Meet
Women Working With Women, Inc
Giving Back at it's Best
Women Working With Women, Inc is a non-profit organization based in Gainesville FL. They offer many services including hosting food distributions on a quarterly basis. I have volunteered with this organization and was blown away by the level of organization and efficiency in feeding hundreds of people in a 4 hour time span. I must say, this organization has the food distribution process down to a tee .
Check out the President/CEO's interview below!
Note* All pictures were provided by Women Working With Women, Inc.
Tell us about yourself
I am an accomplished motivational speaker for over 30 years and have been a Women’s Ministries’ & Teen Conference Director for over 11 years. I attended Oakwood University and Aristotle Medical and Dental school of Technology where I completed an internship in End Stage Renal Disease.
I have also been an International Keynote Speaker for several Christian evangelistic meetings in Bingerville, West Ivory Coast Africa through the Southeastern Conference of Seventh Day Adventist. I was the Keynote speaker for the first women’s evangelistic crusade in the Netherlands, Antilles, and other countries. I am an advocate for women and an educational in-service provider for women behind bars where we share information that will help to enhance their personal, spiritual, professional, social, and emotional development as is my mantra for each woman that she encounters with all of her presentations.
I received my Certification in Leadership Management from Bingham University which was sponsored by the Southeastern Conference of SDA under the leadership of Nicole Brise’, the conference’s Women’s Ministries Director. As a certified Multicultural Diversity Trainer and facilitator (through The Professional Women Network and the Dynamic Marriage Institute), my passion is powerfully exuded as I continually strive to empower women to grow and build stronger relationships for a brighter future.
For 11 years, I was the District One Coordinator for the Southeastern Conference under the Women’s Ministries’ Department of Southeastern Conference which covers 22 Churches from Georgia to Florida area. My main focus and theme has been to "equip and empower each woman though training and equipping women in their walk of life."
Alongside of this dynamic ministry, I am the Founder, and President of (Women Working With Women. Inc.), where ‘outreach’ to women and their families needs in the community is one of my primary focus along with teaching women behind bars the tools to reinvest in their education and future employment for self sustainability. During the Pandemic my focus on the family is even greater now. To assist the family's needs we provide food, clothes, utilities, rent etc, and through donations
I believe the community's involvement is critical!
Favorite Scripture:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:1-5
How did the idea of Women Working With Women begin and what was your vision?
I had already began an organization called Bethea Communication Seminars While working in End Stage Renal Disease. I realized that God was preparing me administratively and while working in Women’s ministry in 2012 He prepared me spiritually and emotionally and made it clear that I was to create an environment conducive to helping women in domestic violence, incarceration and job readiness through workshops and conferencing. As I begin to create Women Working With Women It was obvious that helping women, by default, was also helping children and families. One of our goals as an organization was to implement community service so we begin to take care of their needs first which is feeding, clothing, and teaching women as best we can.
Community outreach is part of Women Working With Women, why is it important to the organization?
We believe community outreach is a creative way of sharing God’s Love. We were created to love our neighbors and help the homeless, widowed, and incarcerated. To me, this is another evangelistic thrust and creative way to reach the masses of God's Love.
I volunteered at one of the food distributions in Gainesville, FL and I remember how organized things were and how smoothly the process went. Can you share with us some tips on how to stay organized when we create events in the community?
Become community friendly, get involved with law enforcement, commissioners, mayors, and city workers because the task needs all hands on deck. You can't do it by yourself. You must plan ahead, be proactive and market your event in advance through all avenues including tv, radio, internet, and social media.
What are some tips that you can share with us about starting a Nonprofit?
Know that everyone will not support your vision. You must remain committed and dedicated. Join nonprofit leadership courses and partner with organizations that will help you get to the next level. Throw fear out the door and take non-profit leadership seminars to teach you how to organize your board and select the type of board members that support your vision. Keep your board under 7 members.
In the past, Women Working With Women has had conferences with great speakers, workshops, and inspirational stories to encourage personal growth. After the pandemic what are the plans for the next conference? Where can we go to keep updated on when the next conference will be?
We plan to have the next conference in 2021 virtually and anyone who is interested in participating can find the information on our website in the Spring of 2021.
What are some challenges that you have faced running Women Working With Women and how were you able to overcome those challenges?
Dealing with difficult board members taught me to be more selective and to make sure your board is on board with your vision. Have your bylaws in place for board removal which makes it easy to implement and for the board member to comply. Selecting the right board members is everything.
How can we donate to Women Working With Women?
You can go on our website and click donate on the homepage. It will outline the donation options and levels for you to select; for ex: Emerald Level is $101.00 - $499.00.
As the founder of Women Working With Women, what are you most grateful for?
A committed board. Donors who donate because they have a passion for what we do and community support.
Is there anything else you want others to know about your organization that I have not already asked?
We believe that when we stop living our story we can begin living our life.
