March is Women's History Month. It's a month when we honor women who've made a difference throughout history. Many were never recognized for their contributions in the past because of their gender or race. All of them paved the way for today's women to choose their path with fewer roadblocks along the way. Yet, it's still a struggle. Women continue to be paid less than their male counterparts for performing the same duties, while compensation for men of color trails behind white women. Women of color receive even less than the groups mentioned above. My experience and many of my female friend's experiences have been that we had to work twice as hard as men doing the same job while making less money. Women are often passed for promotions we should have received because…wait for it, the decision-makers are primarily white males. Most women in today's world have full-time jobs while raising a family. Women have disproportionately lost their jobs during the pandemic to take care of their children. Women have been derailed from careers this past year and will have to start again in a faltering economy where many plumb jobs go to men. And then, there are the women in low-paying jobs, barely making a living, who have been thrown into abject poverty this past year.
I'm amazed by the women who make a difference today. Women who hear the call for help and answer. Women who are the first to volunteer. I think about my friend Doris Prescott who volunteers her time and money to support a Dallas nonprofit her husband founded that has provided educational training to thousands of disadvantaged children for many years. Many of those same children have gone on to become successful. When the pandemic hit, Services of Hope distributed meals to thousands of people who lost their jobs and were impoverished. Guess who I called on yesterday to help with the Overground Railroad? The Overground Railroad was organized by Grannies/Abuelas Respond to assist immigrant families who have come to this country seeking asylum from drug gangs that have ravaged their countries and threatened their lives. These families, who have been living in tents on the Mexican side of the border for the past several years, are now allowed into this country and are released from a court hearing and sent to their USA sponsors on buses. Nonprofit organizations at the border give them basics that last a few days, but volunteers have been organized to meet them at major bus stops to provide their basic needs like food, water, diapers, etc. The call went out from Grannies Respond seeking volunteers in Dallas. I immediately thought of Doris and reached out to her. Within minutes, she had it covered. She answers the call.
My friend Joyce Hamilton, and her organization, Angry Tias and Abuelas, have been working for the past several years to provide food, clothing, medical care, and basics to families forced to remain in tents on the Mexican side border by the previous administration. Their continued dedication to the cause of suffering families brings me to tears every time I think about it. They didn't see a border; they only saw suffering and wanted to do something about it. They answered the call.
Becca Schafer is another woman who works tirelessly for the community. Becca is a single mother who stays home with her child. Her daughter attends school virtually because Becca doesn't feel in-person classes are safe during the pandemic. She recently closed her catering business to pursue her dream of publishing a book based on the trauma she and her daughter experienced several years ago and their path to recovery. Several years ago, Becca organized a group of women to help clean out flooded homes, then returned to those same people and organized a group of women to do their laundry for weeks. During the pandemic and the recent weather-related disaster, she cooked and provided meals for hundreds of families without water or electricity. There was a need, and she answered the call.
My daughter's NYC friend, Kristina Libby, felt that the hundreds of thousands of people dying from COVID were not receiving the recognition that has been given in the past when lives were lost to disasters. Families of COVID victims were unable to mourn or receive the support they would have for any other disaster. She saw a need to memorialize them, and with a small step, she started a movement. Kristina began by placing a heart-shaped wreath using 200 roses with a simple placard to honor the victims of COVID in NYC. The movement has now grown to 50 cities and involved several nonprofit organizations. As a result, March 1 was declared a COVID Memorial Day by President Biden and many mayors across our country. My daughter, Marcy Comer, coordinated volunteers to create the wreath in Austin at the Umlauf Sculpture Garden yesterday. Her best friend Angela's father, Jimmie Provenzano, recently died of COVID. His name and picture were placed on the wreath, along with a mention of the 500 individuals who have passed from the virus in Austin. Their lives mattered, and they died too soon. These women heard the call and responded.
Women responded with a resounding "yes" when I asked them to volunteer for Horseshoe Bay's COVID testing and potential vaccination sites. These were the same women who have helped with various Horseshoe Bay activities throughout the years. They answer the call every time.
Will these women be recognized during Women's History Month in future years? Probably not, but their contributions make a difference. These are only a few examples of our unsung heroes. Women are the backbone of this country. Today, I am honoring only a few of them. There are millions of women like the ones I mentioned. They care for their families, work at demanding jobs, and answer the call. They don't seek attention or recognition. They just do it.
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