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“I will always have my hometown in my heart”

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Alabama Possible Spotlight: Fightress Aaron

Fightress Aaron, our youngest board member, is only 22 years old, yet she’s been advocating for her community since age 15. She grew up in the small Black Belt town of Camden, in Wilcox County, and was the first person from her family (or her neighbors’ families) to go to college. Her story is just one of many about how a college education can bring someone out of poverty in a single generation – and how community service can enrich the lives of those who serve.

Fightress always knew she wanted something better for herself. “I would see these people in my hometown who look like they’ve just given up on life. I didn’t want to be one of those people.”

“I knew my parents wouldn’t be able to pay one cent towards my college education.” It’s not that they didn’t value higher education – “Many members of the Black Belt community view college as a better way of life for themselves and their families.” However, Fightress knows first hand that many people don’t have enough knowledge or experience to make that dream a reality.

Fightress excelled in school and began looking for college scholarships early on. As a freshman in high school, she organized a community service club for girls to help older people in the community with yard work and house chores. She also published an inspirational community newsletter.

Her advocacy work began during her sophomore year of high school, when she went to hear a speaker in Selma talk about constitutional reform.

“Suddenly, I understood why everyone around me was poor, and why there were no jobs in Camden.” Fightress gathered signatures for a petition to write a new state constitution, and influenced her high school teachers to include a unit about the Alabama constitution in the curriculum. Her tireless community work, good grades, and search for scholarships paid off, and eventually she was able to fund her entire college education through scholarships and grant money. She thrived at Judson College, where she was SGA president and Miss Judson.

Because of her record of advocacy and community organizing, Fightress was asked to serve as a board member on the Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform at the age of 18. The majority of the board members were older and white, and Fightress was surprised to be asked to join them. At first, “I couldn’t imagine why all these older white people wanted me to be a part of this!” she laughs. Despite her concerns about joining the board, she found that through her service there, she was able to have input on the direction of a larger advocacy movement and still be connected to the poverty-related issues close to her heart.

Fightress recently joined the board of the Alabama Poverty Project, where she continues her work to improve life for others in the Black Belt through advocacy and education. She was married in June and works as an technical writer in Montgomery – yet maybe because of how far she has come, she still seems to disbelieve her own success, or minimize her own achievements. When I told Fightress this she was surprised, but added “Honestly, I feel like I have so far to go and want to accomplish so much in such a short time. It is overwhelming at times, but it allows me to not become too content, as there are greater things to accomplish. I am so excited for how God will use me in the future.”

No matter what successes life may bring her way, Fightress will always find a way to reach back to her Black Belt roots. “I will always have my hometown in my heart,” she says. We believe that because of the work of Fightress and others like her, change in Alabama is possible.

How can you also serve? By giving. By advocating. By building relationships through community service.

Today in Alabama, only 21.5 percent of adults 25 and over have a bachelor’s degree. Only 3.4 percent of those people live below the poverty line, while a staggering 27.6 percent of adults without a high school diploma live in poverty. Together we can change those numbers.

Posted by Robyn Hyden

Tags: alabama possible spotlight, Black Belt, camden, fightress aaron, montgomery, share your story, wilcox county
Posted in Making A Difference | No Comments »

Alabama Possible Spotlight: Jilleyn Foley

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Jilleyn Foley, our Faith and Community Partnerships Coordinator, just returned from Bread for the World’s Hunger Justice Leadership Training in Washington, D.C. Because of her personal experiences, Jilleyn is a passionate advocate to fight hunger and food insecurity. As part of our new Spotlight series, Jilleyn shares her story.

Above: Jilleyn lobbied Alabama representatives in D.C.

Growing up in a middle class household, Jilleyn never had to worry about where her next meal would come from – until age 12, when her parents divorced. Suddenly, her mother lost her home and her business (a day care she had been running out of their home) and had to support Jilleyn alone. An educated woman who had once worked as an accountant at Auburn, her mother was now working two jobs: at a fish hatchery in the daytime, and at nights, a bar.

“I never saw her,” recalls Jilleyn. “She was always either working or sleeping.” She moved them across town into government housing, but because she worked so often, she wasn’t eligible for government food assistance. And although her mother worked constantly, they were barely making it. “I don’t know how many times we had ramen noodles,” she recalls, laughing. “We ate them constantly. And just to get this little $2 box of Gushers gummy candy would be so exciting for me because, I mean, we were broke!”

“I didn’t know how bad off we were,” she continues, although clearly “when you’re 12 years old and you live across the street from the projects and your mom is never there, it’s scary.” Her mom was sacrificing her own well being to provide for Jilleyn, even going without food at times. “One time, she passed out because she hadn’t eaten. One minute she was walking down the hallway and the next she was laying on the ground. And I didn’t know – I thought she was dead.” Jilleyn has tears in her eyes and she recalls this painful memory.

Thankfully, someone was there to help. Her aunt came over and realized that her mom wasn’t eating enough. “She bought us groceries. If she hadn’t stepped in, I don’t know what would have happened.” This memory inspires her to this day. “It’s important for people to step in and be a community. Me doing this work is like me being my aunt and stepping in for someone else. We’re never going to end hunger unless everyone steps in as a community to stop this from happening.”

Jilleyn worked for years as a volunteer and a non-profit employee, but it wasn’t until she joined APP that the advocacy light bulb went off. “When we went on a trip to the Black Belt, Kristina helped me realize that organizing a group is more effective than just doing work alone.” Because of her mom’s experience, Jilleyn knows that many working people fall through the cracks of government assistance and are unable to find help. “Advocacy is a way I can help not just one family, but many.”

In D.C., Jilleyn met with Alabama’s congressional representatives and learned how to effectively share her story as an advocate for other children growing up in food insecure households. She believes advocacy can be as simple as sharing your story with others. When Jilleyn and others like her share their stories, policymakers and other community members can start to relate.

In Alabama today, an astonishing 45.4 percent of households headed by a single woman live in poverty. Together, we can advocate for those of our neighbors who are struggling to feed their families.

Tell us – what experience from your life made you care about fighting poverty? In the coming months we’ll spotlight the stories of other Alabamians who have become volunteers, advocates, workers, and donors in the Alabama Possible movement. Will you share your story? Email us with the subject heading “Why I care.”