
Renée
Spivey and Tameka Edison Greathouse founded WOW in Huntsville in 2016. It is intended
to enhance the lives of women within the Huntsville community who have been
homeless, incarcerated or underprivileged. WOW is a nonprofit organization that
ensures that women know their worth.
Both
Spivey and Greathouse share a passion for helping women obtain a career and an
education.
“We
were sitting at Tameka’s house one day having a bible study, just talking about
what our dreams were,” Spivey said. “I said ‘I’d like to start an organization
to help women when they come out of prison, homelessness [or are] underprivileged
in any type of way, or simply want to better themselves,’ and Tameka shared my
passion for this idea.”
Spivey
and Greathouse did not have an office space, so they worked out of their own
homes to provide for the women in the community as soon as they were
operational.
“We are the women that we look to service,” Greathouse said. “We know all too well what it’s like to be overlooked because of a lack of knowledge, education and skills. We want to create that bridge to fill in the gap for those women who are in the position where we once stood.”
WOW
offers courses for essential life, personal and educational skills to the
everyday woman looking to get to that next level in their lives. WOW now has a
testing site available for those who want to earn their HiSET, which is equivalent to the GED.
Any woman interested can complete a client intake form, and Spivey and
Greathouse will then create an individual empowerment plan (IEP).
The
IEP is a step-by-step plan that is specialized for each woman. After completing
the courses, Spivey and Greathouse hope women will walk out with more
independence and more confidence within themselves and their future.
“The services we offer are free— reading, writing and computer classes and counseling services on an as-needed basis,” Greathouse said. “We have programs that assist these women in getting their certifications. We are currently looking for donors to pay the state fee for the HiSET exam so that it can become free of charge for our clients in the near future.”
Currently,
WOW has five clients but hopes to help up to 25 clients per year. Spivey and
Greathouse make sure they do everything in their power to help women in the
community gain more knowledge.
Spivey
and Greathouse moved into their current office space in November 2018. WOW
plans to have their own building where women and their children can be housed
while the women gain the skills to join the workforce or begin their college
education. WOW hopes to have a company car so that clients who need a ride to
attend the courses or get to the testing site is no longer an issue.
“We’re
trying to help [these women] break the cycle,” Spivey said. “We want them to
have that GED and show their kids or their family and say ‘It doesn’t always have
to be like this. You can be more than you think you can be.’ If we can get a woman to think
outside of her normalcy and see that her dreams are not so far out of reach,
she can change the thoughts of her kids, her family and the generations to come.”
WOW
is looking for volunteers to proctor studying, practice tests, and help with community
events. There are no requirements to volunteer, and their door is always open.
If you are interested in the services they offer, visit their website at www.wearewomenofworth.org
or their office at 1212 10th Street.