For A Good Cause
By Marjorie J. Hurst
This past fall a group of thirteen Black women came together at The Colony Club in Springfield to find out “Y Women Need A Place to Call Their Own.” Not sure what the agenda was at the beginning of the evening, by the time they left, many of the women who attended had made a commitment to help the YWCA of Western Massachusetts (YW) realize its dream of building a new 48-bed, state-of-the-art battered women’s shelter.
Although the YW has been in this area for 135 years, several of the women assembled at that first meeting had no idea of the many specialized programs and services offered to women and children that are designed to improve their quality of life. Fewer of the women knew that the YW is the largest provider of services for battered women and pregnant/parenting adolescent girls in Massachusetts. And almost no one was aware that the YW’s mission is to work toward the empowerment of women and girls, advance social diversity and eliminate racial prejudice.
Once they realized that 60% of the women, children and adolescents assisted by the YW looked like them, “It was an easy call to make to support this effort” said Mitzie Beach. And, according to Willette Johnson, “It’s our moral obligation to show, not only that Black women care, but are willing to make a financial commitment to the YW’s capital campaign for such a good cause.” Emurriel Holloway summed up the feelings of most of the women when she stated, “In general, I am committed to community service and I make contributions to various causes/organizations. My willingness to commit to this cause is, in a way, my embracing this population of battered women as community. I choose not to be in denial, realizing that abuse possibilities have no boundaries.”
At the second meeting of the group, the women decided that they wanted to raise enough money to have a small room in the YW’s new shelter named after them. They also wanted to have a picture taken of the group to hang in the room to memorialize their commitment to the women who will call the new facility “home”. By the third meeting, it was obvious that the excitement and commitment of the initial group of women had caught on, with several women recruiting family members and friends to become involved.
Some of the women stepping up to the plate for this good cause are: Mary Elizabeth “Mitzie” Beach, Beverly Brown, Claretha Coleman, Veta Daley, Marcia Foulks, Ann Henry, Sandra Hill, Emurriel Holloway, Marjorie Hurst, Willette Johnson, Terri Mayes-King, Nealon Jaynes-Lewis, Gwendolyn Miller, Yvonne Mitchell, Sadie Murray, Bobbie Rennix, Mary Shurn, Gloria Williams and Mary Worthy. With the level of actual financial commitments made so far, it looks like the “small” room has turned into a “medium” room and will soon become a “large” room as these women spread the message and welcome others to join them in their effort.
Ultimately, in stepping up to the plate, Black women are making a statement that they care about other women and children in difficult circumstances, and that they are willing to demonstrate their compassion in a concrete and meaningful way.