Columbia’s WINGS women’s shelter opened its doors to the community Saturday for an antique sale and fundraiser, and organizers said there was a wonderful response despite the weather not cooperating.
“We still dunked lots of politicians, sold out of chicken plates and the bake sale did really well,” Executive Director Allen Williams said. “It was a great success with the help of our generous volunteers and staff.”
WINGS thanked the Phi Kappa organization for help in early-morning setup Saturday and the Dusty Club for doing face painting inside the thrift shop it operates on Broad Street.
The event Saturday was intended to provide exposure to what WINGS does, she said. It stands for Women in Need of God’s Shelter. Williams emphasized it’s a local ministry using local funds; it’s not grant-driven but rather grassroots, she said.
“My goal is nobody is homeless. No child is a vagrant with their mother, and we do take them out of cars with their children,” she said. “I just think that it’s very rewarding to see that there aren’t a lot of hurting and homeless people in your community (because they’ve been helped).”
Williams started with the organization in October 2015 and became executive director two years ago. She said she’s worked to expand its mission beyond just helping domestic violence victims.
“It doesn’t have to be domestic violence. It can be a single mom transitioning in any way. I really believe if you help the mom you help the child,” she said.
They have capacity for 20 women in the shelter, and it stays about 75 percent full, Williams said. They also have room for 20 at the other WINGS shelter in McComb.
The charity’s board of directors includes President John Hales and Vice President Camille Breland along with Mike Smith, Mike Kuykendall, Mary Gallagher, Alicia Butler and Judy Ward.
Columbia High School student Jade Slemaker recently created a website for WINGS, wingshelter.org, as her senior project. Williams said she would give Slemaker an A-plus on the project.
“I’m just so proud of her,” Williams said. “The site is just so robust.”
Pictured Above: Bake sale participants are seen Saturday at WINGS. From left are Louise Brown, Jean Hahn Morris, Angela Armstrong, Savannah Turnage and Margie Harris. They helped raise money to benefit the women’s shelter in Columbia. | Photos by Charlie Smith
