosophy.

“Be mindful of what’s important. In the blink of an eye, things can change and people you love aren’t here anymore. Love them while they’re here.”