{"id":7831,"date":"2006-10-15T09:33:59","date_gmt":"2006-10-15T13:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wtb.org\/?p=7831"},"modified":"2018-12-30T21:52:24","modified_gmt":"2018-12-31T01:52:24","slug":"women-who-walk-the-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/?p=7831","title":{"rendered":"Women Who Walk the Talk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a\ncentering exercise, Janet Donohue<\/strong> asked us to think back to our own\nearly teen or young adult days and remember our early experiences with service,\nand then share these memories with an audience member that we didn’t know. After\nseveral minutes of sharing, Janet commented on our reluctance to end\nillustrating that WTB is a place to develop friendships and community and\nknowledge of one another. Many women felt that their early experiences of\nservice were with parents or were influenced by parents’ example. One woman,\nremembering being a recipient, appreciated the thoughtfulness of the holiday\nbasket givers, who took the time to learn the family’s needs and included just\nthe right items for a single mom going to school and a young girl and a young\nboy. Danya reminded us that our teen group is also involved in service. Other\nwomen expressed the concern that so much service is necessary and advocated\nsocial change to eliminate poverty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Betsy\nWiggins<\/strong> spoke briefly about our on-going\ncommitment to Ibtida<\/strong>, which means \u201cnew beginnings.\u201d It is a\nvolunteer-based, non-religious, non-political, non-profit organization working\nto provide quality education to underprivileged children in the rural areas of\nPakistan. Ibtida was set up in 2003 by a group of individuals who share the\nbelief that the only way to break the vicious cycle of poverty and ignorance is\nthrough education. It now operates four schools. Betsy introduced Nancy Riffer<\/strong>,\na Syracuse resident who is on the Board of Ibtida. Nancy explained that in\norder to comply with 501(c)3 regulations, they were required to have an American\ncomponent to their program; therefore, a small amount of the money they raise\ngoes to H.W. Smith School, where a program helps refugee children learn\nEnglish. She added that American high school and college students spend 4 to 6\nweeks teaching in Ibtida schools during the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also\ncontinue our commitment to Women for Women<\/strong>, which recently won the 2006 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, the world\u2019s largest\nhumanitarian prize of $1.5 million. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation presents\nthe annual award to an organization that \u201csignificantly alleviates human\nsuffering.\u201d Founded in 1993, Women for Women International helps women in\nwar-torn regions rebuild their lives by providing financial and emotional\nsupport, job skills training, rights awareness and leadership education, and\naccess to business skills, capital and markets. Through the program, women\nbecome confident, independent and productive as they embrace the importance of\ntheir roles in rebuilding their families, their communities, and ultimately\ntheir nations. They work in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia,\nCongo, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan. WTB has committed to sponsoring\none Sudanese woman. Our letters to her, written by Nancy Sullivan Murray, and\nher responses to us will be published on our website. Individual WTB members\nare also sponsoring women and may have their correspondence published as well,\nif they wish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gay introduced Liz\nSpence<\/strong>, who first introduced Chadwick Residence<\/strong> to the WTB\ncommunity. Chadwick takes in homeless women and their children, providing\nvocational training and life skills for up to two years. Liz and Gay updated\nthe membership on our recent activities at Chadwick Residence. We have held two\nethnic cooking classes\/feasts, attended by 17 Chadwick women, several children,\nand several WTB members. Our able cook for both dinners was Sharon Benzel. Bonnie\nSavage taught a counted cross-stitch class that tested everyone’s\nconcentration, and a week later several women proudly showed us the progress\nthat they had made. On December 5 we will hold\na sewing class, making a patchwork pillow cover. Volunteers are needed to help\n– socializing is fun, and more important than the actual craft skills. In\naddition, Jennifer Crittenden scours local estate sales to find items needed by\nthe Chadwick ladies, and Janet (a drug and alcohol counselor) works with the women\nwho have “graduated” from Chadwick but still need guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gay discussed the\n“Knitting Together” program at the Center for New Americans<\/strong>\n(formerly the InterReligious Council Refugee Resettlement\nProgram) located at Prospect and Butternut\nStreets above the bank. Recently 73 new arrivals came to Syracuse with\npractically nothing, so their material needs are great. Several WTB members\nhave organized the knitting program to provide a casual environment for refugee\nwomen to mingle and practice English skills, as well as learn a useful craft. A\nsoup and sandwich lunch is provided, and instruction on basic life skills such\nas hygiene, cleaning, and food storage is included. What was started as a four-week\nprogram stretched to fifteen last spring. New fall classes have started, with\nthe class constantly expanding with new women attending. The class meets on\nThursdays from noon to 2 pm, and volunteers are most welcome for single visits\nor an on-going basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liz\nintroduced Carol Perry<\/strong>, the owner\/ manager of the South Side\nNewsstand,<\/strong> which is the hub of an incredible variety of community projects.\nCarol is a community activist who creates projects that uplift and affirm the\nsouls of the participants, as well as the neighborhood. She uses the phrase,\n\u201cRaise up the children in the way they should go!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carol said\nshe was inspired by her mother who always had “stow-aways” that she\nwas secretly feeding or taking to the hospital or social services. Even during\nwhat Carol called “the reckless period of my life,” she was reaching\nout to help others. When she heard Dave Johnson, a Presbyterian Director, say\nthat “whatever knocks at our door – we service it,” she liked the\nsentiment and decided to do the same. Carol gave credit to the people who\nmentored her to do right, to make herself available, and to stay healthy so she\ncan serve: Phyllis Newland, Hope Wallis (a rainbow), Rosa Menara (my warrior),\nAnn Goodgin and Jackie Grace. Carol believes that when someone comes with a problem,\n“you just gotta do it.” God has given her blessings that she must\npass on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One special\nprogram is called the Refrigerator Door Club<\/strong>, named for the variety of\nmemos and appointments and awards and kids drawings that are displayed on most\npeople’s fridges. Carol organizes friendship gathering circles called\n“Making Friends” as an alternative to violence. She gathers seven\nboys, seven girls, two professionals and one street person, spanning the ages 7\nto 70. They learn about differences and about what hurts. It is a diverse,\nmultigenerational group that helps youth learn how to meet someone different\nfrom themselves and have fun together coloring individual pages about\nrelationships, AIDS information, and careers. They also learn how to introduce\none another and practice conversing. Participants create ice cream sundaes, eat\nthem together, and share about their new friends. Through these gatherings,\nCarol learns about people’s disfunctions and new groups are born – penmanship,\nchildren of prison inmates, and so on. Carol is adept at helping Syracuse\nschool children with after-school activities, volunteer work, and outings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carol has an\nactive jail ministry, seeing inmates at the Syracuse Justice Center,\nJamesville, Auburn, and Cayuga. Teaming up with probation officers, she learns\nabout family problems and the needs of the family members. She arranges for\ndiapers or social services for an inmate’s family. She tries to help\nincarcerated women and asked us to provide Christmas, Mother’s Day, Easter\ncards, and\nstamps, as well as calendars, to show inmates that the world cares about them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carol\ndescribed her work with seniors as “my best.” She reintroduces them\nto life and promotes fun. She organizes gatherings at the Country Buffet, and\nthe seniors treat the outing like a night club where they like to dance and\nparty. She also matches them up with kids, or takes them to nursing homes. Carol\nplans a breakfast club where to attend you must bring someone over 70. She\nsigns seniors up as tutors and as volunteers at Meals on Wheels. Carol said\n“God has blessed me with the seniors” and “I just love what I do.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One year the\ndirector of the City Hall turkey project unexpectedly sent Carol a skid of\nturkeys <\/p>\n\n\n\n

to\ndistribute to poor people. She was busy, didn’t have time, didn’t want to be\nbothered but had all of these frozen birds! When she decided to distribute them\nto her family and friends, her brother took over and opened her eyes when he\ntook her along to distribute to people in real need, people she didn’t know\nexisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carol and\nher community volunteers collect and distribute school supplies to 3000 city\nstudents. Some are given directly to students, others are given directly to\nschools to dispense as needed, perhaps a few sheets of paper at a time. She\nspoke of Cleary school which does not have enough books. Dunk and Bright\nsupplies them with paper for photocopying. Carol and her volunteers also supply\ntissues, bandaids, and hand sanitizer to eight city elementary schools. The\nhigh schools have received binders and health\/grooming packages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last summer\nCarol sent 12 kids to camp. Some of these children had never been out of their\nneighborhoods, never had s’mores, hadn’t been seen by a doctor in years as\nevidenced by lack of medication and old injuries. Carol would like all of her\nprograms to be free, and sponsors to help her achieve this goal frequently\nappear. The Department of Environmental Conservation gave her six free spots\nfor campers. The Presbyterian church found sponsors. Dick Ford, the owner of\nSignature Music near Westcott, gave a city boy, a great drummer from one of the\nworst neighborhoods, a scholarship to Ithaca College’s summer music camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carol runs a\n501(c)3 charity, a pass-through with the Southwest Community Center<\/strong>,\nwhich provides her with accounting services, a secretary, and occasionally a\nvehicle. What does Carol need? She needs strength, volunteers, people to make\ndeliveries, a shoulder to lean on, someone to do paperwork like thank you\nletters and permission slips, time out (a friend with a pool would be a\nblessing).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carol does\neverything. Any need anyone has, if they come to Miss Carol she will figure out\na way to help them. Carol calls on an amazing array of community members, city\nofficials, ministers, bankers and businessmen and can match anyone up with a\nsolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gay\nintroduced Karaline Carr<\/strong>, a program counselor who directs transportation\nfor On Point for College<\/strong>. On Point is a Syracuse based not-for-profit\norganization which helps inner city students get into college. It was founded\nin 1999 by Ginny Donohue, but due to the birth of a grandchild she was unable\nto be with us. On Point for College’s motto is “Changing Syracuse degree\nby degree!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ginny and\nher two program counselors (with help from volunteer mentors) meet and recruit\nyouth at various community centers, including Carol Perry’s South Side\nNewsstand, Catholic Charities’ neighborhood centers, Syracuse Boys and Girls\nClubs, Southwest Community Center, Salvation Army’s Barnabas House, and Dunbar,\nencouraging young people who thought college was not possible for them. Most\nare the first in their families to attend college. Since 80% of their clients\nare no longer in school, the On-Point staff becomes their guidance counselor,\nassuring them that past grades matter less than current determination and\ncommitment. They find that young men frequently come to them when they are 20\nto 22, disillusioned with their current prospects. Some of their students begin\nas Carol’s referral of young adults on probation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karaline\ntold the story of a young man who had been dealing drugs to make money for his\nfamily and was twice hospitalized for dehydration. Although he had managed to\nget a GED after dropping out of high school, he thought his poor grades would\nexclude him from attending college. Ginny worked with him and helped him enroll\nin a college where he achieved a 4.0 GPA for four years, graduated, and is now\nworking in the Syracuse community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To qualify\nfor On Point assistance, students must be between 17 and 25 years of age and\nhave been economically qualified for the New York State free or reduced lunch\nprogram. Ginny and her staff arrange college visits and assist in filling out\ncollege applications and the financial aid and loan forms. On Point for College\nruns Success Seminars and Pre-College Orientation workshops for the students,\nteaching them how to interview, how to study, how to drop the street attitude\nthat has always protected them in tough neighborhoods. When they are accepted\nat a college, On Point for College provides students with basic college\nsupplies such as bedding, towels, and alarm clocks, and a $150 mall shopping\ntrip for appropriate student-selected clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once on\ncampus, students can call On Point for College counselors at any time, giving\nthem an outlet when problems arise. If students have trouble paying for books,\nthey can receive “last dollar scholarships.” If they need to leave\nschool for a semester, On Pont will help them do it without jeopardizing their\nreadmission. And someone from On Point for College will attend their\ngraduation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, On\nPoint has enrolled over 950 students in college. While many students attend\nState of New York Universities (SUNY), students also attend different private\ncolleges and universities, totaling a network of over 130 colleges and\nuniversities across several states. This past May marked the graduation of On\nPoint for College’s 100th college graduate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When\nstudents agree to work with On Point for College, they sign a contract that\nwhile they are in college they will assist with younger students who are visiting\ntheir campus for the first time, and will help two young people after they\ngraduate. Two of these recent graduates came to WTB with Karaline. Lillian\nTurner had a 3.26 GPA at Colgate and is now working at the Blue Cross \/ Blue\nShield call center and today is considering the pursuit of a masters degree in\nnursing. Lillian came from a loving family that didn’t have the means to\nprovide transportation to college. Lillian was able to take advantage of On\nPoint’s partnership with Lemoyne College that allows students to stay in their\nresidences during the summer if it is not possible to stay in the student’s own\nhome. She worked in the On Point for College office and saw the staffs’\ndedication to all of its students. At her graduation she bestowed a Stole of\nThankfulness on Ginny. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shawnta\nBrantly received a degree in nursing from SUNY Delhi and is now working at\nUpstate. Shawnta was the first in her family to graduate from high school, and\nshe received On Point for College help with transportation, books and moral\nsupport when they called to check up on her. She considers the On Point for\nCollege staff her guardian angels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does On Point need? Volunteers for\ntransportation. Kids must contact On Point at least seven days in advance of\nneed (for orientation, beginning and end of semester, dorm closings, not\nweekends home). On Point for College emails mentors who respond if available,\nthen the office makes the contacts. Students and volunteer drivers sometimes\nmake long-term relationships, traveling together whenever possible. Mentor\nbreakfasts are held every three months, and the agency carries umbrella\ninsurance to cover drivers above and beyond personal insurance. If several\nstudents are attending the same college, Catholic Charities or Southwest Community\nCenter or Boys and Girls Club sometimes provide a van. In 2005, volunteers made\n283 campus trips. Thanksgiving is their busiest time of year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other needs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Tutors
– Donations (both monetary and in-kind supplies of basic college supplies
– People to work at fund raisers
– Employers who will commit to job fairs
– People to run sessions on how to dress, write resumes, interview<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A complete\nset of college supplies includes comforter, set of extra-long sheets, towels,\nbackpack, alarm clock, calculator, and shampoo, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carol Perry\ntold us that Karaline has been with On Point for four years and considers the\nstudents her kids who mean everything to her. The respect and affection between\nCarol and Karaline was obvious as they discussed the young people that they\nhave both worked to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gay summed\nup the afternoon by commenting that these women have jobs that feed their souls\nand reminded us of the words of Anne Frank: “Nobody need wait a single\nmoment before starting to improve the world.”<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Activists talked about their work with Ibtida, Women for Women, Chadwick Residence, South Side News Stand, Center for New Americans, and On Point for College.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[23],"class_list":["post-7831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-programs","tag-advocacy",""],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7831"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8964,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7831\/revisions\/8964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}