Christine Carter Shares Inspirational Life Story on The Wendy Williams Show

Not even a career centered around publicly speaking in front of hundreds could prepare Christine Carter for her largest stage yet.

Carter was featured on a live, five-minute television segment on the Feb 1. Wendy Williams Show, during which she recalled that seemingly placed all odds against her.

"It seemed so surreal. I don't think I could feel my toes," she said of appearing on the show, which airs on BET. "I've done a lot of speaking engagements with large audiences and I'm usually not nervous but I was really nervous."

Carter was selected to appear on "Live It Like You Mean It," a monthly segment created by The Wendy Williams Show's partnership with My Black Is Beautiful, an initiative that celebrates and fosters empowerment of African-American women.

Cameras took to Carter's home city in late January, skimming Newark streets, capturing her two children, Caidance and Christian, and eventually visiting the office of Against All Odds Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by Carter that provides educational and social services to at-risk kids and families.

Through a partnership with Newark's Family Success Center, the foundation serves an upwards of 1,000 families a year and relies on more than 50 volunteers.

"(Williams) was was crying, I was crying while the (footage aired live)," said Carter. "We were holding each other's hands and crying. It was really emotional."

Carter's visit on The Wendy Williams Show was not only "therapeutic," she said, it was a lifeline for the Against All Odds Foundation. Carter and her team were floored when Williams presented them with a $10,000 donation at the end of the live segment.

"To get that check from a virtual stranger–" Carter said before choking up during a phone interview Monday. "It was a surprise, none of us knew. I was really, really shocked. And I was appreciative."

Against All Odds Foundation is self-funded, she said, having received cash from the federal No Child Left Behind Act, from which New Jersey has recently been waived.

"Our funding has been significantly cut and that has drastically affected our agency," said Carter.

The donation from Williams, which the organization has yet to receive, will go toward programs and services, like backpack giveaways and children's field trips.

Currently, Against All Odds Foundation's largest fundraising campaign is via cell phone, Carter said. Donations can be sent by texting IAMAAO to 20222. And, in an effort to bring her organization to national recognition, she will embark on a roughly eight month national tour to speak about how family and child empowerment and resilience. Carter leaves March 1 and will touch down in 24 cities across seven states for the "Against All Odds 24/7 Tour."

"It's fulfilling to know that something I went through that was so traumatic can help someone else," said Carter. "I received so many emails and letters from strangers telling me I changed their lives. And that made it worthwhile."

Click here to watch Carter on The Wendy Williams Show.