Two years ago, in a large gymnasium bustling with youth groups, families, and organizations from across Chicago, CAWC met an astonishing young woman commanding the room with her music and dreaming of changing the world. The young woman was Ijeoma Conley, and that day, she and CAWC struck a new partnership that would later blossom into an inspiring tale.
Now, 14 years old and chasing her goals, Ijeoma is working on a project called Ije Cares where she dedicates her time and resources to help vulnerable children and underprivileged communities across the world. CAWC is a fortunate partner in Ijeoma’s initiatives, and our team had the opportunity to sit down with her to learn more about what compelled her to give back to CAWC and those in need.
Let us tell you the story.
How it started
In January of 2023, CAWC’s Executive Director at the time, Stephanie Love-Patterson, attended the Obama Foundation and Honeycomb Project’s service event honoring the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Both organizations gathered volunteers from across the city to thoughtfully support local communities in need. CAWC was among the partnered agencies benefiting from the project, set to receive carefully designed aromatherapy kits for the residents at Greenhouse Shelter, a haven for victims and survivors of abuse. Little did we know we would walk away with an overwhelmingly generous donation… and much, much more.
As Stephanie made her rounds socializing throughout the gym, she finally came across the DJ booth where 11-year-old Ijeoma Conley, professionally known as DJ Ije, was mixing tracks to motivate everyone’s goodwill. Ijeoma’s bright young face bobbed to the beat, smiling back at Stephanie from behind the booth. Astonished, Stephanie got to talking with Ijeoma’s family, raving about the skill she had accomplished at such a young age. Then and there, Stephanie asked Ijeoma’s mother, Chinyere, to exchange information, thinking that she just found the best DJ for CAWC’s 2023 Sounds of Silence gala.
When asked about how her Ije Cares project began, Ijeoma recalls this time because it was the month between holiday break and her 12th birthday in February. After enjoying Christmas and New Year celebrations, Ijeoma returned to school and began learning about Nigeria in social studies class. This segment had struck home; her family was still mourning the passing of her grandfather, someone who rooted her family to their Nigerian background and always made Ijeoma feel special.
During social studies, she met the lessons with undying curiosity, overflowing with questions and desiring to know more. As she dove deeper into Nigerian history and culture and learned more about herself, exciting ideas sprung up in her mind.
Ije Cares’ first project
After sharing with her teacher that she and her family are from Nigeria, Miss Klein offered an opportunity to video call a classroom in Abagana, Nigeria. Of course, that offer was met with bold enthusiasm from Ijeoma. Soon enough, she had a scheduled video call with children living in her family’s homeland.
On the call, Ijeoma learned more about her family’s home and culture, but one of the most pressing takeaways from their conversation was the state of the classroom the Nigerian students used every day. Even well after they hung up the video call and she returned to the daily classroom activities, Ijeoma found herself asking “why doesn’t their classroom look like my classroom?” While she took advantage of expensive smart boards, desks, and chairs, her counterparts were taught valuable lessons inside a tent with a chalkboard and desks and chairs built from logs. She could not stop thinking about it, and she could not stop noticing the many ways in which she was incredibly fortunate.
In preparation for her birthday celebrations, as she considered what she might want for presents, Ijeoma realized that she did not know what to ask for. She had clothes with tags still on them and toys still waiting for her to open them from Christmastime.
That moment is when inspiration hit: “how can I flip my birthday around to help other people?”
And her backwards birthday fundraisers were born.
For the past few years, Ijeoma has been utilizing her birthday as a medium to give back to her communities, and for this first backwards birthday, she dedicated her special day to upgrading the classroom supplies for the children in Abagana, Nigeria. At her 12th backwards birthday party, Ijeoma collected donations from her friends and family instead of presents. The combined generosity from her community allowed the Ije Cares Foundation to provide Abagana’s classroom with all new desks, chairs, and a collection of snacks, shoes, glasses, and more.
But her international impact does not stop there – down the line, Ijeoma was also able to provide a large care package to an orphanage in Nigeria and build a borehole to provide the Abagana community with clean water. An “Ije Cares – Abagana” sign sits proudly above the borehole, showcasing that a little heart can go a long way.
Ije Cares supporting CAWC
Later that year in October, DJ Ije joined CAWC for our annual fundraising event, Sounds of Silence. After the event program, DJ Ije readied CAWC’s community to bust a move and celebrate the impact they accomplished together that night. The energy in the room made it clear – there was no doubt that CAWC wanted Ijeoma to return as the DJ in 2024.
A year later, on the night of November 1st, 2024, Ijeoma attended Sounds of Silence 2024. She sat at her assigned table as a CAWC survivor was welcomed on stage to share her story. The survivor went on to tell the events of escaping abuse with her family as a child and arriving at CAWC’s Greenhouse Shelter with as much as they could bring.
As Ijeoma listened to the CAWC survivor recount her experiences, she felt a spark of inspiration much like she did for the children in Abagana, Nigeria. “What can I do to make the children at Greenhouse Shelter more comfortable?” This memory, this moment, called Ijeoma to select CAWC as her first local nonprofit partner to support through Ije Cares.
Months later, on this past Valentine’s Day and the eve of her 14th birthday, Ijeoma found herself sitting at CAWC’s conference room table, walking us through her remarkable story and delivering a $1,000 check. She raised the funds through candy sales and donations collected at her 14th backwards birthday party.
When telling CAWC what her intentions are with the funds, she noted that children are a primary focus for her foundation and told us, “I want the kids at Greenhouse to be able to have journals so they can express their feelings, suitcases, comfy pajamas, journals, blankets and pillows… and anything else that would make them feel comfortable since they are coming into an environment that they’re not used to.”
Ijeoma’s donation came paired with a generous collection of “Stuff n’ Fluff” kits from her mother Chinyere’s business Me and My Bears, allowing the children at Greenhouse to build their own stuffed animals.
The future of Ijeoma Conley and Ije Cares
No matter how remarkable Ijeoma’s accomplishments are, her mother Chinyere wants people to understand that “[Ijeoma is] not an extraordinary child; she’s an ordinary kid doing a few extraordinary things… She’s just a normal teenager with a good heart.”
Ijeoma is a C+ student; she plays basketball, volleyball, and softball; she wakes up anywhere between the hours of at 6 and 7 AM on good days, but 8 AM on slow days (even though school starts at 8:30 AM). On her “free” nights, she works as DJ Ije at various events and hangs out with her friends. Though she may be a hard girl to pin down, she lives a relatively ordinary life. But her goals reach high…
When asked about her plans for her future and the future of Ije Cares, Ijeoma was quick to answer. “I want to be in the WNBA and have a house in Nigeria. If it’s getting cold here, I can take a quick trip and stay there.” And like her WNBA role model, A’ja Wilson, she plans to continue making a difference in her communities. “I would love to make [Ije Cares] worldwide. I want to have locations across the world so people can go there and get the help they need.”
In preparation for future projects and to spread the spirit of compassion, Ijeoma just released her first book titled “Ijeoma and the Magic of Giving,” available for purchase on Amazon. The book tells the tale of Ijeoma’s dedication to support her community and instills the importance of giving back. Each book purchase supports the Ije Cares Foundation and goes to providing resources for underserved communities.
After wrapping up the interview and taking a few photos to commemorate the moment, CAWC sent Ijeoma off to accomplish her weekend itinerary: DJ at a local middle school masquerade party, join her friends’ Valentine’s Day party later that evening, and then celebrate her 14th birthday the following day.
CAWC is astonished by Ijeoma and incredibly fortunate to partner with the Ije Cares Foundation. Together, with unwavering dedication, we will make a lasting difference in child survivors’ lives as they build their futures. Thank you, Ijeoma and family, for joining us on our journey to end domestic violence. The world awaits you!