My Sister's House is home to women's workforce ministry
New initiative opening at St. Andrews Center will help women find and keep jobs
When Rhonda Hobbs was the associate pastor at Burks United Methodist Church in Hixson, she said she noticed how many members of the large congregation were working women.
That simple observation sparked an idea in 2007 that is now ready to roll out this spring.
My Sister's House is the church's newest mission, focused on helping women who are new to or re-entering the job market find the basic clothing and skills they will need to land and keep a job.
"As women we tend to go through our clothes quickly and stop using things even before they wear out. I thought that would be a good ministry to help provide women clothes for work," Hobbs said in a phone interview from her new church in Floyd, Va.
Hobbs said her original idea was focused on simply providing the clothing, and she named the initiative My Sister's Closet, but the more she thought about what women new to the workforce might need, the idea quickly grew.
The new program will now include classes and workshops on resume writing, interview skills, how to behave at work and how to keep the job once you get it. One-on-one classes on basic computer skills will also be offered, according to project team leader Pat Marshall.
Volunteers with the church have donated labor and skills to renovate two large rooms on the third floor of the St. Andrews Center in Highland Park. When their doors open to the public in March, the ministry hopes to be serving women in the Latino community who may looking for employment for the first time, Marshall said.
The decision to locate in the St. Andrews Center fits well into the mix of ministries and services under the center's roof. Adding workforce training to other services at St. Andrews, such as the poverty alleviation program with the Chalmers Center, the Church Koinonia Federal Credit Union and the arts academy, is just the kind of partner organization they are looking for in the building, according to Executive Director Kristi Strode.
"All of this has to do with economic well-being, helping people get jobs, perform well on the job, all things to get yourself to a better life position. We see My Sister's House as a good fit to work with these other ministries," Strode said.
Hobbs said she believes certain basic skills most of us take for granted are not always common knowledge to others, and there are still many who have never learned about being an employee and finding a good job.
"There needs to be a place for women who want to find employment but who didn't grow up with job skills or even knowing how to present themselves in a business environment," Hobbs said.
All classes and workshops will be led by qualified volunteers and available at no cost. Marshall said there might be a small fee for participants who need clothes. There is currently an entire storage unit filled with donated professional outfits, all of which will be moved into St. Andrews.
"We have two rooms there now. One is for training, and one is for clothing with a dressing room," Marshall said.
The group is no longer taking donations but is looking for client referrals from other community agencies such as Room at the Inn, the Chattanooga Community Kitchen and the Interfaith Hospitality Network.
Although Hobbs left the congregation in June 2011 for a new assignment in Virginia, her vision for the mission and what My Sister's House could represent for all women is still on target.
"For me, I think that all women are connected. We are all sisters. The name expressed a way we can reach out to each other and help each other," she said.
Anyone who is interested in signing up for the new services and receiving updates about the new schedule is encouraged to contact Burks UMC via email at mysistershouse@burks.org or by calling the church office at 423-842-4219, extension 140.
