That statement rings true with Essie Weiss, North Carolina-Chapel Hill, founder of Cuddle USA, a nonprofit organization. Fraternally, she currently serves as the VP-Collegiate Relations for Richmond (VA) Alumni Chapter in Central Virginia.
“Being accepted into Deltasig as a collegian and my interaction with my brothers helped me develop my business self-image. It also helped me see myself as a leader and a businesswoman on a larger scale. And as an alumni, getting back in touch with
Deltasig has helped me build better connections, find new supporters and find new potential mentees to pour into.”
Weiss urges younger Deltasigs to contemplate the big picture when they start to envision the next step in their life’s journey.
“It's important to really think about the life that you want, not the career, not the house, but the life. If you can find someone who's living that life, seek them out as a mentor. Dream big and go for it. And lean on your Deltasig brothers to
help you connect the dots. And if anyone doesn't believe in you, it’s not because they want to see you fail, they don't understand your new path and that's completely okay.”
Before venturing into the nonprofit sector, Weiss was an avid entrepreneur and investor in her community. At 20 years old, she bought a Curves (a women’s gym) franchise. By the time she was 24, she owned six Curves gyms between North Carolina and
Virginia and by 27, she sold all of the gyms and moved into the corporate world as a marketing and project management professional at Capital One.
As Weiss entered her 30s, she was able to retire, earning passive income as she looked forward to traveling, spending time with her husband and their soon-to-be arriving bundle of joy. When Weiss’ daughter was born, she had to be in the NICU and
PICU, which is when Weiss discovered that holding their baby was important for her health and development. Upon doing some research, she discovered that many babies who have to stay in the NICU and PICU don’t have any physical interaction and it
greatly hinders their growth and development. She also discovered that with a background check and a prior health screening, she could volunteer to be a cuddler for these babies, helping them get out of the NICU faster, becoming
physically, mentally and emotionally healthier all the way through to adulthood.
Once she realized how uncommon this knowledge was, she decided she wanted to raise awareness and build a community based on improving lives. In 2020, she started Cuddle USA at Chippenham Hospital in Richmond, Virginia and hopes to eventually make the
program statewide and then national.
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her progress has been halted due to stricter hospital restrictions but she still currently has supporters in roughly 20 states who have expressed interest in helping her further her cause.
For more information on Cuddle USA, or if you would be interested in connecting with Essie to network and learn more about early retirement, you can reach her at essieweiss@gmail.com.