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A Great Group of Women
Mary Osborn left home at age 17, got married at 18, and had the first of her two children at 22. For years she was haunted by not having a college degree. "It's why I've worked so hard to get an informal education," she says today. "I'm always seeking new information, always taking a class: Great Books seminars, legislative workshops, computer classes. I ask myself, What do college grads know that I don't?"At first she was intimidated, she says, when she met the other women. But that began to change. "I'm a black-and-white person. I don't see too much gray. Listening to the others' viewpoints made me less narrow-minded. They've broadened my outlook. And they're so empowered themselves that being with them has empowered me."
Not long after joining the group, Mary persuaded the others to adopt Miracle House in Ventura as a beneficiary of a group fund-raiser. The residential drug-rehab program for women had saved the life of someone in Mary's family. Ever since, she'd wanted to give back.
With the group's blessing, Mary organized a dinner at a local restaurant. Two women from the program gave emotional testimonials. Their stories, crediting Miracle House with turning their lives around, so moved the crowd, including Mary herself, that the $50-per-person donation ended up netting $7,500 for the organization.
With that money, Miracle House was able to subsidize treatment for ten needy women. From then on, the 13 women of Jewelia realized they had the power to effect change in their own communities.
Nancy Huff, mother of three and manager of a property-management company, had grown used to her husband Wayne's lack of interest in socializing. He worked in construction, and going out at night wasn't his priority. He was happy just snapping on the TV.
"I used to call him Sparky. Now he's Sparkless," Nancy complains. "As we've gotten older, he wants to be home more and I want to be out more. The rest of our life together is good; I love him more than ever. But I saw many women going out with their husbands while I sat home. I learned it was my responsibility to get the social life I wanted."
The necklace ended up giving Nancy what she needed: more friends, more outings. "Fun doesn't just happen," says Nancy. "You have to find it. Plus," she adds, laughing, "after I've had a few hours of fun, I'm much nicer to live with."
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