For Women’s Month this year, Friends NYC is donating a portion of sales to the organization, Rise of Broken Women. We love the founder’s story and all the organization does to empower women to overcome extreme hardship and rise to their best selves. RBW envisions a world where women are capable of exiting the cycle of poverty. They partner with homeless shelters and low-income communities in order to reach all women and families in New York City looking for a permanent exit strategy from the cycle of poverty.
Charlee S. Newman is the Founder, Creator, and Visionary of Rise of Broken Women.
She says, “Well, it all started when I found myself living on the streets of New York City for three days and my bedroom was on the A Train. When I was hungry, I stood in front of this Chinese Restaurant, because this is where the business people would drop their doggy bags into the trashcan. I would collect what they discarded for lunch and dinner. I eventually registered myself at a drop-in homeless center where I lived for two years. These were the worst days of my life. I felt afraid of my surroundings, I was in constant fear, totally humiliated, deeply ashamed, angry, hurt, and very alone.”
Newman has seen firsthand how the system failed her and other women. There is no better person to lead the charge than someone who has experienced homelessness firsthand. She knows what it feels like to lack the basics such as toiletries and underwear, and how just being unclean can destroy your self-worth and confidence.
The system Newman created has three steps:
- Supply – to survive and endure
- Teach – to create job readiness and self-sufficiency
- Connect – to help re-establish and erect a new life
“By using this structure and giving these women and their families the chance they deserve, we can break the cycle of poverty while strengthening our communities and bringing the forgotten back into the fold.”
We’re so inspired by you, Charlee! A portion of sales this month will be donated directly to Rise of Broken Women. Women supporting women is how we roll.
There are many more ways you can support women in the shelter system by sponsoring an individual and providing menstrual products, participating in their supply drives (coats, blankets, feminine hygiene products, bras and underwear), or volunteer directly in their efforts.
Or start by shopping our women owned brands and making your dollars work extra hard.
We are stronger together. Let us lift each other up in all the ways we know how.
Love you all!
