Los Gatos Weekly-Times
Around Town
Photograph by George Sakkestad
Cheryl Bailey (bottom row, right) founded Wonderful Witchy Women with a Cause because she wanted to have fun with her friends while doing something to contribute to her community. She and others in the group, including (top row, left to right) Margie Montgomery and Maria Gress Bottom, and (bottom row, left) Pat Belotti wore big hats to a luncheon and donated items to Heritage Home, a housing program for pregnant and expecting mothers.
Witchy Women aren't just moms in funny hats
By Michele Tjin
A girl's got to eat. But Cheryl Bailey managed to make one of the many lunches she's had with her girlfriends count for more. She hoped to spread some holiday cheer for an organization in San Jose that works with neglected and pregnant women.
Bailey, a Saratoga mom, simply wanted to socialize with her friends and meet new women in the community. On top of that, she had a whimsical idea--to have lunch while wearing fanciful hats. So she organized a luncheon where the original intent was to bring mothers from Saratoga's three public elementary schools together so when they would meet again in middle school, they wouldn't be complete strangers.
"I thought it would be fun to get together and wear wonderful and decorated hats, but it felt too frivolous and without meaning," Bailey said.
That's when Wonderful, Witchy Women with a Cause was born. Bailey founded this group with the purpose of women helping a charity while sharing a meal. At the first organized luncheon, she and 27 mothers from Los Gatos and Saratoga ate at Steamer's Grillhouse in Los Gatos. All were sporting witch hats and brought Christmas gifts, baby clothes, diapers and other items that new mothers and newborns would need. All donated items are going to Heritage Home in San Jose, a home for pregnant women and unwed mothers and their children.
"I wanted to find a charity that women with children could identify with," said Bailey, who has three daughters.
Bailey ended up with three truckloads of mattresses, cribs, playpens and clothes. The mission of the women's group is to find a charity that busy moms could help on a short-term basis.
"So many of us are a paycheck away from destitution," Bailey said. "So many of us have so much. Those who can give should give."
The donations have been an early Christmas gift for Dawn White, director of Heritage Home. Her housing program aims to give new moms, who are often scared and neglected women, a good start with their babies.
"It's uplifting when someone finds you out of the clear blue sky and wants to help you," White said. "A lot of our girls have been abused and abandoned. To have people who care about them is such a blessing."
Heritage Home houses up to 20 moms and newborns, and they can stay up to a year after the birth of the baby. The home also provides parenting classes, such as birthing and anger management. While Heritage Home has been in San Jose for 23 years, White said it's still not widely known, which makes the donations from the women even more gratifying.
"We do have a lot of regular supporters, but this is so exciting," she said.
Carolyn Harrell of Los Gatos, a mother of two, likes Bailey's idea of having some fun while helping others in the area get started on a new life.
"We have so much in the community and so much waste," Harrell said.
Margie Montgomery of Saratoga said she is interested in doing something good for the community, but as a mother of two who works full-time, time is a premium. The Wonderful, Witchy Women group is a good way for her to participate.
"We are women who would like to give something back," Montgomery said. "We can make a small difference."
Bailey is hoping that next year's luncheon, which she has already scheduled for next Oct. 29 at Steamer's, will draw 100 women. She would also like to see women in other cities start their own Wonderful, Witchy Women's group to benefit their own local charities.
"The only criteria is to wear a witch hat and have a heart to help others," she said.
Heritage Home is located at 435 N. Third St. in San Jose and is always looking for donations, not just during the holidays. If interested, call the organization at 408.294.1238.
