Meet Ms. Tamiko Aikens, Executive Director of W.I.N.

Ms. Tamiko Aikens is a native South Carolinian, who relocated to Central Florida in 2004. She attended Voorhees College and has a degree in Business Administration, and she is a graduate of Hampton University, with an advanced degree in Community Agency Counseling. With a zeal for knowledge, she is currently enrolled in a MBA program at Strayer University in Orlando, Florida.

On March 21, 2004, Ms. Aikens began to read the book “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren. Ms. Aikens asked herself “What on Earth Am I Here For” and that was when She set out on a quest to find her true passion and calling in life.

Soon after relocating to Central Florida, a series of life events lead Ms. Aikens to her true purpose in life, to help children. After discussing her plans with several friends and colleagues, Ms. Aikens decided to open a group home for young girls.

Ms. Aikens found much joy in the thought of opening a group home for girls. As a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, where she is a loyal, dedicated member and current Vice President of her local chapter, she believes in friendship among women and the ever lasting equality of women.

In the winter of 2007, Ms. Aikens’ dream finally became a reality. She opened her first girls’ group home, nestled in the quiet town of Leesburg, Florida.

“At W.I.N. FOR KIDS, INC. we take a simple approach. We have a vision to guide our children into a state of realization in order that they may have the ability to talk through and manage tough situations rather than act them out. Our goals are:

• To steer our children’s focus from their past circumstances or events to their current state and potential (forward thinking).
  
  
• To allow children to experience self-actualization and a sense of personal growth along with accomplishments in order to give them perspective in their lives.
  
  
• To inspire children and have unconditional positive regard to what actions they choose to pursue as opposed to direct them into a specific thought process.
  
  

It is our hope that with empathetic understanding, listening and mirroring, our children will explore and understand their feelings for themselves. At that very moment, our children should be able to decide what type of changes they would like to make and strive to achieve personal growth. And we will be there to provide them with support and guidance on how to make that happen.”