Longboat resident starts nonprofit to support women

When Longboat resident Michele De Luce became a widow, it was hard to take care of her children, manage finances and go through everyday life. 

Through this experience, she realized how unprepared people are in hardships such as these. 

De Luce thought to herself, “If people educate themselves in advance, could they prepare for these situations?” 

Courtesy image

Using her experience, De Luce created a nonprofit to focus on equipping individuals with free education and support for unexpected life challenges. 

Celebrate Her Wisdom hopes to create a community that is open to talking about different situations and preparing themselves to find emotional strength, physical well-being and financial security during hard times. Celebrate Her Wisdom will soft launch in June. 

The main point of education for the nonprofit will be the unpreparedness gap, De Luce said. This concept touches on how people are not ready to handle unexpected events, both positive and challenging. Celebrate Her Wisdom will help prepare people to navigate life’s transitions with greater resilience.

Celebrate Her Wisdom will also focus on the national “Power to Protect” conversation. De Luce hopes to start a community of women that will provide empowerment and support in their lives to be able to take charge during unexpected events. 

Celebrate Her Wisdom’s first steps include getting the word out to cultivate a community of women with similar experiences, De Luce said. It will also be implementing a fundraising challenge to build momentum for future events and projects. 

Along with launching the nonprofit, De Luce is planning to release a novel, “Angels and Intuition.” 

The book will follow the protagonist Morgan in a story of romance that highlights “life’s seismic ups and downs" and how to navigate through tough challenges. 

Shark Tank investor and businesswoman Barbara Corcoran endorsed the book. Corcoran said in a quote in the book that she thought it was a powerful story and thought De Luce's mission would help many women.

De Luce said that the book will be a catalyst for her nonprofit as the perfect introduction to the mission. The first chapter is available for free on her website. 

“We believe that knowledge is power,” said De Luce. “We’re here to equip you with the tools and resources you need to face the future with confidence.”

Correction: This story has been updated to clarify the current state of De Luce's book and that Celebrate Her Wisdom educates all women for life challenges.