Daily Inspiration: Meet Anna Skates

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Skates.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have loved taking care of children for as long as I can remember, so I suppose it was inevitable that I would end up making that my life’s work. That passion has taken many forms over the years from teaching preschool to serving as a children’s librarian to writing curriculum for an entire children’s ministry where I was pastoring at the time. Then, in 2018, I watched the documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” chronicling the life and work of Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood). That moment was a strong turning point in my journey. The way I describe the experience of seeing that film is this: I felt like I was watching my own life play out in another body, in another time. I suddenly had a guidepost for my work and I knew the legacy I wanted to carry on was the one that Fred began decades before me. Being a public advocate for children and families was what I was always meant to do.

Will that be in the form of a show? One day, I hope so! For now, it’s kid book clubs, thoughtful and engaging pop-up experiences, hosting summer camps, and building the first fully-accessible, multi-disciplinary creative hub for kids. I have some massive dreams for the future of kids in our world and this is just the beginning.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I would say this road has been smooth in the sense that my guiding purpose has always been very clear. And in the moments where I lose sight of it, veer off the trail so-to-speak, I manage to find my way back pretty quickly.

Of course there are struggles. But frankly, those struggles are primarily internal – my own lack of self-assurance, my fears around asking for help, my assumption that by presenting an offering is somehow a massive inconvenience to a potential customer. These are things that I think, on some level, every entrepreneur deals with at some point on their journey, particularly women. Part of the work on this path is shifting that internal narrative from “I’m in the way” to “I know the way!” I’m learning to trust myself and love what I have to say and how I’m moving about the world. It changes everything.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My self-given title is “Children & Family Advocate.” Advocacy, to me, simply means to amplify. I am here to not only amplify the *voices* of kids, but to amplify their capacity and their wisdom. I am passionate about shifting the social narrative from “grownups-know-best” to “kids are powerful collaborators in building the world we all wish to see.”

Many people know me from my NFT project “Every Little Step” that launched in 2022. The project was created from my passion for providing accessibility in public spaces for kids. The project helped to fund the purchase, customization, and delivery of 60+ stepstools to local Nashville area businesses to help make their bathrooms/facilities more accessible to small children. I still, to this day, will get messages from parents whose kids were DELIGHTED to find a stepstool in a public bathroom so they could reach the sinks. So many people have said to me, “I’ve never noticed how few places provide that but now I see it everywhere.” THAT perspective shift (and the resulting JOY that it brings children to be seen and cared for in that way) is exactly why I do what I do. I’m so proud of that.

Because I see kids first, I tend to notice all the ways in which they are not served by our society. It’s a massive blindspot for us, particularly in America, and my ability to simply *see* that, much less my passion for doing something about it, I believe absolutely sets me apart from the majority. That perspective informs everything I do.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I’d list a few…

1. I get to choose. – This has been my mantra for years and it’s a solid reminder that each day, I choose how I spend my time, where I pour my energy, how I care for myself, etc. It’s incredibly empowering for me. I get to choose and each of those choices has the potential to add up to something great.

2. No one is coming to save me. – This one sounds bleak but the reality is, similar to the first sentiment, it’s up to me. If I want my current project, “The Department of Curious Things” to succeed, I have to step up and make it happen.

3. Raise your hand. – As a follow up to #2…success comes with being supported. Which means I have to “raise my hand.” People cannot know what I’m doing if I don’t tell them about it. So no – no one is coming to save me without effort on my part. And that starts with saying, “I’m here! And I have something to say!”

Pricing:

• Kid Book Club: $35
• Big Little Stories Camp: $99

Contact Info:

• Website: https://annaskates.co
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/anna_skates
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annaskatesofficial
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-skates/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@otterlykids
• Other: https://annaskates.co/curious