For an event called “Breaking Down Poverty’s Barriers,” national public speaker and author Donna Beegle is coming to Grand Valley State University to talk about building a more “equitable society” and debunk some of the myths often associated with poverty.

“In the United States, it is a common held belief that all individuals have the same opportunities to succeed in life — this is the biggest myth of all,” said Jo Ann Wassenaar, coordinator for the event. “Dr. Beegle’s work will be shared to deconstruct the myths on poverty and challenges individuals to look at issues of access and equality in a new light.”

Beegle, who grew up in generational migrant labor poverty, was forced to leave school at age 15 to get married. Ten years later she found herself with no job skills, no husband and no money.

In a dramatic turnaround, Beegle received her G.E.D. and went on to receive an Associate’s degree in Journalism, a Masters in Communications with a minor in Gender Studies and finally completed her doctorate degree in Educational Leadership at Portland State University in 2000.

“This is an important message for students to hear, especially as in Michigan at this time when so many are unemployed and poverty is spreading,” said Laura Quist, a GVSU student who has worked closely with Wassenaar in organizing the event.

Quist became involved in the event as a project for her Women and Gender Studies practicum course in which she was to collect information on poverty’s effects of women and compile it into a booklet to be handed out at Beelge’s event. According to Quist’s compiled statistics, Michigan’s poverty rate for women is more than 11 percent while for men it is seven percent.

The feminization of poverty, she said, is often overlooked as is the distinction between the different levels of poverty. “The running joke for college students is that all those in college have experienced some level of poverty,” she said. “While this is true, we want them to understand the difference between situational poverty, i.e. what many students experience on a college campus, and generational or chronic poverty.”

In conjunction with Beegle’s lecture, the Women’s Center is hosting a Supply Drive in which proceeds will go directly to the YWCA and Safe Haven Ministries.

The supply drive was spearheaded by fellow Women and Gender Studies student Callista Cook, who said she saw the reality of the struggle for many local women’s shelters to keep up on basic needs as a staff member of Safe Haven Ministries and was moved to make an impact.

“These two shelters are non-profit organizations and run very heavily on donations,” Cook said. “If the items are not donated, the residents go without. It is extremely important that the student body is aware of the seriousness and vulnerable position the women and children are in.”

“Breaking Down Poverty’s Barriers,” which takes place on Nov. 29 in the Kirkhof Center’s Grand River room, will run from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Cook will collect donations of women’s personal care products for the shelters at the door. Items requested are soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, lotion and paper products. Students and faculty interested in large donations should contact Cook by e-mail at [email protected].

“Something as simple as a dollar pack of baby wipes can be a kind gesture to make the lives of these women and children a little easier,” Cook said. “Most students within the college community can afford to give up a dollar. I have high hopes of GVSU students and faculty in this endeavor.”

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