Heather Sharp is the founder of Forces Wives Challenge, a community of military wives who discover their unlimited potential through challenges worldwide. Heather and I met through The Portfolio Collective, a community looking to help independent professionals build rewarding and lucrative careers. We have been in touch since we first spoke in an online breakout session. I am amazed by Heather's relentless commitment to her cause and community, as I think you will be too.
Having served a decade in the British Army, starting in 2004, Heather left the regular forces in 2014 to take care of her young children. With both Heather and her partner spending virtually their entire careers in the army, the transition to civilian life was odd. Heather always loved the adventure that came with being in the military - the travel, the challenge of pushing physical boundaries, and most of all, the kinship, and she wasn't sure she could even make any regular friends. However, what Heather found was anything but regular. Leaving the regular forces also gave Heather the experience of interacting with a group of people she'd never considered before - army wives.
Now one herself, Heather found herself drawn to and inspired by the women who sacrifice so much to the armed forces, silently holding the fort while their partners serve in unknown and often dangerous locations. In 2017, having mulled over ways to give back to this community of people that she had grown to love and admire, Heather had an idea and founded Forces Wives Challenge. In 2019, this group of military wives trekked to the summit of Ojos del Salado in Chile, which at 6893m, is the world's highest volcano. The expedition raised money for The Royal British Legion, a charity that provides financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants.
FWC's motto - "Together, We Can Achieve Anything" - encapsulates Heather's worldview, built on community, grit, ambition, empathy, and achievement. This episode is Heather's story and her vision for getting Maximum.
To know more about the Forces Wives Challenge, head over to the website: www.forceswiveschallenge.org. You can also get in touch on Facebook or Instagram. For collaboration opportunities, funding, and sponsorships, email heather@forceswiveschallenge.org.
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