June 2023 Virtual HerStory Award: Becoming "Heroes for One Person at a Time"

On June 24, 2023, WFWP USA held a virtual National HerStory Award ceremony emceed by Mrs. Katarina Connery, Vice President, WFWP USA. The HerStory awardees represented various backgrounds. The common denominator among them was that through overcoming life’s insurmountable challenges, they were able to bring incredible value to the lives of countless others. Mrs. Connery greeted all the participants and then proceeded to welcome WFWP USA president, Mrs. Kaeleigh Moffitt.

President Moffitt expressed the value of the HerStory award: “The idea of celebrating HerStory is making sure that the story of women and wisdom of women is being told as we celebrate the achievements that are happening right here and right now.”

Each of the three awardee were introduced with her bio as well as a personal sharing from the WFWP leader who recommended her. President Moffitt virtually presented the award and each awardee was able to share her story with the participants. 

Read their stories and lessons (below) upon receiving the HerStory Award or click on the link to watch the video. 

The first speaker of the day was Mrs. Julie Phippen, Founder and CEO, Sewpportive Friends. 

Watch Mrs. Julie Phippen’s message here.

Mrs. Julie Phippen

Mrs. Phippen shared the story of how her compassion as a mother led her to start her organization, encouraging the continued education of girls in several African countries through teaching them how to sew and address the feminine hygiene crisis that was affecting their education. 

“When I was a young girl…my grandfather would tell me many stories about Africa, igniting my imagination. He was a missionary and spent quite a bit of time in Africa... He filled me with a strength of purpose to help others and to preserve wildlife.

“In 2013 my family had the opportunity to visit Zimbabwe. After visiting the communities, I was inspired and…wanted to do more. In 2016, preparing for a return trip to Zimbabwe…” she learned about “the high dropout rate of girls in these rural villages due to lack of feminine hygiene products. I could not imagine my daughters not being able to attend school due to a lack of feminine products.” And so she decided she needed to bring the products to the “daughters of Zimbabwe.” Upon finding the quality of the reusable hygiene products on the market to be sub-standard, she decided to sew her own and brought them to Zimbabwe. “The first village we delivered to, the headmaster asked me if I would demonstrate to the girls and women how to use these items. A mother stood up and said, ‘Please, would you teach us how to sew these items?’” This request was repeated by many in the next villages they went to, and from this emerged her initiative, Sewpportive Friends. “In 2017 I returned to Zimbabwe with friends and taught two sewing classes. We saw the excitement and hope the project provided for these girls and women. Hope provides courage and courage brings change in thought and action. And the change was clear in subsequent visits to these communities, as formal sewing groups had been formed. They were productive, they were learning and supporting each other.” She has been on this journey ever since. “I will be leaving next month for Zimbabwe. It will be my 17th trip…since 2016. I could not have imagined that my simple idea seven years ago would have touched so many lives.” 

Looking back, Mrs. Phippen reflected on the challenges that she and her friends have had to overcome, noting that “the process was quite intimidating at times…We have experienced wonderful progress and we still face challenges…we know other issues will arise, but working together for the betterment of humanity will provide a way…I’m grateful every day to be able to help others, to see the positive change in the communities we’ve been welcomed in, and to continue learning from others…We are a global family when led by love.”

The second speaker was Mrs. Elizabeth Lim, Founder, Scream, Run, Tell.

Watch Mrs. Elizabeth Lim’s message here

Mrs. Elizabeth Lim

Mrs. Lim began with the words, “I am going to do something I don’t normally do,” as she explained her decision to read her entire speech from a script she had written. “I will let you know why.” 

Mrs. Lim began with her testimony that, “There is absolutely nothing that I have done on my own, there has always been someone to help me along the way.” In fact, she shared, “I have failed most things. And not by a little but rather a lot. School was really difficult.” As a non-native English speaker, Mrs. Lim shared how through her teachers, “I was able to do what in my eyes was considered impossible.” First, she learned English. Next, she survived some of the hardest years of middle school for her, winning her first ever award. In high school “all the teachers advocated for me and helped me through that. I learned through them how to advocate for myself and the things that I needed.” In college, she once again fell behind. “As I was a dyslexic student, school was very difficult and at times I would fail and have to start over again. I was also working full time just to keep shelter. I went on failing college…until I graduated in 1988…as an EMT.” Through the journey, however, “I used my strengths and used them for good. I embraced my weaknesses that helped me to have compassion for others and keep myself humble.”

She next shared about her early life and her family. “My first recollection of life was hunger. I knew nothing of the color of my skin, nor did I care. All I knew - I was hungry. And for a child that was the difference: who had food and who didn’t.” She shared how she was soon separated from her sisters and taken in and protected by nuns. “I was happy there, I was fed.” Here she developed “the first stages of trusting God. I remember learning to pray and having a grateful heart.” Soon after she moved in with her grandfather, which she tearfully remembered as “the best thing that ever happened to me. I knew I was loved and belonged. But that ended shortly.” She moved once again, this time taken by strangers to live in America with her mother and her sisters. “Until this point I knew nothing of my mother. I had almost forgotten the little girls that I had called sisters. I was in a strange land with strangers.” While it took time to cultivate her relationship with her mother, Mrs. Lim shared how she was “a visionary woman…Yes, she left us behind for a short time to give us a better life. She believed in people and doing good for others. As soon as she brought us, she brought her siblings, her cousins and others. And she is still a beacon of light. She says, ‘I am a social worker for God and there is still lots to do.’” 

“I’ve seen hardship in my life,” reflected Mrs. Lim. “I am the story of your next door neighbor, the story of what people hide. I share this story in hopes that someone today will know they’re not alone. I’m not ashamed of where I came from or who I am, or who I have become. This is my journey, and in it I have learned to be more kind and even see more good in people. I have learned to have a willing heart and to never give up…I choose what defines me. I’m steadfast in faith no matter what my circumstances are. The desire to help those around me and a genuine love for people – that is what I want people to remember me for, for those qualities led me to become an EMT…and later creating the SRTell method, a program helping children and parents to see the possible signs of abuse before it happens while not robbing the innocence of children. What defines me as a woman is my kind heart, willingness to care and help others, respecting nature and knowing I am a daughter of Heavenly Parent.”

Mrs. Lim then shared some lessons. “As women, we should never think less of ourselves because of the lack of titles. For as we walk through life we are heroes for one person at a time. We are teachers to children as we help and nurture them with a smile. We must walk upright, for we can move and shift the energy of one room for good. We can stand tall for peace and bring peace into our homes. Through this we will bring peace into our communities, our countries, and our world, and that's how it was intended. We should share our shoulders for the youth so they can see how to shape the world for good. Let us be engaged in small acts of kindness. Honestly, we never have to ask a true woman to have compassion because she’s already living it.”

In closing, Mrs. Lim gave her thanks to Mother Moon, and she concluded where she began: “It was so important for me to share in front of all of you and have you see my weakness of having to read. Know that no matter how we struggle we can always help others, and we should never stop helping.”

The third and final awardee of the day was Mrs. Jan Whalen, President, Whalen Voices, LLC. 

Watch the Mrs. Jan Whalen’s message here.

Mrs. Jan Whalen

“When I think of my story, I think of three challenges,” Mrs. Whalen began. “Those three challenges are opportunities.”

“The first challenge is that I am the oldest of eight. That meant that my youth was spent on a lot of caring for siblings and not a lot of fun. It was a little bit lonely because I didn't really feel a part of the group as much as I felt in charge of the group. And yet, later I discovered that I am very comfortable with people of any age, and I can lead in committees and in different groups. So I have to say, thank you mom and dad for your choices.”

“The second challenge is that I missed a month of first grade. In my day first grade was the time where you learned how to read. And so as you can guess I was not a really great reader.” She didn’t connect the missed time in school with her challenge in reading, however. Instead, “I was thinking to myself, ‘I don't think you're very smart and you’re just not as good as other people.’ So that was a feeling that I carried with me for a long time.” In college, she visited a second grade class and thought to herself “I could do that.” She went on to teach for several years, including remedial reading and human relations. This led her to create a program called Character Safari. “What this was is we trained teenagers to think about what made them successful in high school, and they would go down to the elementary and middle schools and talk to them about their values and how to survive high school.” She recalled one moment in particular when she took these high schoolers to speak at the Cedar Rapids area Chamber of Commerce for the education meeting. “Those kids, they made a presentation and they were so confident, so poised, and everybody listened…as they told the adults how you inspire children. I was on the side and I said to myself, ‘This is the best speech of your life.’ She sees now how all this educational work she has done has had to do with her own self esteem that she struggled with. 

“The last challenge was about my vision.” When she was young her hope was to follow in her mother’s footsteps: have children and be a housewife. However, when that did not work out, “I didn’t know what to do because I had no Plan B. So I started to follow what was called to me…I was a sheep in a meadow, just testing everything.” She shared some of the areas of her life where this applied, such as moving many times, experiencing different Christian denominations and trying out many different kinds of jobs. “After teaching several years, I was a presentation coach and then a book shepherd. I wrote my first book in 2011, called Rock Solid Confidence, and went on to write three more books…Whenever I start a project I get so excited and think, ‘This is it, this is my purpose!’ And I would love to have one purpose, but it was not to be. It was sort of like climbing several hills but never quite getting to the top of every one.” She expressed her gratitude for all those who have supported her throughout her life journey. “So many people were there to tell me what the next right thing would be.” After a lot of exploration, “I finally got it. My epiphany came one day when I was reading a poem called ‘When you look at the stars and yawn.’ And there were three lines that Aaron Zeitlin had said. Every time I read these lines I swear I can hear God’s thunderous voice:

‘If you look at the stars and yawn,

If you see suffering and don’t cry out,

…

Then I have created you in vain.’

She explained that while heavy, she feels it means “I need to use my voice. My real job is to see them. To see the people that are in my world. To comfort their worries and pain and to tell them about their gifts and their talents, because a lot of times we don’t know that. To let them know that they are worthy, special and loved, and to be a light to help them bloom and grow.”

Mrs. Whalen concluded that what she has discovered is, “These three challenges and any others I’ve had drive my passion for serving.”