Episode 129 · January 30, 2024
Make this year Epic with Shelly Weaver
with Shelly Weaver, Founder, EPIS Sports Experience
38 min
Make this year Epic with Shelly Weaver
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In this episode
In this episode I sit down with Shelly Weaver, the founder of EPIS Sports Experience, and honestly, you're going to walk away fired up. EPIS — the Greek word for "epic" — is a 100% volunteer-run nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of youth in grades seven through 12 across Oklahoma. What started as a sports camp has grown into so much more: a life camp that teaches kids how to face adversity, build confidence, and know they belong. Shelly felt led to start this, and even when person after person told her it couldn't be done, she kept going. I love that.
We talk about how she keeps camp at just $99 — covering the training, the dorms, and the meals — and how EPIS sponsors any child who can't afford it (44% of kids last year). We get into the pro athletes and life coaches who pour into these kids, the mental toughness and drug prevention curriculum, the shoes program, and a brand-new youth crisis chat line launching on their website. This isn't a one-week-a-summer thing — it's 365 days a year.
And if you've ever had a nonprofit dream on your heart, stick around to the end. Shelly shares real, practical advice on the business side, protecting your vision, and learning to let the no's propel you instead of stop you. This is Shelly using her God-given gifts and talents to serve, and I think it'll encourage you to step into yours.
Key takeaways
- EPIS keeps its week-long, top-tier sports camp at just $99 — a price that covers training, dorms, and meals — and sponsors any child in need (44% of kids were fully sponsored last year).
- Boldness grows the more you step outside your comfort zone. Shelly heard "this will never work" over and over, and let every no propel her instead of stop her.
- EPIS is a life camp, not just a sports camp — kids get life coaches, mental toughness classes, and drug and alcohol prevention taught by pro athletes who share their own real stories.
- Kids receive the same message better from a pro athlete or mentor than from their own parents — strong mentors are more crucial now than ever, especially with rising youth mental health struggles.
- EPIS is expanding beyond the summer: a new youth crisis chat line launching on their website, a shoe program that has given away 112 pairs of athletic shoes, and a new Ag Camp for FFA and agriculture kids.
- If you're thinking about starting a nonprofit, remember there's a business side too — invest in business and marketing skills, start slow, and get your feet under you before building a full staff.
- Protect your vision from the start: pray over and legally protect your nonprofit's name and trademark early, because you never know how big something will grow.
Chapters
- 00:00Boldness grows outside your comfort zone
- 00:40Meet Shelly Weaver and what EPIS is
- 03:00Feeling led to start EPIS despite the naysayers
- 06:30Keeping camp at $99 and leveling the playing field
- 10:00The pro athletes, coaches, and top-tier programming
- 13:00Life coaches, mental toughness, and drug prevention
- 15:00The new youth crisis chat line and strong mentors
- 18:00A story of one boy's transformation
- 21:00The EPIS Gala at Southern Hills and where the money goes
- 24:00Ways to volunteer and get involved
- 27:00What's next: the Ag Camp and bigger dreams
- 29:00Sponsor break: BrainCode Centers
- 30:30Shelly's advice for starting a nonprofit
- 34:00Growth and a servant's heart for 2024
“I think boldness comes. The more we're outside of our comfort zone, the stronger we become.”
“Are you gonna be a flicker of light in this world, or are you gonna be a flame? For me, I don't wanna be a flicker.”
“If you get your feelings hurt easily, you don't need to be a nonprofit. You've got to be that strong person that can take the no's and let it just propel you.”
“It's three hundred and sixty-five days a year. It's not one week in the summer. It's just not a sports camp.”
Resources mentioned
About Shelly
Founder, EPIS Sports Experience
Shelly Weaver is the founder of EPIS Sports Experience, a 100% volunteer-run nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of youth in grades 7-12 across Oklahoma. A former professional barrel racer with an accounting background, she built EPIS from a sports camp into a year-round youth outreach that provides top-tier training, life coaching, mentorship, and crisis support — keeping camp affordable at $99 and sponsoring any child in need.
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