Nonprofit founded by women religious marks 10th anniversary |
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Written by LAURIE STEVENS BERTKE, Chronicle Writer
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Friday, 03 April 2009 01:00 |
TOLEDO—More than a decade after Women Blessing Women was founded, the organization is still growing and the blessings are still flowing between its program participants and volunteers.
The Toledo nonprofit served a record 441 women last year, providing them with comprehensive basic job, education and empowerment skills training through tutoring, mentoring and group sessions.
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| Instructor Julie Cummins assists Jennifer Troutman in the job and career room. (Chronicle photo by Laurie Stevens Bertke) |
The spacious former rectory of Toledo St. Mary on Page Street, which houses the organization, is a hub of activity on a typical weekday afternoon as participants work on their resumes in the computer lab, attend small group classes taught by volunteers and review their lessons one-on-one with tutors.
Flexible hours, the ability to "work at your own pace" and the patience of volunteers who take the time to "work with you until you get it" are just some of the features participants say distinguish Women Blessing Women from other local General Equivalency Diploma (GED) programs.
"At Women Blessing Women, you can get that one-on-one time," says Jessica Henderson, 32, a college student who earned her GED through the program. "I was able to concentrate a lot better."
Caring staff and volunteers are another hallmark of the organization, which concludes the celebration of its 10th anniversary year this month.
"They were there to listen, whenever I needed them," says Holly Williams, 33, who earned her GED through the program last year and is now attending Stautzenberger College.
"You can get your GED in a lot of places in the city, but our program is so much more. It looks at the whole woman — spiritually, emotionally," says Ursuline Sister Nancy Mathias, who serves on the board for Women Blessing Women. "It’s caring about the person, really caring about the person."
Sr. Mathias is one of the "founding mothers" of the organization, which was started by women religious of the diocese in April 1998.
The seeds for the collaborative effort were planted in 1995, when representatives from area congregations gathered to discuss ways in which they could better respond to the persons most in need in the Toledo area. Ultimately, they narrowed a list of 10 areas of need down to two: women and children.
"We didn’t have our own place in the very beginning," says Notre Dame Sister Joyce Marie Bates, who was hired as the program’s first director in 1998.
Women Blessing Women initially served women and children in area shelters, with Sr. Bates working out of a small office at Toledo Good Shepherd. She can still recall praying before the Blessed Sacrament over each grant application she prepared.
"It was challenging, but it was also beautiful to see that this program was meant to be, because God provided," says Sr. Bates, now the pastoral associate of Sandusky Holy Angels.
A volunteer base of women religious and their associates quickly grew to include other women "and even a few men," says Sr. Bates, and the program moved into a storefront on Lagrange Street in 2000.
In 2003, Women Blessing Women relocated to the former rectory on Page Street. "It’s a wonderful old home," says Sr. Mathias. "When you walk in there, it’s this place of peace."
The program at Women Blessing Women addresses the root causes of poverty, which include the lack of a high school or GED education, lack of job readiness and job skills and lack of positive job behaviors. All services are free for any woman age 18 or older who is living in poverty.
"We believe that if you help the mother, through employment, to break the cycle of poverty, she will take her children out of poverty with her," explains Chris Palmerton, executive director of Women Blessing Women since 2004.
The average woman participating in the program is 27 years old, living in poverty and the head of a household with two children. Many were teenage mothers who dropped out of high school, have little or no job experience and lack confidence and self-esteem, often because they have experienced some form of abuse.
"I just feel like this effort, this collaborative ministry, is a wonderful way to help women who have so many things stacked against them," says Sr. Mathias. "When you hear their stories, you think, ‘wow.’ "
Ms. Palmerton says women can begin the program as soon as they walk in the door, and they are able to progress at their own pace.
"We work one person at a time, and every baby step is a success," says Ms. Palmerton, who notes the most important lesson is to teach people responsibility and give them the tools to be successful.
Last year 290 volunteers gave 11,611 hours to the organization, serving as job coaches, GED tutors and computer instructors, leading empowerment workshops and spiritual retreats, heading up marketing and fundraising efforts and assisting in a variety of other capacities.
"Our volunteers are the heart of our program," says Ms. Palmerton, who notes they still only have the full-time equivalent of 3.5 employees.
"The women are a pleasure to work with because they want to better themselves," says Frances Long, a retired teacher who volunteers with Women Blessing Women. "Their motivation is really what drives me on, too."
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For more information, visit www.womenblessingwomen.org.
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Last Updated on Thursday, 04 June 2009 09:10 |
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