Need a Chum?

Not terribly long ago, I was lucky enough to be named a recipient of a Community Service award bestowed by the group called Chums, Inc. Nominated by the wonderful designer, Patrice Munden, I received it for the work the magazine has overseen, getting eight Habitat for Humanity houses furnished and finished.

To be honest, I had never heard of this fabulous ladies' organization before. But now, I could never forget them.

It all dates back to a blustery night in February 1946. Mary Barnes, Joyce Tate Brown and Theodora Jackson Cora, all good friends, were sitting in a car in Virginia. The war was over but their boyfriends had yet to return home. Segregation was then the law of the land. These young African American women decided to start their own social club. Appropriately enough, they named it "Chums." While it started with an emphasis on the social, it soon expanded into a civic organization. In 1952, Chums was incorporated into Chums, Inc.

Today there are 38 Chums' chapters nationwide with 20 associate members in areas where there is no official chapter. Each chapter is small and one person has to resign, retire, or, well, pass away before another is added. Its a nonprofit that allows a group of women to meet "in friendship and fun, to encourage a spirit of helpfulness, and to use their many talents in service to the community."

The local chapter does so much. Yvonne Turner of the St. Louis Chums ticked off some of their activities: Adopting the Bishop Middle School in Wellston where they tutored the students, organized different educational programs for them, sponsored cultural events; supported the Learning Tree, an inter-generational center in North St. Louis; volunteered with Hope House; worked with Ronald McDonald House; visited nursing homes; and supplied clothing to Women Against Hardship. "We stay busy," Ms. Turner says. "We stay busy."

But all those activities are not the group's primary focus. That is actually scholarships to young African American men. The idea was borne out of a tragedy. One of their members, Armida Frederick, and her husband, James (Chums' husbands are called "Hums"), were murdered by a young man they had befriended. "James would pick him up and take him to the hardware store and show him how to do things," Ms. Turner says. "He tried to give him directions on how to be a man. And this kid, for some silly reason, decided that they had too much."

Shaken to the core by the loss, the local chapter determined that they needed to turn their attention to young men and work on keeping them in school—and out of trouble. The Chums offer assistance to five young men at a time and they stay with them every year until graduation. They each get $1,500 plus books. 

"We have five in schools right now," Ms. Turner says. "We just had one graduate from Washington U. We have sent through something like 10. We have been raising money every year."

 Now this is a group that defines the term giving. And I along with a number of young men, are extremely thankful they are here.

And I shall forever be exceedingly proud of my award.

Christy Marshall, editor-in-chief