DC Life on a Budget | September 5, 2012 | by Brittiany Taylor
The District of Columbia, Greater Metropolitan area is a land of politics, purpose, and partying on a budget.
This week's Party of the Week, The Warford Foundation's Annual Black Tie Gala creatively combines all three of those areas. With the National Harbor as it's backdrop,
Parthenia Warford, celebrated military woman, mother, businesswoman, and confidant to many, graciously holds this event at the world renown
Gaylord Hotel and brings distinguished guests, entertainers, politicians, military widows, single mothers, and cross generational movers and shakers to celebrate and congregate all in the name of charity at
6 pm Friday among the crisp cool air that the harbor brings, with florescent lights from swanky upscale boutiques, restaurants, and hotels not nearly as bright as the night in itself. The Warford Foundation was started to help further enrich the lives of military widows and single mothers by enrolling them into nursing school programs, with the premiere program
Project Impact Scholars, being the shining star of the foundation. Being introduced to the foundation and its founder three years ago, I have experienced plenty a party in conjunction with the foundation, but this one will definitely by the best one yet. Complete with seated dinner and what is sure to be a stellar performance from national recording artist and actress Tanya Blount, and the Mistress of Ceremony is Sophia A. Nelson, a limited number of tickets will be available at the door. To find out more about the party, organization, and how to give time, resources, or monetary support to the cause, visit here and also follow the foundation's founder on twitter @thewarford. This event not only enriches your life and spares your pockets; it enriches the lives of so many others who give their lives and families in the hope for a better tomorrow. What better way to thank them, than to party today, or Friday rather, while helping them live out dreams of their own. This article would not be complete without an excerpt from an interview conducted upon my first meeting with Parthenia Warford, founder of The Warford Foundation, found below.
"... In order to know more, I had to meet and get to know the woman who saw the need for The Warford Foundation, a foundation that provides support for single mothers and military widows pursuing two year nursing degrees. I did not know what to expect. Would Ms. Warford be as caring as her foundation or would this be a sterile and quick interview; cold and quick? I was greeted warmly by Ms. Warford, a petite woman with a strong presence. She invited me into not only her home, but her personal bedroom, which we all know is a safe haven and space where you just don't allow anyone. Against a backdrop of blues, Ms. Warford and I talked for three and a half hours. We discussed anything and everything, leaving no stone unturned. Of course, The Warford Foundation was our main focus, but in order to know and understand the foundation and the seriousness and selflessness that the foundation embodies, you must understand the woman who saw the need for such a program and stepped up to fulfill the need. A strong and determined woman with deep roots in Saint Louis, Parthenia Warford calls The Warford Foundation a project that was "thirty seven years in the making". At seventeen, Parthenia, with the help of her parents, graciously accepted the gift that was her first child. Although her parents supported Parthenia, Ms. Warford independently decided that she would care for her children on her own. Parthenia and her grandfather had once had a discussion about her joining the military. At first, she was not really entertaining the conversation, but a year and a day later to his death she enlisted in the army. And thus, her military career began. The size zero woman was no joke. Commanding the respect of her peers and superiors Ms. Warford climbed the ranks and pursued an illustrious military career. The confidence she may have lacked as the 17 year old high school girl was quickly replaced by a presence that stood six feet over her true petite frame...When asked about her elegant yet nonsensical aura and the affect the military might have had in producing it, Ms. Warford's commanders often joked,"maybe we taught her too well. She knows how to speak up so much that we can’t get her to shut up sometimes." But it is this fiery personality that allows her to be a favorite among the Georgetown Women's Club, where she was a guest speaker and panelists on the Independent Woman's Series. Parthenia also credits her mom with teaching her the old fashion sensibilities and strong and determined ways. Just as she can make a home cooked meal from scratch, Ms. Warford makes it known when you are crossing lines you need not cross when dealing with her foundation. It is also this spirit that sometimes felt her father feeling like he didn't get a chance to really father his one daughter of six, with him saying "You're my only girl, I thought I was a going to get to enjoy being a father to you but you handled everything, and we talked about it later." ...The honesty that attracts you to Ms. Warford and keeps you enthralled and hanging off of every word is felt by all. She has become a voice of reason to our youth. Males and females alike turn to her for guidance on relationships, school, life in general, and making a difference in particular. And she's quick to tell you that "whatever the situation, whatever she has to do, she serves it real in language that they understand"....Buy a ticket for a single mother interested in the program. Buy a table for your sorority or fraternity looking for a great cause to support, or a couple of seats for your co-workers or close circle of friends that want to support a worthy cause.
...There was so much information gathered at this interview, there is no way that I can keep it all confined in this one post, but do know that this is not the last that you have heard regarding The Warford Foundation and Brittiany Cierra. ... I leave you all with this telling quote from Ms. Warford excerpted from our interview, "This is my passion. This is what I love to do, it means so much to me. If I could just make one person smile by helping and doing what I like to do, I will do just that."
