Our Origin
Jacquelyn Shellow Martin
A Columbus, OH native. I graduated from Columbus East High School and attended Franklin University to pursue a bachelors degree in healthcare management. I have spent the past 17 years of my career in the medical field with numerous certifications in many different areas within the field. I began my journey to nonprofit ownership in 2019 with S.O.S (Save Our Selves) Columbus. I created this organization after a large string of missing children in my neighborhood and personal hardships led me to want to take action. My mission is to aide various disparities faced by the underserved communities and bridge the gap to well served communities. I developed youth programs, adult education literature, and a special program to help prevent premature birth. During my pregnancy in late 2017, I encountered my first experience with preterm birth. During my first trimester and into my second, there were several trips to the E.R. and Maternal Fetal Medicine unit for abnormalities while carrying. Each time I was sent home and told these things were normal. Finally, at 21 weeks gestation, I lay in the hospital on bed rest in attempt to prevent preterm birth. Several doctors came in to tell me not to have "false hope". They stated that would in fact go into labor and my child would pass. This became my reality January 1st 2018 with the birth and passing of my son Sir Charles Alexander. My second experience with preterm birth came immediately after. I gave birth to Charm E'raenelle on July 24th 2018 at 24 weeks. She was 1lb 14oz. but survived and fought through all obstacles presented to her by preterm birth. I became a published author of our story in 2020. Our first book series, Charm The Magic Mermaid, is a children's book series that educates children and families on the journey of preemie babies. I look forward to using my experiences to make a positive change.
"Sometimes, we experience problems to develop a solution" ~ J.S. Martin
