the Painting Activist

8″ x 10″ oil on canvas, $220 ($50 donated to Women 4 Women)

“Our work is twofold: we raise funds and we raise awareness about issues that affect women and families. Our job is to give women and families the tools they need to help themselves.” -founder, Cissy Musselman

As their name grows and changes are seen as a result of their work, Women 4 Women is more frequently talked about at the dinner table. While recently at a party in Columbus Ohio, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that a local resident I was speaking with knew of the organization well. Clearly, more and more interested ears are becoming acquainted with the comprehensive list of issues tackled by Women for Women. I hope that as awareness snowballs, Women 4 Women’s imprint on the lives of women in Louisville follows in measure.

While sitting in on Women 4 Women’s first board meeting of the year, I got inside details about one of their most current endeavors. The National Center for Family Literacy will receive funding from Women 4 Women for the “Financial Education and Coaching Program” to meet the financial literacy needs, with a focus on family stability, of under-served families with extremely low levels of income. This seems to be an ideal form of intervention to cure a problem rather than manage it. When given the tools to help themselves, such “under-served” people will show their potential has merely being laying dormant, awaiting the opportunity to rise above the hardships holding them down.