In this T Time episode, we interview Michele Dudley, the founder of Fashion & Compassion. This ministry started from a trip to Central Africa in 2008 that impacted Michele so profoundly an entire ministry serving vulnerable women in the United States and abroad was born. 

Transcript

Twanna Henderson: Welcome to T Time: Spiritual Conversations For, With and About Women. I’m your host, Twanna Henderson and I want to remind you to like this podcast and share it with your family and your friends. Well, we have another amazing guest on today. Our guest for today is Michele Dudley. Michele is the founder of Fashion and Compassion, a ministry dedicated to empowering women, overcoming poverty and injustice locally and globally. Michele began her career in corporate America. She graduated from the University of Southern California, and has lived in Charlotte, North Carolina for over 20 years. In 2016, Michele was selected as one of the 50 most influential women in Charlotte, and has been honored for her work with Fashion and Compassion. She is married with four kids and she and her husband have helped educate two college students from Burundi, I hope I said that right, East Africa. Michele, welcome to T Time.

Michele Dudley: Thanks so much Twanna, it’s so great to be here with you.

Twanna Henderson: Well, it’s good to have you. I love the name, Fashion and Compassion. So just tell us, tell us exactly what is Fashion and Compassion and what is this mission?

Michele Dudley: Yeah, Fashion and Compassion is a ministry that the mission is essentially to connect vulnerable women with God, with one another and with the resources that they need to transform their lives. So it really utilizes the opportunity to bring women together in a community. They make jewelry, in different settings, depending on where they are around the world. But we really try to connect them in a relationship with God, connect them to a supportive community and then help them access the resources that they need. Oftentimes, the work is in a really transitional type of work. It’s not intended, we’re not trying to train up jewelry designers, but we’re really trying to help women, particularly who are in transition here in the Charlotte community to be able to have have a work experience that’s positive and encouraging, especially for women who’ve been out of the workforce for perhaps a number of years. And it could be intimidating to go back in so, so anyway.

Twanna Henderson: So, what inspired you to start Fashion and Compassion? Do you have a fashion background or?

Michele Dudley: I have no fashion background, really, I’ve I’ve made up the fashion stuff kind of as I went. Really it started from a trip I took to Central Africa in 2008. A lot happened on that trip. But I was in Rwanda and I met just some amazing women and men who had overcome just incredible suffering there from the genocide. And I really realized that I had no concept of the plight of the suffering. And that I yeah, I hadn’t experienced, I hadn’t had a life that I’d had anywhere near that, I mean, nothing that could even compare to that level of suffering. And so after that trip, my life was just changed. And I started initially helping with a girl school in Rwanda. And from that, I learned about a project in Uganda with paper beads, where women were just trying to support their families by making and selling these paper beads. So I started selling them through my local church here in Charlotte, out of my dining room, you know, kind of anywhere that I could and just essentially sending the money back to them and so as a matter of fact that the paper beads were kind of new at that time, now they’re kind of old, or kind of not as popular as they were at that time. And, and so the sales were kind of like going gangbusters. And so what we and then I met a woman here in Charlotte, around the same time who had been in commercial sexual exploitation herself, and was trying to help other women come out of that lifestyle by teaching them to bake. And she was always looking for any opportunity that she had to give them employment where they could earn some money. And so I had these broken paper bead necklaces from all just from selling these necklaces for a couple years and then I picked up these beautiful Ethiopian crosses on a trip through Ethiopia. And so I thought, what if we took these necklaces, what if we took these broken necklaces, restrung the beads and added this Ethiopian cross, and we hire the women that you’re working with to do that. And so that’s kind of how it started. And we just found once we got the women around this table, that just kind of like magic happened. Women started sharing their hearts. We would pray with them. We kind of started doing a lot of just sharing around what are your highs and lows and then we would just pray for we would just pray for the women. And then we also as we heard their stories, we heard about places where they needed connections or they needed resources and I was like, I’m kind of a connector, that’s probably my best natural gifting. And so I was like, Oh, I know someone who can help you with that, or have you heard about this organization or whatever. And so we just kind of started naturally making connections for the women utilizing our social capital, and just found that that kind of combination of the women being together, and kind of a peer support group, getting connections to resources, and being able to earn a little bit of money was a really great combination for their ultimate transformation.

Twanna Henderson: So how long has it been? When did you actually start Fashion and Compassion

Michele Dudley: We officially launched Fashion and Compassion as a nonprofit in 2012.

Twanna Henderson: Okay, so tell me what’s been the biggest thing that you’ve learned about yourself, since starting Fashion and Compassion?

Michele Dudley: That’s a great question. And I think I’ve learned well, I’ve learned definitely that I like to start things. I don’t love to keep them going.

Twanna Henderson: We’re probably the same like that.

Michele Dudley: Yeah, so I mean, what I mean… I was a part of Fashion and Compassion was launched out of the church that I went to here in Charlotte. And, and I did another conference affiliated with that. And, and so it was really, really exciting and awesome in the first several years, and then as we had to start putting in a lot of processes, you know, we started to grow, it became more stressful to me and not as full of joy as it was in the first several years. And it started honestly, it started to feel a little bit more like a burden. And so I think that over time, I was able to I prayed a lot about it. And, and really, but wanted to see, I saw that the work was so effective. And that it was really making a difference in the women’s lives and wanted the work to continue with or without me. And so after a lot of prayer and tears, I really prayed. And in the fall and fall of 2018, that the Lord would raise someone up to take over and he did, like, just within six months. It felt like a major miracle. But that’s really a huge personal revelation that I had through the process was just understanding that about myself and that that’s okay. You know, that that’s how God’s created me. And that I should embrace that.

Twanna Henderson: So you have a special anniversary coming up, then? About 10 years coming up?

Michele Dudley: Yeah, absolutely. We do. Yeah. 10 year celebration next year. So that’s huge.

Twanna Henderson: So that’s pretty amazing. So tell us about the women that you serve locally. How are they referred to you?

Michele Dudley: Yeah, the women are referred to Fashion Compassion through our community partners, which are mostly organizations that serve women in transition. So the women we serve first, are women coming out of trafficking, addiction, incarceration, domestic abuse, as well as refugees and immigrants who are overcoming persecution often in their own communities. I mean, also a lot of trauma just in the immigrant journey. And so they’re referred to us by our by our partners, which are, you know, homes for women in recovery, homes for women that are coming out of incarceration, homes for women that are in vulnerable situations like Florence Crittenton is an organization locally that helps young pregnant women but also some other young women have aged out of foster care and things like that, as well as you know, transitioning homes for women coming out of trafficking. And we have a couple partners that work specifically with refugees and immigrants.

Twanna Henderson: That’s pretty amazing. I’m sure you’ve got numerous success stories. Can you just share one with us? I mean, of course, not using any names, but just, you know, something that just really stands out just one of those God things?

Michele Dudley: Yeah, one of my I have a few favorite stories. But one of my favorite stories is a woman who was coming out of addiction. And she had lived in severe. I mean, she was addicted to alcohol from her first drink at age 11. You know, she’d been sexually abused as a child, she lived in addiction for well over 30 years, I think over 35 years. And I’ve known some people in my own life, who struggled with addiction, who I felt like hopeless about in my own in my in my own like I like you know, you kind of there’s a sense of sometimes with someone that you kind of give up hope and some ways to just protect yourself. And I didn’t know, I didn’t know this woman when she was like that, but that is my sense of who she was from what she’s told me about her family relationships and other relationships. Everyone had given up hope on her being able to overcome her addiction. And yet God, right, because he moved so powerfully in her life through a series of events, that she ended up in this Recovery Facility in Charlotte, was referred to Fashion and Compassion and she really embraced the transformed life of Christ in a way that that I really have not seen very often. She reconciled with her two daughters that She had but had not been able to raise because of her addiction. She’s now actually living as a grandmother with one of them and helping raise her granddaughter. She’s been a sponsor to many other women coming out of addiction. And, and she just is incredibly responsible.

If you, you know, like if we set a meeting, or we were planning to meet somewhere, like she would always be early. And one time I asked her, I was like, Why are you always early? Like, you know, you’re always so on time. And I was just kind of I’m not that on time. And, and she said, because no one could depend on me for so many years that I I refuse to kind of put myself back in that. Again, that she wants to choose just really changed her name and who she is. I mean, and isn’t that what Christ does? And yeah, and so she’s still doing incredibly well.

Twanna Henderson: So amazing. So do you have mentors for the ladies? Or what does that look like?

Michele Dudley: We do we have, it’s not like a one on one. It’s more like small group mentoring, though the women within our weekly jewelry projects, the women come for about four hours, they make jewelry about half the time and then we do a lunch and learn where we feed them lunch. And we do typically it’s like a Bible study, or it could be something very specific related to needs that they have, you know, like maybe resume writing or you know how to interview for a job or we’ve we’ve done all kinds of things, health care, you know, different issues during that time. But most often it is a Bible study. And then we do like some small group mentoring time where we’ll have a couple of volunteer mentors who will come in and we’ll facilitate a discussion with them and, and kind of get more at the heart of what their needs are. And then we have also someone on staff who works with them on what we call an artisan empowerment plan, which is where we kind of break down what those needs are and what they’re what they need for the future, what their goals are, and the steps that they need to achieve them. So and they can be spiritual, unlike a ton of traditional case management plan, you know, they can be spiritual, emotional, as well as kind of more physical needs.

Twanna Henderson: Okay. So how do you partner with the local church?

Michele Dudley: Yeah, so well, first of all, like I mentioned a little bit earlier, we were really founded by a local church that I was, I was a part of and was working in some ministries with them. And we started selling the beads to women in the local church. And then that kind of grew into Fasion and Compassion, which didn’t feel like it quite belonged as a part of the local church. So with the blessing of the church, which is still one of our biggest supporters, they launched us as as a nonprofit. And then when we started doing the, the weekly jewelry projects, I reached out to another local church who has a ton and a big campus, and they have a lot of space, but they happen to be located in an area that has a lot of human trafficking. And so I reached out to, I happened to have met briefly the pastor’s wife at that church. And I reached out to her. And she emailed me back immediately crying, saying that she had just been praying that God would open up a door for them to be able to, to do more work right there in the neighborhood surrounding the church. And so we are, so we really launched with that church, in their local community, the weekly jewelry projects, and they both churches have sent tons of volunteers to be a part of our work, they’ve continued to support us, we’ve done sales and events with the local church, obviously pre COVID. But they’ve been really huge, huge supporters. And we’ve worked to bring the women as a part of their Artisan and Empowerment plan, you know, there’s a spiritual element to it, and where possible, we really try to connect the women to a local church. You know, it’s not always the our, the churches that support us aren’t always the best fit for them, but trying to really work with them to identify what’s the best fit, knowing that having that local church community is so important to them in their long term spiritual growth.

Twanna Henderson: That is so major. And do these women, I’m sure they typically have kids and families and, you know, other people that they’re trying to support as well.

Michele Dudley: Yeah, it’s, you know, some have some have children, some have lost, like, kind of like the woman I was sharing about they, their children, they, they may or may not have custody of their kids right now. So oftentimes, that’s a huge prayer request. It’s regaining partial custody or just rebuilding relationships with grown children. So, so it kind of depends on the situation. I mean, oftentimes when they’re coming, well, the refugees and immigrants, they all they most of them do have children that are in their home, it’s like a very different situation for them. But for the women that are kind of more in transition, oftentimes, they do not currently have custody of their kids, at least not full time. So the Dove’s nest, which is one of our partners, they do have some spaces for women with children. But oftentimes, most of these homes are not like they just don’t have space for women to be able to bring their children.

Twanna Henderson: Yeah, yeah, that’s very difficult. How can listeners support Fashion and Compassion?

Michele Dudley: Yeah, well, the best way you can support is actually by shopping with Fashion and Compassion. If you check out the website, www.fashionandcompassion.com you can see all of the products both made here in Charlotte, and with our international artisan partners. We also accept donations, we really, initially, we were largely funded by the product sales, but as we’ve grown and implemented more programs and things, and we’ve needed to raise to raise funds, so that that’s definitely another option. But, but shopping is always great. You can host events, once you can, again, people can host them in their home or at your church. And, you know, or connect us to, to those types of things and share about us follow us on social media, or on Instagram, and Twitter and Facebook and all that.

Twanna Henderson: Okay, so that’s good to know. So you all are everywhere, then.

Michele Dudley: Yeah, we really are.

Twanna Henderson: Well, I know, you said that you’re no longer involved in the day to day operations, because you are a connector. What are you doing now?

Michele Dudley: Yeah, well, right now I’ve been involved in a few different things. I’ve joined a few boards of some organizations, which at first, I wasn’t sure I would, that I would love to do that. But I’ve actually really been enjoying that experience, kind of taking what I’ve learned from my experience with Fashion and Compassion and I’ve served on some other boards as well, and being able to apply it to these organizations. So that’s been fun. Recently, how we met was I co-facilitated to Be The Bridge discussion groups, which Be The Bridge is really, it’s well started by Latasha Morrison, and it’s really about racial reconciliation within the church. And it was, the experience that we had was really beautiful. I mean, it was hard to we had a lot of discussions. Basically, for listeners who aren’t familiar. It’s a group, our group was about 20 women each, but normally, they’re not quite that big. But it was really half women of color and half white women and we really looked at looked at issues from awareness, lament, shame and guilt, confession, repentance, reparations, as well as forgiveness, I’m no, I’m not going in the exact order here. But anyway, and, you know, restoration and reproduction. And I think it’s, we had some incredible discussions, all of our eyes were opened to, to the ways that we can really love and support one another. And, and, and especially around systemic racism within our country, and specifically for me, really, within the white Evangelical Church has really been eye opening. And so. So God is, you know, definitely speaking to me, some of the boards that I’m on, I feel like he’s put me in a position to be able to speak up about some of these issues. And so. So that’s definitely something that I’m really passionate about, and just continuing to pray about how God can use me and the places that I have an influence to speak up.

Twanna Henderson: Yeah, that was a good, you know, we were able to connect in that way. And it was a very rewarding experience. And tough at times, tough to really do the heart work, but so necessary. Well there are listeners who may know of women who are going through challenges and want to support them, or they may be someone listening who was in a season of struggle. Um, as we wrap up, will you just take a moment and just pray for women locally and globally, who need to know God is there even during their season of challenge and for those who are looking for ways to support women, locally and globally?

Michele Dudley: Yeah, I’d love to, thanks. Lord Jesus, we just come before you and we know that this season is a season of so much pain, and difficulty and insecurity and uncertainty. But Lord, thank you that you are the God of certainty and even when we don’t know what’s coming next, or what might be around the corner that you do know and that we can trust you and so, Lord for those listeners, right now that may be caught in a really difficult situation where and are just struggling mentally and emotionally with everything that’s been going on and, and the myriad of ways that it’s impacting their lives. Lord, I just pray that you would just be with them right now make your presence known to them. Father, help them know how much you love them that you’re there for them. And I pray too, that you would just open up the resources. Father, we we lack resources, we lack knowledge, but you, you have abundance, you have access to everything, to all the resources and all the knowledge that that this woman needs right now in order to, to access to get what she needs. And so we just pray that you would provide for her we pray to for just the women that Fashion and Compassion is serving right now we just ask that you would, that you would strengthen each of those women so that they can have a story like the one that I shared about my friend who really overcame such incredible odds, and where where this world had given up on her but you had not given up on her so thank you Lord that you do not give up on us. And so for all of those people, all those women where the world and maybe their family has given up on them. Lord, I pray that you would help them know that you haven’t given up on them. I pray that you would meet them wherever they are. Let them know that all that you are just a prayer away and that they can reach out to you. And I pray that you would also just show up tangibly in their lives with someone who loves you, and who has the desire to be the hands of feet and Jesus in their lives. So Lord, I thank you so much for this time that we could be together today. And I just pray that you would just continue to work and bless and for those people who desire to get connected to a ministry like Fashion and Compassion in their own community. I thank you for their desire and I just pray that you would just open up those opportunities for them to be able to serve and to be able to be your hands and feet. We pray this all in Jesus name. Amen.

Twanna Henderson: Amen. Thank you so much Michele, it was good seeing you again.

Michele Dudley: Absolutely.

Twanna Henderson: And it’s been an honor to have you on T Time. To all of our listeners. I look forward to connecting with you the next time be blessed of the Lord.