CHARLESTON, SC — For some, just being a kid can be a real challenge. Self-esteem can be hard to come by for children and a million different voices are telling them how to act, when to clean, how to do things, what not to say, and how they should voice their opinions instead.
Learning and growing as a child is something we all go through, but for Sherrika Myers, who grew up with a stutter, those critical voices hit her self-esteem especially hard.
"When I was in school, I used to get in trouble and people never knew exactly why. And simply, it was because I didn't want people to know that I stuttered as bad as I did," Myers said.
She said everything changed after struggling to deliver the morning announcements at school one day. That's when a teacher encouraged her to begin reading out loud to herself every day to work on overcoming her stutter.
Myers was grateful her children did not face the same challenges she did as a child, but she noticed her grandson's struggle and decided she needed to do something.
She went back to school and founded the nonprofit Every 1 Voice Matters to help children access valuable resources she wished she had as a child, and that's when Lil Herbie was born.
"The character is based off the child that I carried with me for so long and I just decided to birth him," Myers said about the star of her children's book series. "I named him Little Herbie because my grandson is the one who actually inspired me to step out of the shell that I actually been in for over 30 years and actually be able to become the best version of myself."
The Lil Herbie affirmation doll is loaded with positive affirmations to help young Black and brown children learn to see and say nice things about themselves. It's now available just in time for Black History Month.
Sherrika Myers hopes Lil Herbie can make a difference in the lives of young children across the country.