WOMEN GIVING BACK
Gives Back-ToSchool A Boost By Anne Sraders
W
ith the back-to-school season quickly approaching, there are countless items on the agenda to check off. However, amid the hectic weeks prefacing the start of school, it can be easy to forget those who cannot afford back-to-school supplies. Answering these needs every year is Women Giving Back, a nonprofit organization providing clothing and school supplies to women and children in need. The organization’s president and founder Terri Stagi claims its aim is rather simple. “I think we’re providing dignity and grace to women and children in crisis,” Stagi said. Celebrating its 10th year, Women Giving Back has grown from operating out of a closet to now serving more than 6,000 women and children every year in their warehouse in Sterling, Virginia. The organization’s main events occur on the second Saturday of every month, where qualified clients in need peruse aisles of clothing, shopping with dignity. “It is not like a thrift store or a hand out,” said Nicole Morris, operations manager at Women Giving Back. “It’s really an experience for them.” While the scope of its impact has reached from Loudoun County to Fairfax, it’s the personal, everyday interactions that Stagi claims are the most significant. “I remember, there was this mom and daughter, and it turns out that I think the mom probably had some drug or mental issue which landed them in the shelter,” Stagi said. “But the daughter had gotten a full scholarship to the University of Virginia’s architecture school, so she would go to Giving | Page 24
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middleburglife.com
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AUGUST 2017