SPARKS, Nev. (KOLO) – A Sparks nonprofit is dedicated to helping women in crisis both financially and emotionally.
In 2008, Charlotte Bavaro and Brenda Critzer wanted to spend some time among women while doing something meaningful for the community. So they invited a group of women to dinner and asked them to bring a $10 gift.
“That night, 36 women came to the dinner. They donated the first $360 to a foundation that facilitates adoption. They had so much fun, they wanted to do it again,” said Becky Erisman, the Northern Nevada chapter leader.
Erisman says after the second dinner, the women decided that the money they raised would benefit other women in their community rather than donating it to a national organization. And so the nonprofit Helping One Woman (HOW) was born.
“It was founded by women for women and has never changed,” Erisman said. “We truly believe that by helping a woman, we help a family, and by helping that family, we help the community.”
HOW helps any woman who has suffered an irreplaceable loss in the last 18 months. That could mean anything from a medical diagnosis to the loss of a child or, in Shayla Whiteley’s case, a car accident.
“My father was in an accident that left him paralyzed. My mother and I attended three dinners at our Discovery Bay, California, facility to have my mother nominated as a recipient,” Whiteley said.
After dinner with her mother, Whiteley was so overwhelmed by the support they had received that she decided to join the Sparks team as a chapter leader.
“Ultimately, it’s not about the money. It’s really about giving everyone that sense of community that often gives people who experience something like this. They don’t know how to help,” Whiteley said.
The dinners are held every second Wednesday of the month at Cantina Los Tres Hombres in Sparks, where the next month’s recipient is randomly selected by placing names in a bowl.
“We only accept nominations at the dinners, so you must be present to nominate,” Erisman explains.
Attendees are encouraged to bring new guests to future meetings. Sometimes guests come from out of town. Because new people are always attending, organizers explain the purpose and functions of the organization at each meeting. All proceeds from each dinner go directly to the honored nominee. So far, Helping One Woman has been able to help 21 women and raise $118,000 here in Northern Nevada.
If you would like to participate, please contact [email protected].
All rights reserved.
