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.”
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