Alabamian earns CWJC honor

An Alabama woman was one of two awarded the Sybil Bentley Dove Endowment Fund, an honor bestowed by the Christian Women’s Job Corps (CWJC) of national Woman’s Missionary Union.
   
Judy Thurman of Fultondale was honored Dec. 11. She received $500 for her achievements after completing the job readiness program through the CWJC Southside site in Birmingham.
   
“Judy is a valued employee of the Humane Society and has made many strides in her goal to self-sufficiency,” said Shelia Black, CWJC coordinator for Alabama. “I’m proud of her and her accomplishments through CWJC.”
   
Throughout the course of one year, Thurman lost her job, her home, her children and her hope. Just five years ago as a 38-year-old mother of two, Thurman began drinking heavily and then got addicted to cocaine. But the job readiness program of the CWJC helped Thurman find the hope she needed to get back on track.
   
“I just got tired of living that way so I went to InterFaith Hospitality House,” Thurman said.
   
There she met the director Cecil Jones who helped her get into a drug treatment program and introduced her to Anna Holmes, then the CWJC site coordinator for Birmingham. Holmes guided Thurman through the job readiness training and then helped her land a job with the Humane Society.
   
In the beginning, Thurman had to take two different buses to get to work, but one of her many successes includes buying a car, which she will finish payments on in the Spring. Thurman said her biggest success, however, is that her children now live with her in their new house.
   
“I’m definitely living with God and that’s why I’m here today,” she said. “He’s helped me and sent people to help me.”
   
The Sybil Bentley Dove Endowment Fund was established in 1998 by Faye Wright in honor of her mother. Before her death earlier this year, Dove was an active member of First Baptist Church, Dothan, and “strongly believed in women helping other women,” Wright said.
   
The award is given to women of at least 30 years of age who are rebuilding their lives. The recipient must be in or a graduate of the CWJC program. The average award is $250. Sheryl Barrett of Rock Hill, S.C., also received the Sybil Bentley Dove Endowment Fund award this year. (Alabama WMU)