Purses with purpose: Program helps women in local shelters

JACKSON, Tenn. — The holiday season is all about giving and receiving.

“We felt like there’s so much done for the children, it’s really wonderful. We want the children taken care of, but we thought, what can we do to help the moms?” Hope Reasons, a volunteer with Sisterhood Purses, said.

So Reasons, along with other volunteers, started Sisterhood Purses. The purses go to women in the Dream Center, WRAP, the Hope Recovery Center and other programs around Madison County.

“We get new or gently used purses and we fill them with goodies,” Reasons said.

Reasons and her daughter Catherine were on Good Morning West Tennessee Tuesday morning to show what some of those goodies might be.

“A scarf or some gloves, maybe a hat, some of those fluffy, comfy socks, toiletries, makeup,” Reasons said, listing off some of the things inside the purses.

Reasons says over the past three years they’ve helped more than 100 women with the purses. “We just want to put a smile on their face, let them know they are valued, that they are loved, and just let them feel important,” she said.

The women of Zarah Court #51 in Jackson brought three boxes filled with purses to the WBBJ-TV station Thursday afternoon to donate to the Sisterhood Purses program.

Reasons says they’ve learned a lot of the time these purses might be the only thing the women get for Christmas. And she says she hopes, through these purses, the women see there’s a community that cares for them.

“We’ve given them a little bit of hope, the days are going to get brighter, and they are surrounded by a community that loves them and really wants them to succeed,” Reasons said.

If you want to donate, you can drop off your purses at South of New York Salon and Spa in north Jackson or at the WBBJ-TV station at 346 Muse Street in east Jackson.