Why the Color Green Can Wake Up a Nation

“We must act now!” are four words that have gained great momentum to bail out financial institutions (green giants) on the verge of bankruptcy or closure. These words have radically shaken the corporate giants and current administration from a deep sleep because they no longer see green, but red.

The words, “We must act now” did not gain its popularity from the failing financial institutions. These words have been quite popular among advocates that have been working to restore the vitality of our debilitating communities due to spiritual, economical, and social woes. For example,

• We must act now to provide affordable childcare and health care to low-income wage earners
  
• We must act now to raise minimum wage to livable earnings to stimulate the economy
  
• We must act now to provide paid maternal leave beyond three-months
  
• We must act now to provide equal-pay for women and men to create healthy families and communities
  
• We must act now to provide protection for victims of domestic abuse and sexual trafficking
  
• We must act now to provide affordable housing to decrease and eradicate homelessness
  
• We must act now to stop predatory lending practices
  
• We must act now to end gender and race discrimination
  
• We must act now to make quality education affordable and accessible to all citizens

What will it take for the Nation to move with urgency to ensure the middle-class is not eradicated, or the low-income is not moved to extreme measures to survive? Apparently, “We must act now” has been associated with the colors red and yellow. Red to stop or end social programs that serve the poor or low-income due to lack of funds; Yellow, to move with extreme caution because serving the poor could possibly bankrupt the economy.

The economy is on the verge of bankruptcy and We must act now to find ways for average citizens to regain hope and faith in America –‘land of the free’. Bailing out the ‘green’ giants to leave citizens impacted by corporate greed, deceit, and ignorance to fend for themselves, is not justice or liberty for all.

Poverty: A State of Mind or Being?

"Many women are poor because no one wants to help poor black women" was the comment from an attendee of Virtuous Enterprises, Inc. (VEINC), first Sister Table Talk Tour held in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland.

Should the plight of poverty among low-income, women heads-of-households in the Washington region be associated with people refusing to help? If this is true, why do people turn their backs on the down-trodden? If it isn't true, why is poverty a growing trend among women in the Washington region?

During the Sister Table Talk forum held at the Spaulding Branch Library in Forestville, Maryland, the attendees concurred that poverty is a combination of mind and being - 'in order to change what one lacks tangibly, one must first change their mind.'

The topic reminds me of the story of a lame man who was carried and laid daily at the gate of the temple called Beautiful to ask for alms (i.e., money). When the lame man saw Peter and John (disciples that went to the temple to pray), he asked them for alms. When Peter saw the lame man, he asked him to look at him and the lame man did with anticipation to receive money. However, Peter told the man, "Silver and gold, have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." Peter took the lame man by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately the lame man's feet and ankle bones received strength and he entered the temple with Peter and John leaping, walking, and praising God for his healing. (Acts 3:1-9)

The moral of this story is, some people need self-empowerment to lift themselves from the 'paralysis' of circumstance. Since the lame man lived his life based on how he was born and not what he could become, he automatically lived a defeated life. Money wasn't what he needed to receive strength to walk on his own, his soul needed to be revived or quickened to get the guts to get up and walk on his own.

There are may societal inhibitors that contribute to poverty regardless of gender or ethnicity, but the 'true' transition to economic stability and security has to start from within to receive and accept 'positive' change.

What are your thoughts about poverty? Do you believe it's a state of mind or being? What do you believe is the root cause of poverty among women in the Washington Region? Do you believe poverty exists in Prince George's County, Maryland? When you think of poverty, what's the first picture that comes to your mind? What do you believe can decrease and/or eradicate poverty among low-income, women-headed families?

Our next Sister Table Talk Tour will be held on Saturday, April 19 from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm at the Fairmount Heights Branch Library in Fairmount Heights, Maryland. To RSVP, please call 301.316.1955 x707 or send an email to events@veinc.org.

Our next Blog discussion, Poverty: The new return on family investment.

Click and Lift Women Out of Poverty

What if a homeless woman could receive ‘free' employment and technology skills training to secure a livable wage career to purchase a home to gain safety and security every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online created pathways to economic independence for low-income, women-headed families that are acutely vulnerable to the cycle of poverty through entrepreneurship training and development? GoodSearch.com - a new Yahoo-powered search engine donates half its advertising revenue (about a penny per search) to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!

In addition, GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to a nonprofit cause! Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, eBay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop, and every time you place an order in support of impoverished, women-headed families, you'll be responsible for lifting families out of poverty in Prince George's County, Maryland.

Just go to www.goodsearch.com and enter Virtuous Enterprises, Inc. as the charity of support. And, please spread the word!

On behalf of our clients, we thank you for your support to strengthen the pathways to economic independence, stability, and security!

For Such a Time as This...

There's a saying, "Life is where you find it, and what you make of it."

At 3:00 pm, a local "smoking" gas attendant said, "I sure need a beer" while her work area smelled like a smoke factory. Someone told her, "she was paying for her death as a smoker" and she replied, "I'm going to die from something anyway, so I'm going to die happy!" This is not the first time this statement has been heard, and it's amazing to know the percentage of women that believe adding poison to their bodies is a pathway to happiness. Since many women believe that death is inevitable, many also believe that it's pointless to live a healthy lifestyle.

The services and programs of Virtuous Enterprises, Inc. (VEINC) are designed to make positive, long-term impacts in the lives of underserved women and girls to enrich their quality of life. One strategy is "cause-and-effect" - an approach to help clients discover the 'root cause' of their life's circumstance. For example, a participant of VEINC's Women Increasing their Net worth program, learned her 'root cause' of credit card debt was due to loneliness, not lack of money management skills.

Individuals that smoke are not being criticized because we all have personal struggles to conquer. But, the thought process that prevents many women from embracing life as a gift is.

Why is it challenging for some women to value themselves and their lives to achieve greatness? Why do some women suffer in silence to protect others, and not themselves? Why do some women believe that education is not needed to create economic stability for their family? Is it possible that many are challenged because they are living life without purpose.

In his book entitled, In Pursuit of Purpose, Dr. Myles Munroe wrote:

A lack of purpose and the impending tragedy that results from its absence is found not only in people but in all things. When elements of nature lose their purpose, chaos and destruction are the results. When nations, societies, communities, organizations, friendships, marriages, clubs, churches, countries or tribes lose their sense of purpose and significance, then confusion, frustration, discouragement, disillusionment and corporate suicide - whether gradual or instant - reign.

The Book of Esther tells a wonderful story about a young woman who was chosen to become a queen (Queen Vashti's successor) by King Ahasuerus. Based on tradition, Esther should not have been chosen, but Mordecai (Esther's Uncle) believed she secured this post to intervene Hathach's plot to kill a group of people.

Esther 4:14 states, "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?"

It is VEINC's hope that 2008 will be the year for women that do not value themselves, discover their inner beauty and purpose, because life without purpose is like having a body without a heart.

The Spirit of Giving

Do you have the spirit? Yeah! Yeah! Do you have the spirit? Yeah! Yeah! Well let me see it in your walk...

One of my favorite cheers in high school was, Do You Have The Spirit. The cheerleaders really knew how to get the crowd excited and engaged in our school's sporting events, and it seemed like the crowd ignited a new fire in the players to strive harder to win if they were trailing behind.

It appears that the Spirit of Giving is more prevalent during the Holiday Season (i.e., Thanksgiving and Christmas) and many nonprofits do a great job raising money during this special time of year. What are their secrets or strategies? Who are their cheerleaders? And, what cheers do they chant to engage donors to give to support their cause(s)?

According to the Making Connections: The Nonprofit Sector in Prince George's County report conducted by the Maryland Association of Nonprofits, "80% of the nonprofit sectors with revenue below $25,000 are in Prince George's County, Maryland, compared to the state-wide average of 63%." How can this be since Prince George's County is known as one of the most affluent counties for African Americans in the Nation? In addition, the report states that the nonprofit sector of Prince George's County is small and under-resourced compared to its neighboring counties (e.g., Anne Arundel, Montgomery, or Howard) and the growth among this sector is not promising.

As an emerging nonprofit organization based in Prince George's County, Maryland, Virtuous Enterprises, Inc. (VEINC) can attest to some of the challenges that can plague the county’s nonprofit sector:

• Capacity Building - Although well trained, many nonprofits do not have the ‘proper resources’ to implement creative and effective capacity building strategies. Some of the tools and techniques provided during training demonstrates 'what to do', but not 'how to do'.
• Human/Social Capital - As the old cliché states, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Building a business from scratch without the leverage of ‘human capital' can be a slow process and very few nonprofits have this competitive advantage.
• Lack of Operational Funds - Many social investors are advised to invest in programs, not operations and many grant makers provide more funding to support programs instead of operations. The nonprofit sector has to be quite creative in raising funds to prevent their programs from losing its home or operating in the dark.
• Social Cause is Too Small - Programs and services for women with HIV/AIDS or domestic violence, seems to outweigh services and programs for low-income, women-headed families.

VEINC transitioned to a nonprofit organization in 1999 and the organization’s focus changed, when our new cheerleader - The Washington Area Women's Foundation ignited our fire by presenting us with a 2004 Leadership Award for our innovative services and programs for underserved women and girls in the Washington region. VEINC was trailing behind since we thought our services and programs weren't needed, until we evaluated the results of our pilot programs and we are here to stay!

Social Investing is risky and our returns can vary. During this Spirit of Giving season consider investing in social causes that can strengthen the vitality of low-income, women-headed families. When we invest in families, we strengthen our society, because society is a collection of communities, and communities are a collection of families.

The return on your investment will be long-term, however, the results will be quite rewarding.

The Sister Next Door

The economic instability of low-income families seems to weigh more heavily on the shoulders of women than men in today’s society. And, poverty seems to be the growing trend among low-income, women-headed families due to inequitable access to affordable housing, child and health care, education, and low-wage earnings. Today, a mother of two making $31,000 per year cannot afford to rent an apartment, pay utilities, pay childcare and aftercare, a car note or car insurance.

According to the Portrait's Project - a ground breaking report published by the Washington Area Women's Foundation, Prince George's County, Maryland has the highest concentration of low-income women-headed families in the Washington region, and this concentration is rapidly growing.

The mother described in the first paragraph is a program participant of Virtuous Enterprises, Inc. METT (Mobile Employment Technology Training Program) - a program that teaches homeless women how to achieve economic independence and stability with life skills, and professional and technology training. This mother holds a Bachelor of Liberal Arts Degree and was a teacher for Prince George's County, Maryland and is now homeless because she could not afford the basic living expenses accompanied with childcare expenses.

Many of the participants of the METT program hold undergraduate degrees and chose to be stay-at-home mothers; however their husbands left them without financial support for their family. And of course, many of the women at the shelter are victims of domestic violence.

What will it take to decrease or eradicate the growing 'trend of poverty among low-income, headed families in particularly in Prince George's County, Maryland? What will it take for the economical gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' to close? What will it take for policy makers to increase the livable wage so that people can live the true American Dream without constantly working to simply pay bills and taxes. What will it take for the general public to move with more compassion and less criticism? It will take all of us to stop and ponder and give thanks for all that we have and to never take life, our health, wealth, or careers for granted. More importantly, it will take all of us to take this social cause to heart, because these women could be you or your Sister Next Door!