HOUSTON — The Chatman Women’s Foundation continues to carry out its values of service, philanthropy and uplifting other women while raising money in order to uphold the organization’s mission.
On Friday, the foundation hosted their Annual PowHer Play Professional Women’s Breakfast at Ousie’s Table, which benefited women in various shelters across the Houston area.
According to founder Shantera Chatman, the PowHer Play Breakfast is an event the foundation has that encourages powerful women to uplift other powerful women. These women include bosses and trailblazers from all major industries, including banking, Fortune 500 companies, and more. The success of the event lies within the stories of these women that simply decided not to give up, while making the selfless choice to pull another woman up with them. That is the spirit the foundation embodies, and it is a core reason of why it has been so impactful while fulfilling its core mission.
In addition, TCWF was presented with a donation from Comerica Bank to provide scholarships to women in shelters. These scholarships will assist women in reaching their educational and business goals.
Chatman says it is important to continue to legacy of the organization because of the women that ultimately have and will benefit from it. The organization was founded in 2008 after she was encouraged to do so by the women she has personally impacted while volunteering at a women’s shelter.
“It started as a conference. It started as something they just come to once a year, and it wound up being this, because I wanted to be able to do more. I wanted to be able to do something more tangible, so I put it into a foundation where we can raise money and be able to give those funds out,” she says.
While Chatman says there have been times when she feels like her mission is complete, something happens every year that gives her the push to keep going. One of those moments is when she was able to talk a woman out of making a drastic decision for her life.
“Last year, a lady said, ‘You talked me down off of a cliff. I literally was about to jump.’ And I didn’t know that, but I was still just talking, so those kind of days enrich me and let me know that I can move forward,” she revealed.
For more information on how you can help other women through TCWF, go to their website at www.chatmanwomensfoundation.org.