SOCIAL4GOOD CELEBRATES
Two Women Empowerment Charities in June
Social4Good (S4G) decided to be ambitious and support two local charities this month, offering skills to help women get back on their feet, and move toward more positive paths.
The first charity supported was the Friends of Guest House (FoGH, friendsofguesthouse.org). Since their founding in 1974, Guest House has helped more than 5,000 women break the vicious cycle of incarceration, reunite with their families, and reintegrate into their communities. Their mission is to provide formerly incarcerated women the structure, supervision, support, and assistance they need to move beyond who they were to become who they want to be. Residents are provided with all the costs of housing, meals, and other services at no charge, and meals are nutritionist approved. S4G provided a grant for $4704 for the cost of more than one month of meals for thirty residents at FoGH.
The second charity supported by S4G was Together We Bake (TWB, togetherwebake.org). TWB is a comprehensive workforce training and personal development program for underserved and underrepresented women. The TWB program is centered around a small baking business through which women actively learn and participate in food production, food safety education, and business administration. Each woman graduates’ job-ready, empowered, and with a nationally recognized ServSafe certificate, resulting in preferential hiring and higher wages. S4G collected 140 like-new purses and 90 belts and filled 40 purses with personal care items. The filled purses and belts will be presented to 40 TWB program graduates as they begin the job interviewing process and put together their business attire.
A social event was held at The Mather in Tysons to enjoy a “bubbly and dessert bar,” fill the TWB graduation purses to include written notes of encouragement, and learn more about TWB and FoGH. The S4G community was so generous that we were able to assist three non-profits with in-kind and financial donations totaling over $9,700! The overflow of purse, wallet, and belt donations were provided to Women Giving Back to support women in crisis who shop at WGB for clothing and accessories, free of charge.
“We are so appreciative of the kindness and support that Social4Good as provided to the women of Guest House. On average, it costs about $32-34 per week to feed one guest house resident, which adds up to about $3,200 a month to feed both of our houses, a cost that continues to be on the rise with inflating food prices. The wonderful work that Social4Good has done on Guest House’s behalf, gives us space in our budget to assist with other client needs and costs, such as transportation assistance, celebration events, and unexpected needs. We can’t thank you all enough!” Katie Shapiro, Volunteer & Development Coordinator, Friends of Guest House
“Together We Bake works to break the cycle of abuse and trauma and to empower women facing barriers to progress in their lives. We help them move toward self-sufficiency through comprehensive workforce training, career coaching, and personal development. We are so grateful to Social for Good for supporting TWB’s most recent graduates by providing stylish purses!” Lucy von Fahnestock, Director of Development, Together We Bake S4G is an all-volunteer, grassroots organization that brings together engaged women who want to meet new people and support the organizations that make our community strong.
Each month, this column will highlight S4G’s monthly project to raise awareness on critical needs in our community and local
nonprofits making a difference. To learn more about S4G or to support local nonprofits, visit www.social4good.community.
