Taking care of yourself, so that you can give back to others is what Susan L. Taylor, Editor-In-Chief Emerita of Essence Magazine, says about charity.
Taylor gave the keynote speech at the YWCA's 7th annual Empowering Women Luncheon at the Riverside Convention Center on Tuesday.
She spoke about being a single mother, after 4 years of marriage, and struggling to keep food on the table while paying bills. That’s along with sharing where her inspiration came from: church.
"I think our faith communities need to remind us when we are in congregation what it might feel like to be hungry,” Taylor says. “I mean most of us have never known real hunger. That’s a powerful thing."
Taylor says she believes the gap between the have and the have not’s is increasing.
“When you see a boy with a gun on his hip, or a girl with a knife, there are no young children like that who have an education, a job or a plan for the future. These are desperate people.”
Taylor told the audience of nearly 1,600 people that spending quiet time is both beneficial to yourself and others.
"You have to give to yourself before you give yourself away to others. You first."
Taylor is also the founder and CEO of the National CARES Mentoring Movement.
The YWCA provides teen support and racial justice services as well as housing programs.