Over the past few years, the AWW Foundation (Astounding Women Warriors), an organization created by Kelli Davis, a patient service representative in Sleep Medicine, has given back to the community in many ways, for example, distributing toys to children in need during the holidays. Even the pandemic didn’t stop their community outreaches. AWW hosted a book and backpack giveaway for school age and college students in the South Philadelphia Hawthorne community, providing basic school supplies to help them succeed. “We also held a Halloween harvest festival for toddler age kids for a pumpkin patch painting,” she said. “All of this was done while social distancing.”
This year, the AWW used their funding from a Penn Medicine CAREs grant — originally planned for a workshop to empower women’s entrepreneurship that was cancelled due to COVID-19 — to buy and hand out necessary toiletries, sanitary supplies, clothing, and food to the homeless in Center City. “We were able to help at least over 100 people,” she said, adding that they’re hoping to do another similar outreach in the spring.
AWW is a family affair for Davis. Her daughter joined her at the recent outreach to hand out supplies. “I wanted her to learn how important it was to give back.” And her mother, who has a passion for giving back to children and elders, came up with an idea of a little grab-and-go library, which they’re working on for a spring launch.
"We have over 50 books donated so far,” she said. “Children can keep the books due to COVID-19, but what better way to give back to children in need than by supplying them books to kick start their interest in reading.”