STANAFORD — Normally, the phrase “power of the purse” has to do with controlling a situation by withholding money from it.

Some Beckley women found a way to do just the opposite.

The Ladies’ Missions Circle of Stanaford Missionary Baptist Church collected nearly 100 new or gently used purses and donations of toiletry items.

“We asked our church fellowship to help with the project and the response has just been overwhelming,” president Terry Skeens said.

Purses began to come in from all directions. Then, the challenge to fill them began. “At first, we didn’t have enough items to fill all of them, but we prayed about it, and God answered our prayers. Some people donated money to buy more of the items we needed. Some people brought in items, and the Mount Hope Lions Club gave us a donation. CVS of Gauley Bridge also supported the project. We received everything else we needed to pack all of the pocketbooks,” Skeens said.

The purses, filled with shampoo, cream rinse, manicure kits, body wash, tooth brushes, tooth paste and other toiletry items, were donated to the Women’s Resource Center and at the Pine Haven Homeless Services in Beckley.

“We realized we had more than they would need at the WRC, so I called Pine Haven. They had 50 women and seven young ladies at that time, and we were told they would really appreciate the pocketbooks and the items. Sometimes, these women go to these shelters with nothing but the clothes on their backs,” Skeens said.

Patricia Bailey, executive director of the WRC, said, “You would have to be here and see the look on a woman’s face when we give her some items she can call her own. They come here out of really difficult circumstances, and just to have something they own gives them a small sense of security. We are always in need of toiletry items for women, and this idea of filling a purse with them is one of the neatest ideas I’ve heard about.”

 Each purse given to the WRC contained a small New Testament and a tract with information about the church.

“We found out the Gideons had already given New Testaments to the homeless shelter,” Skeens said.

Rick Titcomb, director of Pine Haven Homeless Shelter, operated through Raleigh County Community Action, was on hand July 8 when the purses were presented.

“It is a really wonderful thing the church people did. One of our goals is to empower the clients to be self-sufficient and independent. In order for that to happen, we need the support of the community. When a church comes in with a fabulous idea like this one, it empowers those women to have a better sense of self-esteem and to lose the stigma often attached to homelessness,” Titcomb said.

Gifts of this kind let clients know they are valued members of society and that people care about them and want to help them get through the tough times, he said.

“We have had lots of people come up with ideas, but I had never heard of something like this. Our clients loved the purses, and they really appreciated the interaction with the women who delivered them.”

A national program, The Power of a Purse began as a Mother’s Day project among some mothers in Dever, Colo. According to their website, “the purse symbolizes a woman’s economic power, something we wish for all women, especially mothers in need. No matter where a mother is on the social ladder, there is power in her purse having money of her own to control, to buy things and provide for herself and her children.”

Skeens read a newspaper article about a similar program and pitched the idea to her missions group.

“I never dreamed this would take off like it did. Family members and friends got involved. Eight more  purses came in after our Vacation Bible School, and we may have enough to deliver some more in the fall,” Skeens said. “We’re really happy this turned out so well.”

For more information about Power of a Purse, visit popdenvermothersandmore@yahoo.com

— E-mail: bdavis@register-herald.com