If you have been on the internet for at least six months, chances are good that someone has forwarded you the email containing the story of The Ant and the Contact Lens. This snopes-certified story can seem pretty implausible, but it’s verified as true. Essentially, while climbing a mountain, a hiker loses a contact lens, only to learn at the summit that another hiker farther behind on the trail had seen an ant trudging along, bearing aloft the lost lens. More than a statement on finding what is lost, the fable speaks more to the willingness to trudge.
I would wager that it has so much significance for so many of us because oftentimes we feel as though we are walking on a Cosmic Treadmill in a huge gym with no particular purpose, no end in sight or any indication that what we are doing makes a difference.
Sometimes it feels as though we are running in place!
When you consider the fact that the women we serve traditionally come from what can be most gently referred to as economically-challenged backgrounds, that feeling of futility is magnified a thousandthfold.
These are women who have sometimes been told that they are stupid, worthless, ugly and that they should settle for what they have because whatever station they have achieved in life is the best that they can expect. However, some shred of dignity within themselves rears its head and they muster the courage to reach out and up.
They know deep inside themselves, where the candle of their soul flickers, that they ARE worth investment; that their lives have purpose and meaning.
What they lack are resources, structure and direction.
Eight months ago, Delana and her children lived in a homeless shelter. Yesterday, Women With Drive Foundation awarded her a car. We will provide the majority of the costs of transportation and maintenance of that car in exchange for two years of her life. Because we have alleviated the pressure of maintaining reliable transportation, she can focus on where she wants to go and how she is going to get there. Our nonprofit will continue to partner with many other agencies to provide resources, structure and direction.
What did Delana do to receive her car? She carried a contact lens for eight months.
- She reached out to a local INCENT program housed within the homeless shelter.
- She followed the recommendations set by and with her caseworker there.
- She took the initiative to begin work on her GED.
- She took the steps to rent an apartment.
- Two weeks ago, she got a job.
Each step of the way, she was taking small actions that when viewed individually may have seemed insignificant. I’m sure that as she juggled her class schedule and her young children she doubted herself and her sanity.
But she continued to follow through with each challenge presented to her. When we went over her assessment and paperwork to transfer the car to her, I was humbled by her faith in us and her willingness to partner with us in her journey. It is an honor to travel this path with her and I am grateful for the chance to learn from her.
Thank you, Delana and bless you.
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Molly Cantrell-Kraig is a woman with drive. Possessing an innate sense of purpose and a pragmatic, solution-based approach to empowering people, she fused these two traits in order to establish Women With Drive Foundation. Based upon its founder’s personal history, Women With Drive Foundation is a means through which Cantrell-Kraig may effect change on both a micro and macro level. By providing women with something as essential as personal transportation in order to transition them from poverty to prosperity, she, through Women With Drive Foundation, seeks to empower women to help them help themselves. Through this action, the individual applicant benefits, as does society as a whole. Follow Molly on twitter as @mckra1g or @WWDr1ve (Women With Drive Foundation) or “Like” us on facebook.
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