Sister Table Talk

Right into doing something we’ve never done before – host a Zumbathon® Charity Event! Since we’ve been out of the lime-light, we thought hosting a Zumbathon® would be a fun way to reconnect with friends and supporters, and make new ones. We’ve supported Zumbathon® events to benefit heart disease and ovarian cancer. And one-year later we’re hosting our own to benefit women experiencing poverty in the Washington region. The Zumba® Corporate Office approved our Zumbathon® Charity Event within two-hours of submission - a process that normally takes two-business days, and within four-weeks, only 10% of our desired participants have registered. Lesson learned, we’re doing something we’ve never done before and its success can’t be measured solely on who showed up; but, on our commitment to work and move the weight of poverty off the shoulders of women who live with it daily right in our backyard. Not achieving the desired results from this plunge will not stop us from doing it agai...

My parents raised me different. My parents told me, "Make sure you can take care of yourself," and I do. These women need to stop lying on their backs, making babies they can’t take care of. I’m not giving my money to support lazy women that don’t want to work. These statements are from single mothers who were approached by The SOFEI Group to help us achieve our mission of empowering women to economic independence. The single mothers were divorced, widowed, and a sole parent with a strong support system. What’s interesting is how proud they were to share their distinction without knowledge of our current and prospective clients. It will be impossible for women to thrive as a cohesive unit when we’re moved so swiftly to divide. Why talk about the wage gap between men and women or any other gaps that supposedly prevent women from progressing, when women allow social, political, financial, or ethnical differences create wedges? Many women who have experienced or are ...

Deuteronomy 15:11 states, For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. The Israelites were instructed by God to help the poor when they arrived to possess the Promised Land to serve as a reminder of God's gift of freedom after their enslavement in Egypt. Some believe people that are poor brought it on themselves, and this belief makes it easy to close our hearts and hands towards them. Helping the poor demonstrates our faith in God and our country. Ignoring to care for the poor for any reason forfeits our humanitarian duty to care for our fellow citizens during their greatest time of need. The battle between Congress and the President on strategies to serve the poor isn’t simply about the rising debt, but the different attitudes towards poverty. Not extending unemployment benefits or decreasing government entitlement programs may decrease the Nat...

According to Target Market News 16th annual report Buying Power of Black America , the expenditures of Blacks rose to $507 billion dollars. The top five expenditures were: Housing $203.8 billion Food $65.2 billion Cars/Trucks $29.1 billion Clothing $29.3 billion Health Care $23.6 billion Who or what is being empowered as a result of this Black Buying Power ? Is the employment gap among Blacks closing? Are the increasing numbers of disparities within the Black Community decreasing? Is the growing trend of poverty amongst low-income, women-led families being addressed? Is this buying power restoring or strengthening the Black family unit - a foundation in society? It appears the Buying Power of Blacks is generating economic stability and wealth outside of their communities. Yep! It's helping other Ethnic groups establish businesses in socially and economically disadvantaged communities (i.e., underserved Black Communities) for members of their group. And, this buying powe...

What's the big deal about single mothers, I was raised by one and I turned out okay! Were the words of a business leader running for a Prince George's County Council position. There are many successful leaders and great people that were raised by single parents. VEINC is not presenting single mothers as damsels in distress or victims of society. However, due to the increased percentage of households being led by single mothers not only in Prince George's County, Maryland, but within our Nation, it's a big deal when single women-headed households have in some regard become the normal family structure. According to Sociology for Families , single-parent families are normally female-headed and single women typically do not earn the same income as a single man; thus, there is a consequent economic struggle and burden not experienced in a single-father household. Single mothers often must work overtime shifts to compensate for the low salaries, thus taking time away from th...

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 Count...