FORT SMITH, Arkansas — 10 extraordinary women who volunteer with tremendous accomplishment are chosen to receive the L'Oreal Paris Women of Worth Award each year, and in Dec. 2017, Charolette Tidwell of Fort Smith was one of the women selected.
Now in addition to selecting 10 extraordinary women who volunteer with tremendous accomplishment, each year LOreal Paris selects one woman out of all the Women of Worth recipients who went on to greater achievement to honor with the L'Oreal Paris Karen T. Fondu Impact Award.
In its third year, L'Oreal Paris has chosen to give this award to Charolette Tidwell and her organization, Antioch for Youth & Family, for demonstrating extraordinary success in the time since she was named a Women of Worth Honoree in 2017.
L'Oréal Paris awarded Charolette with the award for her tireless work in combating her hometown's hunger crisis.
Emphasizing family nutrition, mentorship for at-risk youth and elderly care, Tidwell's organization provides resources to more than 25,000 people in need each month, with enough food to prepare more than 900,000 meals annually.
Amid the COVID-19 health crisis, she pivoted to address community needs by partnering with local law enforcement in a positive way to combat domestic abuse when food insecurity was detected in the home.
Since becoming a Women of Worth Honoree in 2017, Tidwell spearheaded the development of a community garden to source fresh produce and her coalition with local leaders focuses on the trauma and consequences caused by poverty and food insecurity.
Her timely and important work continues to uplift her community and elevate the worth of those around her.
Charolette is responsible for exponential growth in the number of people she provides food assistance, has adapted her process in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, partnered with the Fort Smith Police Department to stem domestic disturbances where food insecurity is an issue and contributed to a building a coalition to create a trauma-informed care community.
This distinction comes with a $10,000 award to Antioch for Youth and Family to continue in its fight to create a Hunger-Free Fort Smith.
If you would like to congratulate Charolette personally, she may be reached at (479) 249-2310.