In May 2003, students and community leaders proposed a program to the current president of Union Theological Seminary, Joseph Hough, the goal of which was to eliminate poverty. Since then, students and community leaders have been working intensely with administration, faculty and alumni at Union to plan this multifaceted program, now known as “The Poverty Initiative at Union.”

The Mary Magdalene/Welfare Queen Work Study Project (MM/WQ) of the Poverty Initiative is a new project founded this year that focuses on the leadership and agency of poor women today and draws strength from role models like Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, from early Christian history. The Project works to empower poor women to participate in and lead programs and activities of the Poverty Initiative at Union. The project also aims to inspire and support organizations led by poor women in their own communities that challenge the stereotypes of poor women as lazy, promiscuous, undeserving and immoral.