Cornerstone University Alumni Journal 2021
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When I got the job, I said, “God, you have<br />
me on this platform, so I’m going to be<br />
intentional about everything I do and say,<br />
and how I listen.”<br />
“The work at WRC makes my heart sing,” Gaddy said. “It’s important to me<br />
that all women have every opportunity to succeed.”<br />
Gaddy is able to use both her passion and her lived experience to pour into<br />
women as they face similar challenges that she’d faced years before.<br />
“Our goal is to transform a system that sustains poverty to one that provides<br />
women with poverty-ending occupations,” Gaddy said. For women seeking<br />
jobs, WRC offers career exploration, certifications and technical training.<br />
Their participants end up in a variety of different jobs, from traditional office<br />
settings to trades like welding. Women have access to rent laptops if they’re<br />
required to work from home. They can receive a retail certificate to help<br />
them become better employed. And they can learn technical skills they<br />
need to get ahead in their career.<br />
As a result of WRC’s tireless work and Gaddy’s leadership, 70% of<br />
women in the organization’s programs remained employed and have<br />
not been reincarcerated.<br />
The economic climate of 2020 proved a challenge for women across<br />
the board. WRC interacted with as many participants and their families<br />
throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in crisis, including women reentering<br />
the community early from their New Beginnings program at Kent County<br />
Corrections. In September 2020, over 800,000 women left the workforce,<br />
according to a report from the National Women’s Law Center. Gaddy noted<br />
that many women left the workforce during this time, either to help their<br />
children learn online or because of the lack of available childcare options.<br />
Gaddy recalled a recent participant that she and her team worked with, a<br />
working mother of a special needs daughter. The organization changed<br />
her hours suddenly to third shift at the factory where she worked, which<br />
caused her to have to seek new employment so that she could be there for<br />
her daughter.<br />
been an accident. Her husband and young son were in a car accident<br />
while traveling in a busy intersection and were taken to a hospital near<br />
Valparaiso, Ind.<br />
The administrator took Gaddy’s hand and prayed for her before she left for<br />
the hospital.<br />
“I don’t remember his name,” Gaddy said. “But I remember his act.” Her<br />
husband and son recovered well.<br />
Even if some participants at WRC do not know Gaddy by name, they<br />
can certainly see the work that she leads through the impact that the<br />
organization has on women in West Michigan. “Our team and volunteers are<br />
second to none,” Gaddy said. “They walk alongside each woman to help them<br />
reach their potential and/or personal goals”.<br />
Gaddy’s advice to women who have a lot on their plate is simply this—”Don’t<br />
give up. I know how challenging raising a family, working and going to school<br />
or learning a new trade can be.” Although it’s a challenge, it’s possible and<br />
we can all do it with the right support system.<br />
“I believe the Lord opened the door for me to come to WRC,” Gaddy said.<br />
“When I got the job, I said, ‘God, you have me on this platform, so I’m going to<br />
be intentional about everything I do and say and how I listen.’”<br />
That’s how Gaddy lives out her faith—by using a platform to transform lives<br />
and make a tangible impact for Christ wherever she goes.<br />
CORNERSTONE UNIVERSITY<br />
15<br />
ALUMNI JOURNAL <strong>2021</strong><br />
“Moving forward, it will be incumbent upon companies to create an<br />
environment that offers flexibility,” Gaddy said. “We’ve learned that we can<br />
work from home successfully and create opportunities for moms to do so.”<br />
Gaddy is passionate about helping to provide women avenues to overcome<br />
barriers to gainful employment and personal success. That passion is guided<br />
by her faith and how Christ calls His followers to help those who are in need.<br />
Gaddy would be the first to tell you that actions speak louder than words.<br />
During her time at <strong>Cornerstone</strong>, while sitting in night classes at PGS, she was<br />
called into the office of a <strong>Cornerstone</strong> administrator. He told her there had<br />
ABOUT SANDRA<br />
Sandra Gaddy serves as CEO of Women’s Resource Center in Grand Rapids,<br />
Mich., having previously served at both Mel Trotter Ministries and Inner<br />
City Christian Federation. She received her Bachelor of Science in business<br />
management from <strong>Cornerstone</strong> <strong>University</strong>’s Professional & Graduate Studies<br />
program in 1999 and her executive MBA from Grand Valley State <strong>University</strong>.<br />
She and her husband, Arlen-Dean, have three adult children.