Believing in the beauty and bravery of everyone.
Bellamy Shoffner (they/them) is a writer focusing on social equity and complex issues of parenthood and existence across intersections. Bellamy aims to spark conversations among adults that enable positive changes now and for the next generation. The foundation of this work is a deeply held belief in the worthiness of all humans to have a life that is beautiful and bold.
As a personal essayist, Bellamy specializes in true stories that confront and expand upon the complexity of human emotions. Bellamy is a Black, queer, single parent with MS, all of which make them an emphatic truth teller about society’s failures and tools of oppression. When not writing or creating, Bellamy can be found seeking both literal and figurative sunshine at the community garden or local pool.
Bellamy’s work can be seen in publications such as HuffPost, Narratively, The Establishment, and Scary Mommy, as well as in interviews with NPR’s With Good Reason, CBC’s Out In The Open, and Charlottesville, Virginia’s local print and TV news. Bellamy joins inspirational change makers quoted in the coffee table book Words of Change: Antiracism by Kenrya Rankin. Bellamy has also orchestrated numerous community movements and mutual aid efforts including a successful fresh foods drive, retreats, and fundraising for notable causes.
For Fun.
I enjoy learning from others and teaching myself new skills. I designed this logo a couple of years back using Adobe Illustrator and no AI. I wasn’t quite sure where or how to use it until now, but I think it fits the current mission perfectly. A little bit of writing, a little bit of art and a whole lot of peace and love.
Art of All Kinds
Swimming Upstream
I’m not on social media much (I have TikTok) because I have a real disdain for the way it sucks up time and energy. While it makes life harder in some ways I feel more true to myself without quite so much input from algorithms designed by corrupt people. Catch me in the real world or at one of our meet-ups!
It’s Growing Great
Gardening is my current favorite hobby, having set up a new space at the community garden we are trying to grow potatoes (slightly out of season), jalapenos, bell peppers, tomatoes, fennel, and probably some things I am forgetting.
We hope to grow peas, honeynut squash, and enough food to help some other families.