Once homeless, speaker works to break poverty cycle

A national expert on poverty who was once homeless with two children will speak on campus about breaking free from poverty and building a more equitable society.

Donna Beegle, president of the consulting firm Communication Across Barriers, will give a presentation on Monday, November 29, at 6:30 p.m. in the Kirkhof Center, Grand River Room. “Breaking Down Poverty’s Barriers” is free and open to the public.

Beegle grew up in a migrant labor family. At age 15, she dropped out of school to marry. After 10 years of living in poverty, Beegle divorced her husband and became homeless with two children. She said that’s when she found confidence to finish a GED, then continued to earn degrees in journalism and communications and a doctorate in educational leadership.

Beegle founded Communication Across Barriers and a nonprofit organization, PovertyBridge, dedicated to changing lives for people in poverty. She is the author of “See Poverty: Be the Difference.”

The event is sponsored by Grand Valley’s Women’s Center, Division of Inclusion and Equity, and Women and Gender Studies. Participants are encouraged to bring donations of women’s personal care products (soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste) that will benefit local domestic violence shelters.

For more information about the event, contact the Women’s Center at (616) 331-2748.