Paige Harriman, a student at Highland Park High School, started a Genesis Women’s Outreach Club for the GWOC in Dallas. Paige is a remarkable young girl, who lives the “Pay It Forward” outlook on life. Genesis Women’s Shelter is a safe haven for women and children who are victims to domestic abuse.  Here is an essay by Paige about her experience with the Shelter and a charity event she hosted.  

Origin of Genesis

by Paige Harriman

            I breathe in and out, swallowing huge gulps of oxygen. No one is here, no one bothered to support my cause. My heart pounds; adrenaline courses through my system. This club meeting is a disaster. Scratch that, this entire ordeal is a catastrophe. I am like a radio station playing an endless mix of Billy Joel and the Moldy Peaches, disoriented and frazzled. My efforts have failed.

            It’s the seventh “first meeting” of the Genesis Women’s Outreach Club, and I’m left alone again. Although I always post flyers all over the school, no one comes. Surprisingly, there were about fifty people that joined my online group. Where were they, I wondered?

            Covering my mouth, I muffle a frustrated yell. Genesis deserves more support than this–and no, I’m not just talking about my activity. The actual shelter, which houses over a hundred women, desperately needs aid.

            I started G.W.O.C. for my mother. My dad had long abused her–not physically, but through court battles. He ran her through endless litigation, attempting to steal custody of my brothers and me. When I saw how that took its toll on her, I realized that other women faced similar problems. Abusive men are allowed free reign, able to damage their spouses in ways unimaginable. Violence is readily available, society overlooking savagery.

            I had to rethink my strategies. Obviously, tons of flyers and announcements weren’t working. I searched the Genesis website, looking for large-scale projects. Would more people get involved if we read to kids at the shelter? I called someone in charge of the shelter–Laura–and asked how G.W.O.C. could help.

            A few weeks later, we met at a coffee shop. I recognized her because of the big “Genesis Women’s Shelter” bouquet she was holding, composed of pamphlets. Waving to me, she smiled with crinkly eyes, inviting me to talk to her.

            As we drank our coffee, we discussed ways to garner high school support for the shelter. Inspired, I mentioned a problem for most seniors at Highland Park: lack of graduation-required service hours. If we targeted that, offering to trade time for donations, we could amass many contributions. We decided upon a clothing drive.

            Jaded by previous assumptions, I thought that cheap, stained clothing would fill the donation box. Ripped T-shirts, old ballet shoes. It would become a trashcan. Much to my surprise, we received everything from shiny new rain-boots to black suits. People offered to help sort clothes and transport containers to the shelter. Club meetings finally filled up: I began hosting them outside of school at one of the member’s houses. Others became invested the same way I am. We planned a Christmas operation, an Angel Drive to gather presents for children at the shelter. A spark ignited inside me; I felt electrified, like I could revamp lives, make people whole again.

            A few months later, when the holidays rolled around, I was ready for a larger (and more Christmassy) expenditure. Like I said before, my club had planned to hold an Angel Drive, but we were unsure on how to go about collecting presents. Classroom announcements? A tree in the library? Sneaking down chimneys? As we luckily found out from their website, Genesis Women’s Shelter was already holding a Christmas Drive.

            Unfortunately, even though the shelter annually receives a high volume of gifts, not every child obtains their whole wish list. Normally, these youngsters ask for very simple things (socks, pants, Baby Einstein toys), not expensive race cars or Barbie Houses. (By no means are they ungrateful for what they do receive–each is excited to open his or her presents.)

            Nevertheless, these children seldom feel the cheer of Christmas. Oftentimes, they escape homes with nothing but the clothes on their back, holding only memories of an abusive father. The holidays should feel warm and inviting, giving them a small chance at happiness.

            To help the organization fulfill their present quota, Morgan May (my club sponsor) and I instituted a grassroots campaign at Highland Park High School. Since we were already founded in Genesis, it was easy to obtain the shelter’s full wish list: there were about thirty to forty children asking for six or seven presents.

            To make them more palatable for donors, I split them into parts, where each would ask for one "want" and one "need.” After seeing the total number of parts (210!), I remember feeling flustered, like I was out of oxygen. Thankfully, my worrying ended up being pointless. I was able to set up another exchange (adopting one kid is equal to one hour) for community service hours, so many classmates swooped in to take part in the Angel Drive. Others asked their parents to help–I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the list diminished.

            By the time the movement reached its two-week mark, my living room looked like the North Pole. Presents were crammed together everywhere, stuck on couches and chairs like building blocks. (I struggled to keep my little brother away from all of them...) We raised almost ten thousand dollars (in toy form, of course!), which marked the appeal as a success. Every single child was chosen and completely finished.

Although the Christmas Drive has now finished, you can still help Genesis!

To Make An Online Donation:  Click Here

Contact Info for Genesis

24 Hour Hotline (214) 946-HELP (4357)

Counseling

(214) 389-7700

Contact us by mail:

Genesis Outreach 
4411 Lemmon Avenue 
Suite 201 
Dallas, TX 75219