Fundraiser to help group that benefits area women

NAHANT – Dora Oquendo was in the crosswalk by her home carrying two bags of groceries on Nov. 4 when a speeding car hit her and then fled the scene. Unable to work, Oquendo ended up nearly $2,000 behind in rent and two months later was threatened with eviction.But a friend told her to call Nahant resident Beverley Dawson of Women and Wishes.”I was going to be homeless and had no place to go,” Oquendo said. “She said, ‘We’ll take care of it.'”Women and Wishes – which has been in existence for about a year – will celebrate making 13 “wishes” or small, one-time grants to help middle-class women with a used-clothing sale and fundraiser this Wednesday.”These women, unfortunately, can’t get help on a local, state or federal level,” said Dawson, the director of the North Shore chapter of Women and Wishes.Dawson can sympathize with the plight of the women the group has helped, because as a single mother, she had gone through some difficult financial times.”They make too much money to get money for food stamps, but not enough money to survive,” she said. “These aren’t people who are looking for handouts, these are people who are going out working and looking to make it.”The Sweet Repeats sale will be held Wednesday at the Nahant Country Club from 6 to 9 p.m. The sale includes women’s and children’s clothing, including everything from T-shirts to prom gowns and hats and shoes, said organizers. Shoppers will be able to nibble on complimentary hors d’oeuvres and enjoy cocktails from a cash bar. In addition, there will be raffle items and door prizes.The goal is to have fun, and raise money to enable the organization to continue granting wishes to local women who need help.Dawson said that in the last year, the organization has financed car repairs so that people could commute to work, paid electric bills and tuition for nursery school and filled oil tanks for women and their families who live in communities from Salem to Winthrop.”These are not luxury items we’re talking about,” Dawson said. “We’re talking about survival.”Philanthropist and supporter Paul Wennik said that the organization’s ability to help those with very specific but “unmet” needs makes Women and Wishes particularly important and unique.”I’m pretty impressed as a guy who’s been around a lot of nonprofits, because [Women and Wishes] can meet those unmet needs,” Wennik said. He added that the organization has “recognized the very fragile nature of some middle-class women with families: There’s dignity involved, there’s embarrassment involved ? but Women and Wishes is helping them through, oftentimes, a critical situation that could have been quite a blow to their family and themselves.”And people who have received help sometimes end up helping the group.Not only did the organization help Oquendo with the rent, Dawson offered her a second job at the Nahant Country Club, which Dawson and her husband run.Now Oquendo volunteers at Women and Wishes to help other women who face similar situations.”My payback is to volunteer and to help them out,” Oquendo said. “If it wasn’t for Women and Wishes, I don’t know where other people would go.”No tickets are required for the event, but all proceeds will benefit the organization in its wish-granting, Dawson said. Any unsold items will be donated to Healing Abuse Working for Change (HAWC) in Salem, Dawson added.The Sweet Repeats sale will be held Wednesday at the Nahant Country Club from 6 to 9 p.m. There are no tickets required. For more information, visit www.womenandwishes.org or contact Beverley Dawson at the Nahant Country Club at 781-581-0515.