Activist Calls Homemakers to Make Voices Heard
by Rebecca Grace
May 12, 2005
(AgapePress) - "Who chooses the curtains in your home? Who buys the sheets? How many of you are married to men who know what 'mauve' is?" asks Kimberly Fletcher, founder of Homemakers for America, Inc. (HFA)."We are the homemakers," she explained. "Men build the house. We make the home."
HFA, a national citizenship organization, formed after an epiphany during the 2004 presidential election as a means of uniting a diverse group of women who share the core values of God, freedom and family. The epiphany soon turned into an organized effort as 26 women gathered together for the first time last November in Dayton, Ohio.
These women, who largely differed in age, ethnicity, income and religion, became HFA's first members.
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Kimberly Fletcher |
Fletcher and HFA fellow members used grassroots efforts to promote the group's website. Within two months of the first meeting, HFA grew to a membership of over 200 women from 11 states. Presently, HFA is made up of nearly 400 members from 16 states."I have truly felt inspired and directed by God to form this organization. I have been led all the way," Fletcher said.
A Need for Awareness
While HFA is diverse in its religious makeup, Fletcher, an accomplished songwriter, a wife and mother of eight children and a former concert promoter/event planner, is a devoted Christian.
"I have a firm testimony of the divinity and love of God the Father and Jesus Christ, and it is that knowledge and faith that guides my life," she said.
His guidance was evident in the development of HFA as the Lord began prompting Fletcher to form the organization while she and her family were working at a voting precinct in Trotwood, Ohio, on Election Day. The Fletcher family, among other volunteers, passed out detailed voter guides compiled by the Christian Coalition of Ohio. While distributing these guides, Fletcher compared them with the vague leaflets being distributed by the Kerry-Edwards campaign.
"I realized, then, the real difference in the philosophy that day," Fletcher said. "One group provided the facts and let the voters decide for themselves. The other provided the voter with no information and dictated to them how they should vote."
As a result, Fletcher was inspired to promote education and support the individual right to make a decision.
An Outlet for Change
Recognizing and valuing the responsibilities women have in the home, HFA functions to "keep women informed and teach them how to be proactive in their communities without sacrificing their homes and families," Fletcher explained.
HFA provides such opportunities through a variety of means including its rapid response e-mail system, interactive website, state councils and local chapters, and its programs, conventions and educational endeavors.
"Homemakers for America, Inc. is a powerhouse -- a one-stop shop where you can ask questions, get answers, receive information on issues and find out what avenues are available to be most effective in influencing our families, communities, and our nation," Fletcher summarized.
HFA welcomes any female 18 years of age or older who shares the core beliefs of the organization. There is an annual membership fee of $5.00, which provides members with resources, opportunities and experiences needed for their voices to clearly resonate.
"We can no longer be silent .... Our elementary school libraries are filled with books like My Two Mommies, and we can't even turn on PBS anymore," Fletcher explained. "We cannot hide our heads in the sand. We must speak out.
"This [decay of America] is not a matter of Democrats versus Republicans, liberals versus conservatives ... or Americans versus terror. It is as simple as good versus evil.
"Homemakers in America want to be heard," Fletcher added. "How loud we are depends on our numbers."
HFA is launching a national public relations campaign to enroll one million members by the end of May 2005.
Rebecca Grace, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is staff writer for AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association. Homemakers for America can be contacted through their website.
