Tam’ra Powell invited Jayme Lamm, the “new kid” in the Marketing Department at their Houston Hospital, to lunch on her first day at the office.  After that fateful 60 minutes, Tam’ra bought a domain name, Jayme started writing copy and Charity Chicks Houston was hatched. Now 2 years later, these polar opposites have rounded up a slew of chicks (and even some guys) to do charitable work for several non-profits around Houston.

How do you describe your work? “Tam’ra and I have full time jobs and this is something we do on the side and a lot of people don’t know that.  It really is a full time job.  It’s a big responsibility.  Tam’ra and I don’t hand off anything.  We try to keep everything top notch.  It’s a volunteer part time group that takes 50 hours a week on behalf of both of us.  We’re extremely grateful to start this group and the great people we’ve met along the way.”

What three adjectives best describe you? “Unrefined, creative and probably, sarcastic, to a fault.”

Cats, dogs, birds … describe your pets? “I have a dog who is a peacock Chihuahua and he weighs 23 pounds.  I think he’s half Daschund.  He’s got these huge Chihuahua ears and his belly literally drags on the ground.  But he’s my boo.  He knows when to cuddle.”

Favorite season? “SummerTime.”

Name a city you’d love to visit.  Why? “I’d love to visit Seattle.  For some reason I have this weird feeling that I could be so creative in that city, sitting in a coffee shop, writing.”

What’s the best thing about being single? “You know I have to say that the best is that I can do what I want when I want.  Everything that is on my calendar is everything that I want to do, things that interest me.  If I want to go on vacation I can do it.  If I want to pick up and move, I can do it.  I think the other part about being single at 28 is that I feel like I’m actually the person I’m supposed to be at this age and comfortable with it.  I think for the first time in my life, I know myself and love myself.  It’s so cliché but this is the first time I’ve ever loved myself or been proud of myself.”

Describe your ideal “Girls’ Night Out.” “I love getting dressed up, so any time I can wear a cute dress and heels, I just love it.  I’m a camera queen.  I love taking pictures. Just having a good dinner at a cute little restaurant, or wine bar and having girl talk.”

What’s the nicest thing a friend (or friends) have done for you? “Is that a bad thing that I have to think about that one?  I don’t think there is one thing or one friend that jumps out at me because most of my good friends just say and do nice things daily.  I love being a freelance writer and to have a friend comment on my work, it means they value my opinion and my skills. You never get tired of compliments.  It seems my friends tend to give me a pat on the back when I need it most.”

What do you do for “Jayme” time? “One of the reasons I started doing charity chicks and freelance writing is that it is the stuff I enjoy.  To me, planning events is a hobby.  Right now, I’m putting together an 80s roller event to fight teen domestic violence.  I firmly believe you’re bred at a young age as to how you’re going to let guys treat you.  That’s a personal story for me.  I love the 80s and it’s an event I’m having fun with and that is Jayme time.”

What’s the best advice you ever received? “I’ve received a lot of advice and nothing really stands out.”

What quality do you admire most in a man? “I kind of have three.  The first would be a sense of humor.  Life gets boring so to have a guy that can have a good time. I have a pretty wacked out sense of humor.  That’s one.  Two, someone that is patient because I’m always on the go and that’s important and I guess athleticism. A guy who can keep up and have fun outdoors is something I really admire.”

What quality do you admire most in a woman? “I would have to say confidence.  I mean in today’s society, I feel like it’s so hard to be confident about anything you do, what you wear, what career path you choose.  You don’t see it very often so when you do see a confident woman, you’re drawn to them.  That has a lot to do with my mother.  She is a very confident woman.  It’s inspiring.”

Who are your real life heroes? “Definitely my mom.  She was a single mom.  When I was little she was working three jobs.  Even at the age of 2 and 4, I was not an easy child.  She struggled.  It wasn’t easy. To see pictures of how she lived when I was a baby.  It’s amazing to see where she’s come. She’s an entrepreneur,  a go getter, everyone’s best friend.  She’s got that `you go girl’ mentality.  She’s always encouraging people.  She doesn’t use her struggle as a crutch.  She fell in love with the only dad I’ve ever know when I was 4.  Maybe that’s why I’m still single.  I know what a good relationship looks like.  She really is a role model and anyone who has gone through that much, they can’t help but be someone’s hero.”

What is your guilty pleasure? “(laughs) Cheeseburgers and cupcake.  I work out every day but it is only to eat cheeseburgers and cupcakes.  I gave up cheeseburgers once for lent – I’m not even Catholic – and it was one of the worst months of my life.”

What is your biggest fear? “I am terrified of stairs.  I fell down them twice…once was about 6 years ago and I fractured my neck and broke my nose and the other time was Dec. of 08.  I was walking down wooden stairs (in a cast because I had a broken leg!!) and I fell down 3 stairs and ended up in trauma for weeks with brain swelling and a fractured elbow and multiple fingers.  I am a bit of a clumsy one, but stairs are my nemesis!”

If you could change one thing in your past, what would it be? “I like that question because when people say, I would never change anything, I don’t believe it.  Every one of us would change a million things.  In high school I held back a lot.  I really wasn’t myself.  Again, that might surprise a tonne of people I knew because they probably thought I was out there and knew who I was.  I would change that.  Now I’m very outgoing.  I am who I am and I’m proud of it.  If I could change anything, I would have been myself.  I spent so many years being afraid of who I was or who I might be.  Maybe I would have been happier 5 years earlier.”

Other than your own talents, what talent would you most like to have? “I always want to learn new things.  Though my mom was the best role model, the woman could not cook at all and she passed that down to me.  Every time I look at recipes, I’ve never heard of half the ingredients.  You tell me to bake and I think it means fry.  I am definitely not a kitchen person and so that is talent I would like to have.

What is your motto? Or what words do you live by? It’s really simple but a smooth rides is a boring one.  My friends joke that I have a black cloud overhead.  I have the worst luck but it makes me who I am.  I don’t want to be 80 and think what a boring life.  One day I want to write a book about everything I went through and it won’t be boring.”

To buy a ticket for Footloose at the Dairy Ashford Roller Rink or to find out more about Charity Chicks Houston or to start a chapter in your area, visit www.charitychickshouston.com.