Ruth Williamson Works on Self Help’s 55-Year History Project

Self Help recently marked its 55th year helping northern New Mexican communities and families in need. Ruth Williamson’s late husband, Dr. Kenneth Williamson, served as Self Help’s first Board Chairman from 1969 to 1971. With firsthand accounts of Self Help’s earliest days, she is writing her stories down as part of a volunteer history project.

Williamson recalls her husband working on Self Help’s earliest projects loaning out an adobe brickmaking machine to build local structures, and the preservation and distribution of an apple co-op in Chimayo. She’s exploring Self Help’s archives to write a multi-chapter account of the organization’s extensive history.

A hobby writer, Williamson has written eight family history books to gift to relatives. She is a retired music teacher and choral director and has performed in two local piano quartets, The Hot Flashes and The Vested Interests. For the past 25 years, she has volunteered her time leading music at Los Alamos Retired and Senior Organization’s Day Out program. When she’s not writing or playing music, she enjoys spending time with her mischievous Australian Shepherd dog Annie.

Williamson feels proud to have the opportunity to research and spread the word about Self Help. She’s moved by Joyce Pyburn and fellow founders’ mission to “do something that will help people help themselves, which is why it’s called Self Help,” Williamson says.

“It’s such a wonderful service and it’s something that I think other communities can say, ‘Hey, I could do that’.”

Self Help wishes to thank all past and current volunteers for their caring, compassionate service that has helped the organization make a community impact for 55 years. Self Help is indebted to their current dedicated intake volunteers, nine-member Board of Directors, thirty-seven Salvation Army Red Kettle volunteers, and other special project volunteers. As some of Self Help’s longest active members, volunteers serve as the organization’s storytellers and cherished memory keepers.

About Self Help, Inc.

Since 1969, Self Help, Inc. (Self Help) has functioned as a bridge to self-suƯiciency for Northern New Mexicans. We believe that access to basic needs is fundamental to every community member’s well-being and success. We provide flexible financial assistance, as well as information and referral services, to help disadvantaged clients and their families maintain housing, utilities, medical care, and other basic needs during a short-term crisis. Self Help serves residents of Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Northern Santa Fe, and Taos Counties.