Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Advertisement
    • Contact Us
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Advertise With Us
    • Home
      • COVID-19 Resource Center
        • Dr. Henry Louis Gates’ PSA Radio
      • Featured
    • News
      • State
      • Local
      • National/International News
      • Global
      • Business
        • Commentary
        • Finance
        • Local Business
      • Investigative Stories
        • Affordable Housing
        • DCS Investigation
        • Gentrification
    • Editorial
      • National Politics
      • Local News
      • Local Editorial
      • Political Editorial
      • Editorial Cartoons
      • Cycle of Shame
    • Community
      • History
      • Tennessee
        • Chattanooga
        • Clarksville
        • Knoxville
        • Memphis
      • Public Notices
      • Women
        • Let’s Talk with Ms. June
    • Education
      • College
        • American Baptist College
        • Belmont University
        • Fisk
        • HBCU
        • Meharry
        • MTSU
        • University of Tennessee
        • TSU
        • Vanderbilt
      • Elementary
      • High School
    • Lifestyle
      • Art
      • Auto
      • Tribune Travel
      • Entertainment
        • 5 Questions With
        • Books
        • Events
        • Film Review
        • Local Entertainment
      • Family
      • Food
        • Drinks
      • Health & Wellness
      • Home & Garden
      • Featured Books
    • Religion
      • National Religion
      • Local Religion
      • Obituaries
        • National Obituaries
        • Local Obituaries
      • Faith Commentary
    • Sports
      • MLB
        • Sounds
      • NBA
      • NCAA
      • NFL
        • Predators
        • Titans
      • NHL
      • Other Sports
      • Golf
      • Professional Sports
      • Sports Commentary
      • Metro Sports
    • Media
      • Video
      • Photo Galleries
      • Take 10
      • Trending With The Tribune
    • Classified
    • Obituaries
      • Local Obituaries
      • National Obituaries
    The Tennessee TribuneThe Tennessee Tribune
    Featured

    YWCA grateful for truckload of goods

    Wiley HenryBy Wiley HenryApril 25, 2024Updated:April 25, 2024No Comments4 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Telegram Pinterest Tumblr Reddit Email
    Dr. Pam Chatman (left), the CEO of BossGiving, and Gwendolyn Turner, who runs a Memphis YWCA shelter, show off some of the items — more than $100,000 worth — that Chatman donated to the facility. Photo by Wiley Henry
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    By Wiley Henry

    MEMPHIS, TN — A local women’s facility recently received a generous donation of household items from Amazon and electronics worth more than $100,000 — thanks to BossGiving, a philanthropic organization.

    Delivered by an 18-wheeler in early April, the sizable haul was unloaded at the YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) of Memphis, where survivors of domestic violence are given a safe place to stay unbeknown to their abusers.

    The donation also includes support for a Women Crisis Transportation Assistance program.   

    “All that I tried to do and wanted to do was help victims of domestic violence,” said shelter coordinator Gwendolyn Turner, whose initial plan to start her own shelter was nixed due to extenuating circumstances. 

    But a silver lining would eventually materialize in the form of a key position at the facility.

    “God so fixed it that He laid it right here in my hand. Everything that I wanted to do is right here,” said Turner, now in a better position to help women on the lam from their abusers.

    More help would arrive, however, after a visitor touring the facility suggested that Turner get in touch with Bolivar County, Miss.-native Dr. Pam Chatman, the CEO of BossGiving.

    During a tête-à-tête, Turner and Chatman found common ground. Both women love God, both had overcome domestic violence, and both resolved to help others take back their lives.

    “We started talking about the goodness of the Lord,” said Chatman, and decided to bless Turner for what she’s doing at the facility and thank her for helping those who cannot help themselves.

    Like Turner, Chatman grappled with a form of domestic violence. “For 17 years of my life, I was degraded every day. So why not be a blessing to women that are going through to say, ‘Look at me. Look what God has done for me.’”

    Chatman said God cleaned her up and changed her life. “Then He gave me a gift of speaking to tell my testimony,” she said. “I’m truly honored today to do the Lord’s work.” 

    A retired news director who last worked for WABG-TV in the Mississippi Delta, Chatman promised God that if He’d remove her tormentor, she’d continue to serve Him for the rest of her life.

    She kept her promise after serving 25 years altogether in television. “About 10 or 15 years, we’ve been giving,” she said. “We started out small and now we have graduated to this large scale: $100,000 trucks [filled with a plethora of items].”

    BossGiving, a non-profit, is supported with private funds, including support from the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi.

    The donation to the YWCA is part of BossGiving’s mission to empower and uplift communities by providing “nutritional and essential items needed to support a selective spectrum of women and children.”

    Memphis is the first leg of a national tour, said Chatman, also known as “Boss Lady.” Next month it’s Atlanta, GA, then Dallas, TX. From there it’s Alabama and back to Knoxville, TN.

    “The journey that I will continue to take every day of my life is all about giving, all about serving,” said Chatman. “I started out using my own money buying 18 wheelers to give to small communities that didn’t have grocery stores, that have high numbers of poverty, that had a lot of low-income families with children.

    “I’m from the Mississippi Delta. We’re talking about poverty. I wanted God to use me so I may be able to help people on a large scale,” she said. “We do clothes. We do trucks of food. We do household items.”

    To determine who gets help, Chatman said she works a lot with child protection services, a lot with counties and supervisors, youth courts, and other nonprofit agencies that deal with families and children.

    “These are seeds, and God is going to do exceedingly and abundantly what you have planted in this administration,” Karen Todd, a YWCA board member, conveyed to Chatman. 

    “We are so grateful.”

    Copyright 2024 TNTRIBUNE. All rights reserved.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Wiley Henry

    Related Posts

    BET Gutted, DEI Killed, Media Bought —Trump’s Playbook in Action

    August 13, 2025

    Proposed tunnel in Nashville raises concerns in Black communities

    August 7, 2025

    Alphonso Harvey Appointed to Nashville’s Hospital Authority Board

    August 6, 2025

    Parkwood All Stars 2025 – Continued World Series

    August 3, 2025

    Piers Morgan continues racist attacks on Black commentators

    July 31, 2025

    KOOL Club Hosts Inaugural Golf Tournament to Fund Scholarships for MTSU Students

    July 29, 2025

    Comments are closed.

    Advertisement
    Business

    Toon appointed new role at MMCV

    August 13, 2025

    FARM BUREAU INSURANCE OF TENNESSEE CEO JEFF PANNELL ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

    August 11, 2025

    Six Tennessee Companies Compete in Regional Pitch Competition on Aug. 14th

    August 9, 2025
    1 2 3 … 386 Next
    Education
    Education

    APSU’s Meisch named to Clarksville-Montgomery County IDB board of directors

    By Colby WilsonAugust 11, 2025

    CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Dr. Karen Meisch, dean of the Austin Peay State University College of Science,…

    Distinguished Educator and Author Joins Fisk University as Executive Director of John Lewis Center for Social Justice

    August 10, 2025

    TSU Names Tucker as 9th President

    August 7, 2025

    APSU professor assisting Tennessee law enforcement in cold cases

    July 29, 2025
    The Tennessee Tribune
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • About Us
    • Digital Subscription
    • Store
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact
    © 2025 The Tennessee Tribune - Site Designed by No Regret Media.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Our Spring Sale Has Started

    You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/