OUR STORY
OUR STORY
Sisters Supporting Sisters is a group of women who decided to engage in a vision bigger than themselves. Unifying the black and brown women of our community and providing a safe place for them to become self-full and heal from trauma.
In June 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when life seemed to be spiraling out of control, it forced everyone to sit down and acknowledge themselves. For some of us the time spent with ourselves was just what we needed, a break from this fast paced life. For others it was a time where anxiety, depression, and fear kicked in. With emotions and tensions being high and many people working from home, online support groups, group chats, and zoom calls became an essential way of life. This inspired Tajuana Gooden to create a support group chat for Sisters to use as a platform to come and relieve stress during these times of turmoil. Meanwhile on the other side of town, Shana Starks and Charielle Johnson were trailing 7.5 miles to do the exact same thing to relieve stress and showing Sisterly support to one another while walking the trail. When they began walking the trail they had no idea how far they would have walked by the end. The walk was just what they needed fresh air, exercise, laughs and love from a Sister.
The walk was so rejuvenating that they decided to walk again the following week for their first walk in unity. This time inviting more sisters, including Tajuana Gooden and Shanna Veasley. Consequently, they all began to invite more Sister friends so the simple idea of “taking a walk” grew to be known as the Anxiety and Depression Relief Walk-A-Thon. The first walk had a total of fifteen Sisters that were excited to get out of the house, yet still apprehensive about tackling the seven miles ahead. It was such a successful event that the Sister friends known as "The Fab 4" decided to formalize their connection as an organization passionately called “Sisters Supporting Sisters Foundation”.
Moreover, once established, Sisters continued the weekly Walkathon, hosted an Empowerment Brunch, curated a week long youth art program, donated over 100 backpacks to elementary/middle school kids, hosted the Step Up Your Sisterhood event, hosted a online wellness speaker series and fed 40 individuals for our Kwanzaa celebration all by the end of 2020.
We look forward to growing our Sisterhood and serving our community!