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Letter to the Editor: Together We Bake gave me a second chance -- Alexandria Times

Read in the Alexandria Times: https://alextimes.com/2018/06/johnsonletter/

To the editor:

Until I found Alexandria’s Together We Bake, I was alone and lost.

I was a single mother of three without a job or a safe place to call home, struggling to get by. My life had not been easy being a survivor of abuse, which resulted in the birth of my son.

Together We Bake is a nonprofit, job-training program for women and like they have for so many others – they gave me a second chance. The program is centered around a baking business where women in need learn food production, business administration and life skills that help them move toward self-sufficiency.

Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, an Alexandria City Council candidate, helps lead Together We Bake and inspires women in our program to not let the trials and tribulations of the past define us. She helps us realize that we are not victims or disadvantaged; we are conquerors, achievers and survivors.

Bennett-Parker is running for city council because there are so many others in Alexandria that are facing the same struggles that Together We Bake women have experienced. Like women in our program, Alexandrians are struggling to find affordable housing, stable employment and a high-quality education for their children.

Bennett-Parker has knocked on thousands of doors in the city trying to give individuals in need of those services a voice.

Alexandrians need Bennett-Parker, and her commitment to helping people, on city council. On June 12, we have an opportunity to elect her and ensure Alexandria has more conquerors, achievers and survivors.

-Colida Johnson, Together We Bake graduate and employee