An all-American girl who graduated from T.L. Hanna, a woman trying to escape a cycle of abuse and poverty, and a young mother with a dream of finishing high school—all three women have something in common.

They are part of a national statistic that represents women and children in poverty. But they also represent something greater.

Just a few years ago these women yearned for a hand to reach out and help them take a step up. That hand was the Women and Children Succeeding (WACS) program, a non-profit entity of Anderson Interfaith Ministries that is supported by donations and grants. It serves women and children in Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties.

South Carolina ranks in the top 10 nationally for women living in poverty. WACS provides support to single mothers so they can return to school. The support comes in the form of child-care assistance, tuition facilitation, money or vouchers for daily needs or sometimes just a shoulder to cry on. The organization’s motto is “changing generations through education.”

The program’s annual fundraising luncheon was recently held at Boulevard Baptist Church. Among the 200 women gathered were business women and community leaders. But all eyes were on the participants of the WACS program, as they each took the stage to tell their stories.

Kristi King-Brock, AIM executive director, shared the story of Anna Dukes who came to AIM a few years ago homeless and living out of her car. After helping her secure housing deposits, the staff at AIM gave her an application for the WACS program. Dukes recently graduated from Greenville Tech with a nursing degree. She works as a nurse and is enrolled at Clemson University in a bachelor’s degree program. She also sits on the board of AIM.

Another success story is Dawna Harrison, 32. She grew up in a cycle of poverty that had permeated her family for generations. She related that “even if you got a job, you supported the extended family that didn’t have jobs.”

There was a cycle of abuse that went along with the poverty. Harrison tried to think of ways to break the cycle but did not have the tools to do so. Her solution was to get married.

“I thought if I got a man, I’d be okay. But his insanity and my lack of knowledge led to more years of chaos,” Harrison stated.

She sought the only help she had ever known, that of government agencies. Harrison would often look at the people sitting across the desks from her and wonder how they got their jobs.

“They told me how to get assistance (from their particular program), but nobody was telling me the secrets of how they got where they were. I didn’t have the keys.” Desperate, Harrison stumbled across WACS. Although she was married, they agreed to take her in.

“WACS built me up, made me feel special,” Harrison said passionately. She now serves on the Upstate Homeless Coalition board.

Nikita Cowan, 25, had a different journey to share. She was an all-American girl, a T.L. Hanna graduate. Soon after enrolling in college, she decided to drop out. She had what she considered a good job at a hotel and a good place to live. But when she discovered she was pregnant, Cowan lost both her job and her apartment. Humiliated, she returned home to live with her parents.

Cowan related that she came from a proud family that did not ask for help. Her family had never lived in poverty. But it was her mom that suggested WACS. By chance, Cowan turned on the TV that evening and saw the WACS program highlighted on the news.

Cowan said, “I knew that God meant it for me. People think you’re lazy, but we’re smart women. We just need help.”

After ridding herself of the people in her life that “sucked the energy” out of her, she does not feel the shame anymore. “We’re in a place (WACS program) that tells you that you can come up.” Cowan is attending Anderson University on a scholarship.

A new extension of WACS is a mentoring program with a new coordinator, Laurie Thompson. It will match graduates and other women in the community with the women currently in the program. In 15 years of WACS, 81 graduates have walked across the stage. There are 36 families currently enrolled in the program with a waiting list of 85 mothers. Volunteers are needed to mentor the participants.

Each family is looked at individually to assess their needs, King-Brock said. “We pick them up and build their self-esteem to keep them going. And it’s not just about taking, it’s about giving back.”

The program requires for each $100 of assistance that a woman receives, she must give back one hour of community service. The women also must attend financial counseling and life skills sessions. While initially it can seem overwhelming to add the community service onto an already busy schedule, “once they start it, they love it. They’re part of something bigger,” King-Brock said.

One of the resources the women have is a cottage where they have access to computers, a safe environment for their children to play, and a network of other women. The cottage is stocked with items the women could not ordinarily afford. From birthday presents for their children to toiletry items, everything costs a flat fee of $1.50 and is applied to their accounts. While they get these items at a greatly reduced cost, the point is to make them accountable for what they are receiving.

Becky Inman, 29, is the manager of the cottage. She is also a graduate of the WACS program. “Nobody expected much of me; in fact, they expected the least of me,” Inman said.

The only support she had was her sister, who also graduated from the program.

Inman says she was waitressing and raising her children but was determined to return to school. She just did not know how to accomplish it. Her sister told her about WACS. “God showed me that I could do it,” Inman said.

She feels it is her duty to help others now. “This program has done so much more than send me to school,” she said. “I couldn’t be any place today without someone reaching out a hand. We are beating back poverty one WACS diploma at the time.”

All three women have overwhelming gratitude for a program that provided help when they needed it.

Harrison expressed the sentiment best. “I feel loved, important, and special. I am somebody today!”