Feel-Good Friday: Quiana Rowe Inspires America Through Her Life and Gift-Giving to Single Moms Like Her Across the U.S.

Screenshot from Quiana Rowe's Facebook Video. (Credit: Quiana Rowe/Facebook)
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Quiana Rowe is a single mom of five, ranging in age from 16 to 22. She’s also a grandmother. In 2019, she started a blog called, “Imperfect Me,” and she seeks to inspire others by simply keeping it real about her life and struggles. Rowe also runs a Facebook page called, “Life After Heartbreak,” where she encourages those who are walking, or have walked through that path.

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In one of her 2019 “Imperfect Me” blog posts, Why am I honest about my past??? she shared where she was 10 years prior to this (when she was 27 and newly single).

A single mom 5 kids, at the time they told me I made $130 too much for food stamps. $130 seriously? Said if I quit my “job” because at the time I only made $38,500 a year…..instead of her saying my career I still remember the woman telling me my job. She specifically said if I quit my job she could help me get section 8, food stamps, and child care. I remember walking away devastated. Thinking to myself all I need is some help with food, that’s it. I had begged and borrowed from just about everyone I knew. Yet I knew I couldn’t give up.

While having never been a single mom, when we were caught up in the mess that was 2008, including me losing a high-paying job and my husband falling ill and out on disability, I remember seeking out assistance, specifically for just food. We scraped together for everything else, but we needed to eat and were having difficulty doing so. At $35,000 a year in Los Angeles, we were barely scraping by. But as a couple with no children, according to the California welfare standards, we earned too much to qualify for SNAP benefits. Shows how the government has no desire to help or uplift people, they just want you begging and dependent on them for everything. Like Rowe, we didn’t give up, and like her, we are now doing much better.

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How much better is Rowe doing? So well. And her journey thus far is the worthy subject of this week’s Feel-Good Friday.

While Walmart has fallen far from their conservative roots of late, I still know of several people who credit the company for being able to maintain their families and build a career. Walmart was an integral part of Rowe’s journey. She started there in December 2007 and has now been there for 15 years, and been promoted FOUR times within that period. Rowe’s current role is as a “Complex Market Manager” and Senior Director, overseeing eight Walmart locations.

Rowe talks about this journey on her Facebook page:

15 years ago today I started with Walmart. I came to Walmart looking for a part time “job” and it turned into an amazing career! A single mother of 5 children working her way up in corporate America (and my story is just one of the many amazing stories out there) Every single day I am humbled and thankful to be where I am at in life, I don’t take a second of it for granted. Don’t ever let someone tell you what you “can’t do” don’t ever stop pushing forward even when it’s hard, most importantly know that failures happen, one can’t be successful without them.

Quiana Rowe’s formula for success, even in the midst of failure?

“Hard work. I never quit learning,” Quiana told New Orleans local station WGNO.

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Rowe’s perseverance and growth in her career are reflective of who she is as an individual and the way she insists on helping others through their own journeys.

One of the things Rowe does is to give gifts to single mothers. All they have to do is reach out to her through her Facebook page.

Because of this, WGNO featured her for their Feel-Good Friday segment in early January.

[Quiana Rowe is the] single mom who knows how single moms always get left out. Every holiday. Every day. Everywhere.

So “Q” decided to pay it forward. She gives gifts to single moms across America who reach out to her on her Facebook page. They are complete strangers from Kansas to Texas. Every gift comes with a life lesson. It’s her favorite phrase. Her words of wisdom.

“Q” says, “you can do this!”

The old adage, “cream rises to the top,” holds true for this champion, warrior, and inspirational human. Through that WGNO segment, News Nation reached out to Rowe to feature her on their “True American Hero” segment. Followed by another feature in The Week.

Quiana “Q” Rowe knows that single moms often go without to ensure their kids have what they need. Rowe, herself a single mother of five, oversees eight Walmart stores in New Orleans, and one day at work came up with an idea: What if she could connect with other single moms and brighten their day with a special present? It was time that they were put first, since “they don’t mind not having gifts,” Rowe told WGNO. “It’s about their children.” She went on her Facebook page and invited friends to nominate single moms for these gifts. Soon, Rowe was purchasing presents for women in Louisiana, Kansas, and Texas, which they picked up from their local Walmarts.

“Being able to do this is not something I would have thought of 15 years ago,” Rowe said. “Being able to gift the mothers, it’s tears from me and tears of gratitude from them.”

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After experiencing yet another difficult week, researching Rowe’s story has put a smile on my face and personally enriched me. Now, instead of limping under the weight of my own circumstances, I am borrowing Rowe’s tagline: “I can do this!” Just watching the video of Rowe at work, reading her powerful and motivational posts on Facebook, and reading her blog and gaining insight into her own personal journey has brought me joy, infused me with hope, and reminded me of just how far I have come. Rowe is not only a reflection of the American Dream, but she is a reflection of what you can accomplish through perseverance, hard work, and the belief that nothing is impossible, and anything is possible if you just keep moving forward and don’t give up.

Rowe is also a beautiful reflection of an attitude of gratitude. It shines through her face and her eyes, and is embodied in her desire to give back—whether it be through her motivational posts, her inspirational sharing of her life, or the tangible gifts she gives to women she does not even know.

Thank you, Q, for being a leader, an example to people everywhere, and a truly glorious human being.

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