Capital Giving

Women, Faith & Development Breakthrough Summit

2008-04-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, April 13, I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Women, Faith and Development Breakthrough Summit at Washington National Cathedral on behalf of United Way of the National Capital Area and its Women's Leadership Council. I attended with WLC co-chair Patricia Hobson, WLC Advisory Board member Olivia Millar and WLC member Trudy Jacobson. The purpose of the summit was to commit to ending global poverty by focusing on girls and young women all around the world.

As part of the Leadership Council, we were treated to third row seats, sitting behind such dignitaries like Dorothy Height. We were able to watch the entire procession of esteemed leaders, like the Dean of Washington National Cathedral, Samuel T. Lloyd, III who gave a stirring welcome. Joining Dean Lloyd on stage are the distinguished Co-Chairs of the Summit including the keynote speaker, The Honorable Madeleine Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State, The Right Honourable Kim Campbell, Prime Minister, Canada (1993), The Reverend Dr. Ishmael Noko, General Secretary, Lutheran World Federation, and Her Excellency Mary Robinson, former President, Republic of Ireland.

Brian Gallagher, President and CEO of United Way of America stood on stage as part of the summit and pledged that United Way and the WLC will work with the rest of the communities and organization to end global poverty. He said that United Way will leverage its global network to support work in financial stability and engagement through women leaders. Specifically, it will allocate $30 million to strengthen its global network to provide communities with tools and resources necessary to increase the financial capacity of women and their families. It will also leverage the United Way Women's Leadership Councils to target issues focused on education, income and health that move women to financial stability and independence.

The event was truly amazing. Trudy later told me that she found the event "historic" and Olivia commented that Secretary Albright's keynote speech was "fantastic" and that "they did a very good job of putting aside hot button political issues and focusing on meaningful change."

It was an incredible experience I don't think any of us are ever going to forget. I am proud of United Way's representation, and the representation of the WLC.

Photo from last week's Women's Leadership event.

2008-03-11T17:11:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is a photo from the Women's Leadership event last week. Special thanks to Leslie Traub (kneeling in the center) who helped our guests realize how much artistic talent they have!

Our next Women's Leadership event is scheduled for May 22, 2008, and will feature author Robin Gerber who recently published Eleanor vs. Ike: A Novel. Stay tuned for more details!

Our friend Frida.

2008-03-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, our longtime United Way friend Frida Burling was honored at the Washington Revels gala for her commitment to philanthropy. I just couldn't resist sharing this photo with you, as it captures the true essence of Frida's beautiful spirit.

Frida, all of your United Way friends are SO PROUD of you!

Euniesha's a coat star on the red carpet.

2008-03-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

Check out what Euniesha Davis, our child wellness manager, did for our neighbors in the Greater Washington Region to keep them warm this winter: http://www.comcastnews.com/Bundle Up.wmv.

Way to go, Euniesha!

Oh, what a night!

2008-03-06T20:01:00.000-08:00

Tonight we launched United Way of the National Capital Area's Women's Leadership Council. The WLC, as it's called, is a special group of women who donate at least $2,500 to United Way each year in support of our work in the community, such as affordable housing and child wellness.

Tonight's event, "An Evening in Watercolor," featured the work of Leslie Traub, a local watercolorist. A sample of her painting is featured above; for more on Leslie, check out http://www.leslietraubart.com/. Nearly 70 women registered for the event, which surpassed our goal of 50. Special thanks to Georgetown Prep and Cheap Joe's for their generous support of our event.

Tonight's event was a home run, thanks to:

- Connie Betram and Patricia Hobson, our energetic and committed co-chairs;
- Leslie Traub for the generous gift of her creativity;
- Our amazing staff volunteers, including Lauren, Euniesha, Monika, Dana, Andrea, and Angela; and
- Elizabeth Zacharias who is one of the most organized project managers I have ever met.

For more information on the WLC, please e-mail Elizabeth at ezacharias@uwnca.org. Check us out in a few days for a sampling of photos from the event!