Inspire Atlanta

Success isn't about what you accomplish in life, it's what you inspire others to do!

I grew up in Northeast Pennsylvania in a former coal mining town. A lot of opportunities for work were lost when the coal mines closed and low income families were very common. My mother had me when she was sixteen and wasn’t ready for the responsibility of having a child both financially and personally. She had a drug addiction that lasted her whole life which led to many prison stays.

I moved around between family members when my mom would end up in prison. After she had another trip to jail I decided to go out on my own and become an emancipated minor. I lived in a subsidized apartment for 11^th and 12^th grade. I worked a lot of part time jobs to earn money while going to school, but it wasn’t enough.

I always knew that I wanted more than what I saw around me. As a young girl when I would play pretend and I would imagine I was in college waiting tables. I did well in school and had a teacher that knew my situation and believed in me. I applied to colleges and decided on Temple University in Philadelphia. I stressed over what I would do during school breaks since you can’t stay in the dorm. My apartment was $25 dollars a month which doesn’t seem like a lot, but to me it felt daunting to pay just to have somewhere to come home to. Towards graduation the teacher that encouraged me pulled me aside and gave me a check for $500 to pay for my apartment for the year. He said that I should have the same college experience as everyone else and not worry about a place to come home to. That generosity had a profound impact on my life. While $500 was probably not an amount that would affect his life, to me it was everything. That $500 gave me the confidence to become the first person in my family to graduate from college.

Programs that AWF supports help give women the same opportunity I had. Bus fare to get to work, security deposits for apartments, professional clothing, childcare, higher education etc. all are things that give that hand up to someone. I truly believe in the work that AWF does and I am proud to be in a position to give back to women and children the same way I was given a chance.  

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." Aesop

There are hundreds of thousands of women and girls living in Atlanta – nearly a quarter of them are living below the poverty line. The Atlanta Women’s Foundation (AWF) is uniquely positioned to address the barriers that women in poverty face - barriers like access to childcare, higher education opportunities, and mental health services.

I am fundraising on behalf of the AWF to fulfill its mission to be a catalyst for change in the lives of women and girls. AWF and their grantee partners strive to create pathways from poverty to prosperity for their clients on a daily basis, for thousands of women. The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately impacting women and girls, and that it why I chose to make an impact right now – right here in our community.