Charmin calls herself the “Little Engine That Could”, chanting “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can,” since founding Creative Girls Rock (CGR) in 2017 on just $100. For five years she worked two, sometimes three jobs, hustling to bring her vision of young girls and women achieving their full potential through creative arts to life.
The name “Charmin” means joy and delight—something she felt had dimmed in herself as she grinded day in and day out to build CGR. When she began to have an awareness of this dimming light, she knew it was time for extended rest.
Creative Girls Rock employs one full-time staff member (Charmin, CEO), one part-time staffer, and a handful of contractors who keep programming running. When Charmin decided to take her sabbatical over the winter months in 2024, she saw an opportunity for the entire organization to hibernate.
As she prepared for her planned absence, she crafted the “Big Book” of Creative Girls Rock that would prepare any individual with the ability to pick it up and take the programming forward. She found it to be succession planning in action, providing the opportunity for documentation of processes, training interims for task delegation, and a validation of the load of the work. While she always planned to return from her sabbatical ready to lead, the Big Book was a safety measure and insurance plan for the organization if she were to win the lottery or decide three months just wasn’t enough time off.
When she set her out of the office for sabbatical, she informed inquirers that the organization was closed for winter. No programming, no collaborations, no partnerships would be discussed during this time. Thoughtfully, she provided a form for interested partners to complete in the meantime, kindly telling them a review of their submission would occur upon the organization’s return.
While Charmin’s team is small but mighty, she intends to build in a rhythm of sabbatical, building a strong foundation of wellness for future staff members to experience as the organization enters the next phase, soon moving into a building space for the first time as a member of the Bordeaux Collaborative. Because she has created a comprehensive book of operations and programming, she says it won’t be as challenging to step away when the next season of inevitable rest comes.
“The staff felt incredibly appreciated by the intentional pause we were able to take during that season,” Charmin said. “We go very hard during the months we’re on, so having that time for rest and reflection meant a lot to the team. It gave us all a chance to reset and return reenergized for the work ahead.”
While she says she is back “in the fire” after returning from her sabbatical in February, she is holding to the growth she experienced while away. She is voicing her needs and putting herself first, finding new ways to prioritize herself among the demands of the job.
“What I learned is to make sure Charmin is taken care of,” she said.
She is setting clearer boundaries with her calendar, closing the laptop earlier to journal, and managing her time to make sure she can stick with her exercise commitments.
While she knows she may fall out of her routines from time to time, she is committed to getting back on track. She no longer thinks it is possible like she did upon founding the organization, she now knows it.
“Sabbatical strengthened my faith,” she said. “It reminds me that if I go this far, God will not allow me to fail.”
Abby Hyman is a Program Partner at The Healing Trust and manages the Sabbatical Fund at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.