When members of UWUA Local 600’s women’s caucus chose ReSet Ministries Women’s Sober House in Newport, Kentucky, as their first philanthropic project, they never imagined their example would inspire so many others to join their efforts. Members’ initial volunteer outreach in October 2021 soon led to a $500 donation from the Local 600 general board.
Committee member Holly McLaughlin shared: “Another local group, Sisters Give-Back, and the Wallace-Barnes Family wanted to help when they heard about what we were doing.” Together, the groups started collecting and assembling baskets of provisions for women residing in ReSet Ministries sponsored sober houses. While shopping for the project, a Local 600 women’s committee member had a chance meeting with a Proctor & Gamble representative who on the spot donated whatever company products she had in her car and promised to deliver a pallet of toothpaste after the start of the new year. A random stranger overheard the conversation and gave a cash donation.
The Local 600 Women’s Committee credits the UWUA National Women’s Caucus with providing the leadership to make it happen, along with an overwhelming level of support from Local 600’s President Steve Kowolonek and the local’s entire executive board. Caucus member Donna Wallace summed up the experience: “We are a small committee, just getting started, but are excited to see the great things that can happen when like-minded people put their hands and hearts together for a common goal.”