Earlier this month, we hosted our annual celebratory event to honor this year’s WANDA graduates.
Kalimah Salahuddin was our keynote speaker who shared her inspiring story of resilience that resonated with many of our graduates. She shared that when she was at her lowest point, living at LifeMoves’ Haven House with her three children, was where she decided to come into her own power. “Being a single mom is my superpower. We are innovative, creative, and end up figuring out how to navigate a world that wasn’t designed for our families,” she shared. “Being a single mom isn’t a deficit. We need to stop listening to others who say it is. We are super heroes and I want you all to embrace your superpower.”
In addition to gathering together to celebrate this year’s graduates, we were also delighted to have catering provided by one of our WANDA Alumna, Norma Quinonez. After her participation in WANDA, Norma has worked to build Semilla, her once small breakfast burrito business is now a full brick and mortar restaurant in San Francisco thanks to the support of Mercy Housing. Read more about Norma’s accomplishments here.
The event was sponsored in part by Heritage Bank of Commerce. Thanks to our Board Chair Diane Russell, each graduate received a gift bag that included two books; The Adventures of Humanity the Manatee written by a WANDA alumna and our Curriculum Facilitator Charisse Fontes and Sarah Samuels’ Braving Our Savings. In addition, Project Glimmer provided makeup gifts and longtime WANDA volunteer Jessica Lorenzo provided lovely succulents for each of the moms to take home.
Thank you to everyone who joined us at our annual Community Celebration. Together, we honored WANDA moms, celebrated powerful partnerships, and witnessed what is possible when women and allies unite.
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