GFWC Ossoli Circle continues to support and advocate for women through various programs and project during each calendar year. The following programs have been spotlighted during 2022- 2023.
Each year the Ossoli in Action Committee (OiA) raises money to support the President’s Project plus one of the committee’s choice. This year, Women Empowering Women was the choice. A portion the the funds raised by the OiA Bingo Party were used to make a $600 donation to this organization designated to assist three recent graduates from the Duncan School of Law purchase suits appropriate for job interviews. Nancy Carmon, OiA Chair, and President Nancy Christmas make the presentation at the Bingo party.
Stubbs, Beth
“Empowering Women and Young Girls” Presentation by Beth Stubbs: In observance of Leadership Day, Beth Stubbs, Rotary International Director-Elect, was invited to the GFWC Ossoli Circle Clubhouse to speak to our members. She accepted and gave a wonderful presentation on leadership with an overarching message about empowerment and kindness. She wanted members to think about who was in their lives, and figure out how to encourage and empower them. She told her own personal story of the individuals that had mentored and inspired her, and examples of how they reached out to connect and make a difference in her life. In addition, she explained the Rotary Club organization, and gave very inspiring examples of their community service projects. She concluded with a message of the importance of reaching out to a diversity of individuals – “who do you need to encourage and empower?” The follow-up questions from GFWC Ossoli Circle members after the presentation showed that the clubwomen were thinking about this message. Wondering how they could engage, empower and enable club members, the GFWC club, and the community to grow, be stronger and reach more people in need.
Domestic Violence Awareness – Elder Abuse Presentation by District Attorney General Charme Allen, 6th Judicial District of Tennessee: The GFWC Ossoli Circle Domestic Violence Awareness Chair invited the District Attorney General for the 6th Judicial District, Charme Allen, to the clubhouse to speak to club members. On February 13, she gave an excellent presentation focusing on how to prevent, detect, and report Elderly Abuse. It was also “eye-opening” and enlightening relative to protecting one’s self and others against the many different scams (cyber/internet, and noncyber/in-person, mail and phone). Her unique first-in-Tennessee Elder Abuse Unit has been involved in over 1,300 elder abuse cases per year. These cases include Financial Exploitation (FE), physical and sexual abuse, and neglect. For this specific presentation, Ms. Allen said she wanted to concentrate on the FE aspect. Criminals “attack where the money is” and Americans age 50 and older own 67% of the U.S. Bank deposits. Elderly (defined as 70 and older) are usually more susceptible because of health issues, cognitive ability and social isolation. In 2021, Tennesseans over the age of 60 reported internet crime losses of over $32 million. She went on to give examples of elderly FE, where domestic and foreign criminals utilize various forms (phone, internet, mail, in-person) to manipulate and scare a person into giving them money. Unfortunately, common forms of FE are performed by “trusted” family members making it even harder to get victims to report it. She wants everybody to be able to recognize when it is happening to you, your family, a friend, or a neighbor. An observant neighbor can notice elderly neglect, and then find out financial abuse is happening too. Per, Ms. Allen, every adult in Tennessee is responsible for reporting all types of adult abuse to Tennessee’s Adult Protective Services (APS). In addition, she reminded club members, when an individual posts information on social media, or takes one of the internet quizzes, it can aid a criminal in creating a profile for that individual. The more information a criminal can obtain, even if it may seem benign, the more likely that person will become a victim.
Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention: On January 16, at the clubhouse, the GFWC Ossoli in Action (OiA) Chair discussed Human Trafficking to education members on various facts and statistics. She did this in a fun interactive way through a “True and False” quiz. It definitely made members pay attention and helped them see that they had a lot of misconceptions about the what, why, who and where’s of Human Trafficking. For example, some in the room believed only young girls and women were the victims of human trafficking. One of GFWC Ossoli Circle’s Community Service Projects, in which members can donate dollars, is the local organization Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking (CCAHT). The $500 “Dollars Donated” reflect those dollars given to CCAHT.
