Meet Kay Wright

We recently connected with Kay Wright and have shared our conversation below.

Kay, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I have always felt my purpose was to help people who haven’t had the opportunities I have been given. I began my work career as a young girl by mowing yards in my small town in Indiana. In high school I volunteered as a Candy Striper at the local hospital. I majored in Speech and Language Pathology and began my career working with speech-impaired students, as well as special-needs students.
I honestly don’t think I “found” my purpose; I think that my desire to help others is just a basic part of me.
After I retired from my career, I began volunteering at a food pantry in Tempe, as well as serving meals to people experiencing homelessness. After learning about the need of women on the streets needing feminine hygiene products, and being unable to afford them, a small group of my friends and I founded Women4Women Tempe, Inc. We began under my church’s umbrella, and became a 501 (c)3 in July, 2017.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I was a Speech and Language Pathologist in the Pendergast Elementary School District in Phoenix for over 25 years, and thoroughly enjoyed my job, my students, their families, the administration and my coworkers. After I retired, I volunteered at Tempe Community Action Agency in the food pantry.
In 2017, I was listening to an NPR story about a woman in Dallas who was providing feminine hygiene products to women living on the streets. That was such a disturbing thought to me that I talked to almost everybody I know about it, and a handful of friends and I decided to start something similar in Tempe, and that we did!
Women4Women Tempe provides feminine hygiene products to women who need them but have difficulty affording them by distributing bags of pads, or tampons, liners, feminine wipes and hand wipes through over 30 agencies which already provide services to women with limited financial means. We distribute through homeless outreaches, shelters, family resource centers, medical facilities, rehab centers, libraries, schools, etc.
Women4Women Tempe is an all-volunteer organization, comprised of a core group of 20 individuals who facilitate packing parties (how our bags are assembled), unboxing supplies, delivering products to distribution sites, and various other tasks required for us to get the products to women.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

It’s not a skill or area of knowledge that I think is the most important, and that is to surround yourself with people who are positive, supportive, compassionate, and who share the mission. It’s also important to have people you trust, who will let you know when you are veering off course, and who will listen and offer advice. A good sense of humor and laughter will help in many stressful situations. Our group works hard, but we laugh a lot!

I have found it is also important for one to have patience when starting a nonprofit, Money is always going to be needed, something is always not going to work out but having patience and trust that what one is doing is a good thing, will keep everyone relatively happy.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

The person who was the most helpful in beginning Women4Women Tempe was Sue Ringler. She was the pastor at my church when we first started this journey. Sue had started many nonprofits benefitting unhoused people, and she was our biggest cheerleader, who also knew almost everybody in the city and knew everything about nonprofits. Sue passed away from cancer three years ago, and I still hear her voice telling me I can do this.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://women4womentempe.org
• Instagram: women4womentempe
• Facebook: Women4Women Tempe
• Linkedin: kaywright13@cox.net
• Twitter: kaywright13@cox.net
• Youtube: kaywright13@cox.net
• Yelp: kaywright13@cox.net
• Soundcloud: kaywright13@cox.net

Image Credits

Kay Wright