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OUR HISTORY
- In 1988, Community Women Against Hardship was co-founded by Gloria L. Taylor and by the late Betty J. Lee. At that time both were employed by the Chancellor of the University of Missouri-St. Louis Dr. Marguerite Ross Barnett, Taylor, reading a report about the poverty line in the City of St. Louis joined with Lee, a respected journalist and families through our newly created Family Support Center located at 3963 West Belle Place. The center represented the first permanent home for CWAH. The building housing the center represented the first permanent home for CWAH. The building housing the center was purchased from the City of St. Louis for $1 and completely renovated with more than $800,000 in cash and in-kind donations.
- Skilled volunteers donated over 30,000 hours to assist with the renovation. The Center has allowed us to increase the number of families we serve annually from 30 to over 100, with the average family having 5-6 children. Since 1988, CWAH has provided services to over 5, 000 women and children. It is well to note that one of our instructors at the center is a former client. She was nominated while beginning her second year at St. Louis Community College Forest Park Campus. She had 2 children with one on the way. She has created the Adventurous Reading Program at CWAH and we are elated that she is currently working to complete her Doctorate in Education.
- The Family Support Center houses a library, a computer lab, a music laboratory, a warehouse, (of donated furniture, appliances and various household items), a clothing boutique and a food pantry.
- Developmental and Educational programs for youth and their families are offered through workshops in collaboration with Lutheran Family & Children Services, computer and other specialized class work in partnership with the St. Louis Community College-Forest Park Campus (The William Harrison Center) and series of programs that include our after school/summer programs for youths 5th through 8th grades. Our music laboratory encourages youths from 5th through 12th grades with history and instruction provided by professional jazz musician. Our Show-Me-Series provided travel experience for youths and their parents to historic sites throughout the country for example- in 2006, youths and their parents traveled to Chicago to see the Kings Tut exhibit at the Field Museum. In 2007, they visited the Harry Turman Library, and both the Negro Baseball Museum and the Jazz Museum. In 2008, they visited the Lincoln Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. In 2009, they visted the ClintonPresidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The CWAH Building Then: The Vision, Making the Impossible-Possible
Everyone Working Hard Toward The Vision
The CWAH Building Now: The Vision Realized
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