Candice Newton founded Berks Women Inspiring Women (BWIW) in June 2020 with the simple goal of being there for women to help them through their trauma. She hopes this organization breaks the stigma that prevents women from seeking out the help they need to heal.
Why did you establish Berks Women Inspiring Women? After working through my own rape trauma, I wanted to help other women. I want others who suffer trauma to realize it’s not the end. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and there are others who have been where you are who can help you get through it.
You started BWIW in June 2020, and you had your first big event in August 2020. Can you tell me about that event? Yes, it was a lot of work, but this is something I’m passionate about. Our first major event has become our yearly event, We Are Stronger Together. It’s a day with inspirational speakers, food, vendors and music, and it allows women to come together and heal. We had 12 speakers including Reading Mayor [Eddie] Moran at that first event. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 200 people who attended that first year. We were able to have it outside following health and safety protocols.
In addition to the We Are Stronger Together event, what resources and services do you offer? We provide mentors for women who are struggling to heal from trauma or who are dealing with domestic violence. Mentors have had similar experiences, and they will walk alongside other women to help them heal. We also provide professional clothing for court hearings and job interviews, and food or grocery store gift cards. This past summer, we provided homeless community members with water, nonperishable food and information on community resources available to them. We also held a mother-son dance last May. Unfortunately, due to rising COVID cases, we had to cancel our father-daughter dance last fall.
How would you like to see BWIW grow in the future? I would like to have a bigger office space so we can accommodate counseling on site. But more than that, I want to grow our relationships with women in the community. Too often women think they can’t reach out and they’re embarrassed to talk about their problems. I want women to reach out to us, or to anyone else if not to us, before it’s too late, before they feel hopeless.
Between BWIW and your full-time job, you’re very busy. How do you relax when you have free time? I love music and spending time with my husband and kids. In fact, my husband is a DJ for a local radio station. I like to go with him when he provides music at events.
Learn More.
Lasting impact of violence. Violence and abuse can lead to long-term trauma that negatively impacts women’s relationships with friends, partners and children, and harms women’s educational and professional pursuits.
Building relationships. BWIW has built relationships with other community organizations such as Safe Berks, Hannah’s Hope Ministries and The Real Deal 610 to help women access necessary services.
