13 Jul HERStory: Karin Davis-Thompson
Meet Karin Davis-Thompson, founder of Sisters Empowering Women, Inc. (SEW). Along with her sisters, Karin created SEW, which is dedicated to giving women and girls of color a space to be heard, know that their voice matters and that they bring value to any space they find themselves in.
“I am a Tampa (Florida) native, born and raised. I have always LOVED to write. Telling someone’s story, and inspiring someone to act based on what I’ve written has always been an honor. I’ve been writing articles since I was in middle school. Journalism was and still is my jam. I am a graduate of Florida A&M University, a legacy in my family. I come from a long line of Rattlers. I am a huge advocate for mental health and for communities of color to embrace and believe in the importance of guarding and talking about mental health. My sisters and I are preacher’s kids, so a desire to help others was just a part of the fabric of our upbringing. Our church has a foster care agency, and we were all involved in some way. I am a proud former foster mom, and we always volunteered with our church with everything from feeding those in need to toy drives for Christmas.
I would say a struggle for me was finding the time to really focus on the work that is so important to me while navigating the needs of my children, especially my daughter. She is a special needs child, and it took quite some time to get the right diagnosis and treatment. It meant IEPs in school, figuring out the right school, therapy, doctor’s visit, testing… it was A LOT! For all of us it was hard to balance work and family with what we wanted the nonprofit to be. We all still work full-time jobs while running and fully functioning nonprofit organization. It’s sometimes hard to stand out in the nonprofit world, to get potential business partners to see what makes us special. We are small but mighty!
My sisters and I started the nonprofit Sisters Empowering Women, Inc. in 2002. I was a foster parent and really young at the time. I didn’t realize until I became a foster parent that not all children find a forever home. I wondered how they celebrate the simple rites of passage like prom and homecoming. We found out that often they just wear whatever dress the caseworker can find. So, we started with one program, which is our flagship program today. Our “Gowns for Girls” program provides gowns, shoes and accessories for girls at-risk and underrepresented girls, including those in foster care. We grew from there – as we got to know the girls and learned more about their needs and how we could help. We kept the gowns program going, but as we began having children, and working full-time, we didn’t have the chance to really make SEW grow. But now, with our babies grown (mostly), we have had the chance to bring our dream back to the forefront, and since the pandemic, we have reignited our mentoring program, adding a journaling feature to encourage self-expression and improve communication skills, as well as “The Believe Project” to provide Christmas gifts for teen girls, our “Freshman Follow” program – providing support for a small group of girls each year as they begin their journey into adulthood (college, military or the workforce) and our next largest program, the “Back to School Bash” – providing hundreds of children with brand new backpacks full of supplies, gift cards for school clothes and educational workshops. This year we are including brand-new tennis shoes this year too!
My advice to other women is to embrace your passion once you find it, no matter the struggle. We started the nonprofit more than 20 years ago, and it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. We’ve had to endure starts and stops, and we often use our own money for what needs to be done. But we believe in our mission, in the girls we serve. Find inspiration to carry you during the rough patches. For me, faith fills my cup and remembering that success doesn’t always come quickly… but trust me, it’s coming.”
You can learn more about this amazing organization by visiting https://www.sistersempoweringwomen.org.
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