This month, we invited our Grantee Partners to share some of their New Year’s resolutions with us.  Their passion and commitment to transforming the lives of women and girls and improving our community are evident in the aspirational goals they’ve set for themselves this year.

In this week’s roundup of news affecting women and girls in our community: We wonder what Dr. King might say about the high rate of poverty among women and girls in the DC area.  The top five findings of 2011 from the Institute of Women’s Policy Research.  The impact of Pre-K on the achievement gap.  Is it time for a poverty revolution?  Plus, a young, aspiring scientist is headed for a national competition as her family deals with homelessness.

Restaurant Week has returned to DC and each time I brave a packed restaurant for a prix fixe meal, I have flashbacks to one of my first experiences in the restaurant industry.  Back before the Curse of the Bambino was broken, I worked in a popular restaurant that was about a block away from Fenway Park.  Always a busy place, we’d get particularly slammed on the opening day of the Red Sox’s season.  We’d open early in the morning and serve “breakfast pizza” and beer.  This was followed by lunch pizza and beer.  And then there’d be beer for dinner.  The secret to serving hundreds of hungry Red Sox fans seemed to be a good sense of humor, speed, and the ability to keep your butt away from grabby hands (or at least a manager who was understanding when beer ended up in the lap of someone with grabby hands).

Wendy-Nia Griffin is the S.I.S.T.E.R.S program director at Family Support Center, a Maryland nonprofit that offers social and mental health services to families and schools in the metro area.  FSC has received grants from The Women’s Foundation for the S.I.S.T.E.R.S. (Self, Image, Strength, Tenacity, Empathy, Responsibility, Success) after-school empowerment program. S.I.S.T.E.R.S. offers comprehensive outreach, education and mentoring for pre-adolescent and adolescent girls.

Coalition Releases New Report Highlighting Low Wages, Discrimination, Health Risks, and Opportunity for Improvement in DC’s Growing Restaurant Industry

The DC restaurant scene has received increasing praise in national food circles due to innovative restaurants opening weekly (even through the recession) and a growing cadre of local celebrity chefs.  Unfortunately, most restaurant employers have not shared this love with their workers. Gender discrimination remains pervasive and tends to affect minority workers at a higher rate.

In today’s rundown: 13% of D.C. homes struggle with hunger. | How locals are responding to a proposal to limit welfare benefits and the announcement that a big box store is coming to D.C. | A Women’s Foundation donor is named a Philanthropist of the Year.

In today’s rundown: A Grantee Partner is profiled for its work with formerly incarcerated women. | A new effort is announced to help low-income women secure quality child care. | And the Meyer Foundation announces its Exponent Award winners.

The latest news, analysis and opinion on the state of low-income women and their families from Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity. For the week ending 9/17/2010: How sports can help homeless women get back on their feet.  Plus, fundraising helps women fight breast cancer with free treatments.

In today’s rundown: Why D.C. needs to change the affordable housing law.  |  Test results show that a disparity in education in Arlington has created two-tier public education system.  |  And honoring the women who shaped history in Montgomery County.

In today’s rundown: A Grantee Partner on the Kojo Nnamdi Show.  |  Local prep schools plan to take action when it comes to relationship violence.  |  What the Giving Pledge has to do with you.