Dear Friends of Washington Area Women’s Foundation, 

Thank you for inviting me to join you as a speaker, along with Ambassador Swanee Hunt, at your upcoming Leadership Luncheon. I was honored to be asked to step in for Sheila Johnson because it is always a pleasure for me to share the company of like-minded women and men who understand the benefit and value of investing in women and girls as a means to make our communities healthier, stronger, more vibrant places to live and work.

As president and CEO of CARE, an international humanitarian organization fighting global poverty, and a public health advocate and researcher, I know firsthand that making communities healthier, wealthier and wiser begins with women. That when a woman gains power, she, her husband, her children and her extended family benefit for a lifetime. Women are one of the greatest untapped natural resource in fighting global poverty.

I am very much looking forward to joining your ongoing conversation around how investing in women and girls is an investment in better communities—and to sharing my experience in applying this approach on a global scale.

Sincerely,

Helene D. Gayle MD, MPH
President and Chief Executive Officer
CARE

Don’t miss Dr. Helene Gayle’s conversation with Ambassador Swanee Hunt on October 10, 2007.  Purchase your tickets or sponsorship today!

Join us for our Leadership Luncheon on October 10th, and not only will you be contributing to Washington Area Women’s Foundation’s work throughout our community, but you will walk away with a whole new attitude about how you can make your community a better place.

Because The Women’s Foundation is in the business of change— changing lives, perceptions, and our community.

If you thought our luncheon was any different, think again.

Our Leadership Luncheon is about making new rules and creating new avenues for true impact in our region. It is about coming together and forging connections that turn generosity into true gains for women, girls and our community.

This is a real power lunch.

Join us for this energetic celebration of the serious power of women’s philanthropy to create a more vibrant community by empowering women and girls to reach their full potential.

Join us to learn how becoming part of the power of giving together will not only change someone else’s life, but your own.

Join more than 1,300 of us—and our lead sponsors—Capital One and Freddie Mac & the Freddie Mac Foundation—on October 10th at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. from noon to 2 p.m. for a conversation on the power of women’s philanthropy, and how anyone can be a part of it.

And that’s how, if you change up your lunch routine, we’ll change you, and our community.

So, forget lunches where your main concern is using the correct flatware, and get ready to think beyond yourself, beyond your expectations about what you thought you could do, beyond what you thought possible for women and girls in our region.

Join us at the 2007 Leadership Luncheon to get connected, get inspired, get empowered and get hooked on the power of giving together.

Join our sponsors or purchase a ticket.

We can’t wait to see you there!

“Get out of my room!” he screamed at me.

I said nothing, except for knocking down his video tapes.  It was at this point he charged me, and knocked me to the ground.  I used my will and all my strength to fight back while trying to escape his apartment.

I finally escaped and walked down what felt like the hallway of shame. It was one of the longest walks I ever took. Once at home, I closed the dark brown wooden door behind me, and walked towards my mirror.

I stared into the mirror but a different image was looking back.  It wasn’t me. 

I saw a young woman with hair out of her head and blood and bruises on her face. When I finally realized that image was me, I started to cry.  I cried about all the pain that was inside my past, and started to connect what had just happened to me with former abuse that was in my household.

Violence occurs in cycles, especially when it comes down to domestic violence.  Domestic violence will continue until we, as a society, stop expecting that the victims should be the only people stopping this violence. 

Children and youth who grow up in households facing domestic violence are more likely to emulate this violence.

Dating violence is more prevalent in Washington, D.C. than New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Diego. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, D.C. has the highest rate of teen dating violence in the country. Children who grow up in abusive households are more likely to repeat this pattern of abuse in their first dating relationships.

For me as well, the abuses in my household were interconnected to my domestic violence situation. 

I cried for what seemed like hours, maybe even days. When I finally I came to, I remembered I had a meeting for work. I was so embarrassed to call my work to tell them what had happened, and was planning on saying that I was sick. 

When I called a co-worker, an outpour of tears flooded my thoughts, and I couldn’t speak.  She listened to me, and I finally stated, “My boyfriend hit me.” The next thing I knew, she was knocking on my apartment door to make sure I was fine.

I cried with her, and told her what I could verbalize. She supported me in doing whatever I needed. In fact, she told me about one of her friends who ran a Protective Restraining Order Clinic.  She provided me resources and emotional support.  When I was asked to do a spoken word piece based on my experience with abuse and Intimate partner violence at V-day San Francisco 2002, she was there in the audience supporting me.

On that day, I learned that the V stood for Validation. That validation led me to call the cops and start filing my case. In 2006, the number of domestic-related crime calls in the United States was 29,000. In 2005, the Metropolitan Police Department received over 27,000 domestic-related crime calls – one every 19 minutes–an increase of 22 percent over the past three years.

Validation is very important to all domestic violence survivors and their experiences. Many times we are told by our police, workplaces, and families that our matters are ‘lovers quarrels’, and ‘that it’s our fault’.

When we choose to speak out and decide to escape our situations, the most important thing is to be validated by the people and institutions we tell our stories to. That validation is strong enough to lead to an abuse-free world.

Validation first starts with supporting our survivors’ ability to take paid time off from work to take care of their security. Often, survivors need to take time off to get a restraining order, go to court, attend counseling, and for their very safety.

Many survivors, frequently women, are not validated by their workplaces and have been fired by their jobs. In fact, 98 percent of employed victims of domestic violence encounter problems at work (including losing their jobs) as a result of the violence.  Most companies have no idea how to validate domestic violence survivors through their human resource polices. Less than 30 percent of businesses in the United States have a formal program or policy that addresses workplace violence, even though seventy-eight percent of human resource directors identified domestic violence as a substantial employee problem.

It is ironic that as a society we tell our survivors to leave their situations, but we don’t provide them with the tools in which to do so, and we condemn them as they take leave to care for their safety.

After experiencing domestic violence, I would have flashbacks of the violence, and would many times be scared to leave my apartment. I was not alone.  Thirty-one to 84 percent of domestic violence victims exhibit Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms across varied samples of clinical studies, shelter, hospitals, and community agencies. It was important for me to take the time off to mentally and physically recover as well as to look for a therapist.

In current proposed legislation, the Paid Sick and Safe Days Act of 2007, any employee in the District of Columbia would be able to take a paid sick and safe day.  A ‘safe’ day would apply to a victim that has experienced stalking, sexual assault, or intimate partner violence. A victim of domestic violence would be able to seek out shelter, file a restraining order, or receive counseling without losing employment.

The U.S. General Accounting Office found that 24 to 53 percent of domestic violence victims lose their jobs due to domestic violence. This bill would enable all survivors to seek services and resources to keep them safe while sustaining their employment. Maintaining steady employment for many survivors is what prevents many from going back to their abusers.

If it was not for the understanding of my two part-time jobs of allowing me to take time off when needed, I might have gone back to my abuser. I might have never fought for my domestic violence case to get picked up by the District Attorney. I might have struggled to find food to eat.

Paid sick and safe days are crucial to not only a victim’s health and our children’s health, but to our society’s health.

Mari Villaluna is the legal and policy associate for D.C. Employment Justice Center, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation

Dear Washington Area Women’s Foundation,

My name is Sharon Wise and I’m one of the students enrolled in the Female Property Management Certificate training at Southeastern University (a Stepping Stones Jobs Fund Grantee Partner).
 
I just wanted to let you know that everything is great!  I love my class and I am learning so much. I am in a communications class and the facilitators are so funny and smart.  I did not know there were so many ways to email, write letters and express oneself.

I thank you all 100 times over for allowing me to have an opportunity to be in this class!  My self esteem has increased because I feel I am part of something. 

I have not missed one class and I am excited on Tuesday, for I know Wednesday is coming. 

We had a quiz yesterday and I know I Aced it!  Hurray!

I want to share my experiences so that you all will know that someone is benefiting and learning.  I love this class!

This is an experience of a lifetime.

I just want to thank you all so much for just doing the work that you all do to make it possible for women like myself to go through this fabulous program, and I just look forward to being one of your success stories.

Sharon Wise is one of thousands of women throughout our region benefiting from the power of giving together. 

Join us for our 2007 Leadership Luncheon to meet some of these women, the Grantee Partners who are serving them and to learn how YOU can become a part of the Washington area’s most powerful wave of women’s philanthropy that is changing lives, and our community, every day.

The 2006 Leadership Luncheon convinced me that I needed to get involved with The Women’s Foundation.

I have never seen so many dynamic women — so powerfully and passionately committed to helping other women — all in one place at the same time!

Since then, I have joined The Women’s Foundation’s Rainmakers Giving Circle. Members of the Rainmakers learn about the needs of young women in our community and engage directly with organizations that support them.

The Women’s Foundation provides so many different paths for engagement in the community, and if you’re looking for ways to do so, the Leadership Luncheon is a great place to start.

Ayuda is deeply familiar with the struggles of low-income immigrants in the Washington, D.C. area. We have been at the forefront of providing multi-lingual social and legal services to immigrants for the past 34 years. Ayuda routinely helps immigrants reunite with their families, apply for citizenship or asylum and protect themselves and their children from domestic violence.

Several years ago, Ayuda began representing immigrants who had been illegally trafficked in the United States and forced to work under horrendous conditions for little or no pay. In 2003, Ayuda launched the Human Trafficking Project to serve this extremely vulnerable population. Five years and 100 cases later, our clients’ empowering stories continue to move us to action.

Human trafficking is a crime in the United States. An estimated 20,000 people are trafficked in the United States annually, according to the latest report by the U.S. Department of State. Trafficking victims come to the U.S. from their home countries in search of work, opportunity and a better future. Deceitful traffickers often prey on these dreams by promising safety and securing employment, while in reality they deliver victims into forced labor arrangements.

Ayuda serves a range of human trafficking cases each year. Recent clients include: a Latin American child forced to work as a prostitute by a man she believed to be her boyfriend, a South Asian woman forced to work as a domestic servant for a diplomat, and an African young woman forced to work in a beauty salon by a family member. As human trafficking activity increases worldwide, Ayuda has served clients from countries around the globe, including El Salvador, Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, Honduras, Thailand, Mexico, Ethiopia, India, Korea, and the Ukraine.

Victims of human trafficking face many difficulties in escaping from their slave-like conditions. Trafficked persons often don’t speak English, and are isolated from families, friends, and support networks. They are often completely dependent on their traffickers for food, shelter and clothing. Traffickers use coercion tactics that include physical restraint, beatings, rape, emotional and psychological abuse, and threats to family members to keep their victims in the trafficked situation.

The resulting trauma of human trafficking makes recovery difficult for survivors. Ayuda has found that it takes a great deal of time for clients to build trust with their attorney and social worker. It is important for survivors to know that reporting the crime will actually protect them from their trafficker and will not jeopardize their ability to remain legally in this country. Trust is also essential for clients to open up about their situation and give full details to our attorneys and law enforcement officials in the case against their trafficker.

Ayuda attorneys help victims navigate the complex legal system. Victims can gain legal relief through protection under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Relief under this law grants victims a T visa to allow them to legally live and work in the U.S. and eventually apply for legal permanent resident status. Ayuda attorneys maintain a remarkably high success rate for legal cases of human trafficking, a testament to the expertise of our legal staff.

In addition to legal representation, survivors of human trafficking also need help learning how to become self-sufficient. Survivors struggle with securing basic needs and services, such as a source of income, emergency housing, clothing, food and other immediate needs. They also work to recover from the emotional trauma of their abuse to build stability in their lives. Ayuda’s social workers also help clients enroll in job training programs, GED courses, and English classes and give referrals for affordable housing programs, daycare, medical care, and government programs.

Identifying the victims of human trafficking is a significant challenge of the Human Trafficking Project. Victims often do not seek assistance because they fear retaliation from their trafficker. Ayuda has seen many examples of traffickers threatening victims’ family members in their home countries, physically beating and emotionally abusing the victims, and using many other forms of control and intimidation. Ayuda’s social workers and community outreach staff work to educate immigrant communities about the law regarding human trafficking and encourage victims to speak out and seek help.

Recently, Ayuda launched a community outreach campaign with a grant from the D.C. Metropolitan Police. We are targeting the African and Latino immigrant communities with brochures in Spanish, French and Amharic. Ayuda will reach thousands of D.C. area residents through the dissemination of outreach material, radio commercials, bus ads, community presentations, and articles in ethnic newspapers.

Although we have served more than 100 clients since the Project started, much more needs to be done to reach local victims with information about human trafficking and direct assistance. More and more victims are trafficked to the D.C. area, one of the nation’s hotspots for this type of criminal activity. Ayuda needs the continued support from our partners to collaboratively address this tragic problem in our community.

September is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and Ayuda is working with Washington Area Women’s Foundation to bring awareness to this issue.

If you are interested in learning more about human trafficking in the D.C. region and how Ayuda is responding to this crisis, call Estera Barbarasa at 202-243-7306.

Or, learn more about how you can join The Women’s Foundation in its support of local nonprofits and their work on issues, like human trafficking, that impact women and girls in our region every day.  Join us, and get involved with The Power of Giving Together, where we work together to bring change home.

Ayuda is a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.  This blog was prepared by Estera Barbarasa, Ayuda’s fundraising and public affairs coordinator, in collaboration with Drake Hagner, Ayuda’s development and communications associate.

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s International Humanitarian Symposium and awards ceremony.  The event this year was themed, "The Changing Face of Philanthropy: Evolution or Revolution?"

I couldn’t help but be pleased to note that throughout the symposium and dinner discussions–formal and informal–that there was an important subtext. 

That it seems that practitioners of community development, of philanthropy, of effective giving and nonprofit work are coming around to the idea that yes, philanthropy and development are evolving, and that women are very much at the heart of this evolution.

And that they’re talking about it no longer like it’s new, or different or a maybe-this-is-something-to-think-about sort of idea on the margins.

That they’re talking about it like an accepted tenet, a truth, that has finally arrived. 

That the revolution will, most likely, begin with women.

Rock on.

Just  a few tidbits and examples to get hopeful about:

The winner of this year’s Hilton prize was Tostan, an NGO working throughout Africa to promote human rights, and by extension women’s rights, and is revolutionizing issues around early marriage and female genital mutilation and changing the way women, and people throughout Africa, think about themselves.

Dr. Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE, spoke earlier in the day about CARE’s new I am Powerful campaign, and its acknowledgement of the role of women in building stronger communities around the world.  And about how CARE has restructured its work to place women and girls front and center in their efforts.  Because they know that empowering women and girls works to empower entire communities.

The keynote speaker, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, addressed the role of women in development, citing them as a backbone of their communities, as the force of change.  His exact words will be available here, soon.

Indeed, the revolution–to reduce poverty and improve our communities and the lives of its children–will begin with women.

It already has.  

And this isn’t just true in Africa or Asia or the Middle East.  It’s true here, too.  To find out how we’re bringing the revolution home, just Ask Us How.  Because for nearly 10 years, we’ve been improving the Washington metropolitan area by investing in women and girls. 

Because whether in Angola or Anacostia, Sri Lanka or Silver Spring, the revolution, and true change, will, inevitably, begin with women.

Join us to help bring the revolution home.

You don’t have to be a millionaire to give a million, or to feel like it, when you’re part of the power of giving together.

No one knows this like the founding members of Washington 100, The Women’s Foundation’s premier group of supporters who give $10,000 each over two years, generating a collective $1 million that is changing the way The Women’s Foundation works by supporting the efforts that are changing lives and our community.

Phyllis Caldwell, a founding member of Washington 100, explains that her commitment stemmed precisely from this, saying, “I liked the idea of being part of a $1 million donor pool. It’s more than I could ever donate as an individual.”

Co-chaired by Barbara Strom Thompson and Doreen Gentzler, Washington 100 met its charter membership goal in July with 118 founding members. This achievement was due in great part to the enthusiasm and dedication of its co-chairs and early members who reached out and brought people into this esteemed network.

Strom Thompson describes the fulfillment of this network of leaders as a natural outshoot of the desire among women philanthropists to find innovative, effective ways to invest their gifts.  “Women are looking for new ways to give,” she says. "Women don’t want to just support the status quo, particularly Washington women. They want to be very savvy about where they’re investing their time and their money, and they value the camaraderie of giving collectively.  Washington 100 is a perfect match for these women.”

Washington 100, which is made up of a diverse, engaged community of women and men representing industries, neighborhoods, interests and talents throughout our region, is a unique opportunity for philanthropists who want to broaden their engagement with giving, but on their own terms.

“Women have chapters in their lives, and Washington 100 provides a really important way that women can get involved in The Women’s Foundation and have it meet their own needs, as well as doing really important work,” Strom Thompson says.

She explains that one of the advantages of Washington 100 is that it provides an opportunity to make an impact through various levels of involvement. It’s fine to give a check, or, for those who want to be more involved, the networking with like-minded community leaders and the philanthropic education opportunities are plentiful and meaningful.

“One of the reasons I got involved in The Women’s Foundation was that I felt like I didn’t even know my hometown,” Strom Thompson says. “It felt odd to live in a place for decades and not know such huge parts of the city. A lot of women are drawn to the opportunity to broaden their sense of home.”

Opportunities like this exist for Washington 100 in the form of networking events with other top leaders from the region; private receptions and forums on key philanthropic, community issues; personalized assistance from The Women’s Foundation with creating giving plans, connecting with other community organizations and leaders and finding additional ways to become involved in our community; and more, including site visits to see firsthand the work being done by The Women’s Foundation’s Grantee Partners.

Cathy Isaacson, a founding member of Washington 100, gains perspective from these opportunities. “It is a much deeper understanding,” she says. “Hearing from the women who benefit from those programs so that you can—in a very concrete way—learn about the impact is so valuable.”

In turn, the commitment and support of Washington 100 is invaluable to The Women’s Foundation, providing the core support that enables its grantmaking, leadership development and technical assistance to Grantee Partners, research and community education efforts and the long-term social change that is the goal of its work.

“We’re not funding band-aid efforts,” Strom Thompson says. “This is about institutional, societal, cultural change. We’ll be able to exponentially grow and expand on the progress The Women’s Foundation has made in less than 10 years. It’s been amazing what The Women’s Foundation has accomplished, and it’s our job to provide the financial security for that work to continue.”

Caldwell sees it also as an important force in our region’s growing wave of women philanthropists. “The founding members of Washington 100 all believe in the vision of The Women’s Foundation as part of the new wave of women as philanthropists,” she says.

Strom Thompson agrees, saying, “There is a certain alchemy when women get together, and we’re creating new ways of engaging in the community that go beyond just the money we give. And not only are we helping change others, but we’re changing ourselves.”

Learn more about this powerful network of women and men investing in women and girls in our region.

(Photo: Washington 100 co-chairs Barbara Strom Thompson and Doreen Gentzler. Courtesy of Michael Colella.)

On Labor Day, Marjorie Sims took to the airwaves on WAMU, during the Diane Rehm Show, to offer a powerful commentary on the importance of investing in nontraditional pathways to opportunity for women in our region. Hear her speak out.

Then, tune in on Friday, September 14 at 6:35 and 8:35 a.m. to hear Marjorie’s commentary on women’s empowerment on 88.5 FM WAMU.