Happy New Year! Even though we're already halfway through January it's still okay to use that sentiment since we are also approaching the Lunar New Year on January 29th. Celebrated by many Asian cultures, this second date in January gives us a double dose of opportunities for letting go of the past and starting off the year with new beginnings, new outlooks, new perceptions and a powerful push to make big changes in our lives! And sometimes that big change isn't the most obvious or immediate, i.e. losing weight, quitting smoking, get a new job, stop procrastinating, etc. but is instead perhaps a more profound change in the way you understand yourself and your relationship to and attitudes toward everything around you - your environment, your work situation, your personal interactions. Do you make decisions based on guilt , fear, obligation or another's opinion of you? Do your actions reflect your thoughts and beliefs, or vice versa?

Because our outer and inner worlds are intimately connected, even when we do take concrete action in our lives - like finally cleaning out our closets - this can open up mental, spiritual and emotional space within us so that we can see more clearly what is going on in our inner world, allowing us to make the appropriate adjustments that will make our lives more prosperous, peaceful and fulfilled. That is one way of looking at Feng Shui, which is going to be a focus of our upcoming event later this month where we'll have experts in this area on hand to help you address areas of your life from that perspective - but more about that in a minute...

First we want to take a moment to thank everyone who came to our GIFT OF GIVING GRATITUDE GATHERING: Time, Talent and Treasure for TWM and YOU! It was an intimate,festive and successful holiday celebration where we welcomed several new members and enjoyed some yummy snacks and cocktails in the comfy red velvet couches of Madame X. We also honored some special ladies with Certificates of Appreciation for Outstanding Service to The Women's Mosaic. They went to: Michele French for INSPIRER Editor Extraordinaire; Tina Marie Greene for Revlon Walk Rally-er and Silent Auction Superwoman; Michele Lambrech (& hubby Josh Lefkowitz) for Phenomenal Photography; Kitty Loving for Most Consistent Constituent; Kekla Magoon for being our Grantwriting Guru; and Christina Quintero for Graphic Design Greatness. We thank everyone who has helped us thus far and hope that many more of you will become involved this year!For photos and a description, please click on the article link below.

As many of you know, Chinese New Year is a special time for The Women's Mosaic, since our very first event was a Chinese New Year Celebration exactly five years ago! So in honor of that anniversary, we are going to have another Chinese New Year event on Tuesday, January 31st - please join us for TWM's Five Year Anniversary Chinese New Year Celebration! at Grand Harmony Palace in Chinatown. We'll also have Feng Shui consultants on hand to give you tips on how to start the New Year off right! See below article for more details...

We also want to acknowledge yesterday's Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday celebrating the inspiring person he was, the principles he stood and fought for, and the ceaseless work he did for the Civil Rights Movement and the equality of all people everywhere. Of course in this country, and particularly at that time, the focus was on African- Americans, and although we have come a long way, we still have a long way to go to live up to the ideals that Dr. King so eloquently articulated on numerous occasions, not the least of which was his "I Have a Dream" speech. In this spirit, in February we are going to continue our "My Life as a ..." series with a panel discussion called My Life as a Black Woman, where you'll hear women of African decent share their experiences about specific issues they have had and continue to deal with as a result of having the skin color and backgrounds that they do. Stay tuned for more information on this event in separate emails...For a full description and listing of all Upcoming Mosaic and non-Mosaic events, please see the article link below.

Coming up in March, we will be doing our big Membership Drive in honor of Women's History Month and hope to have our new issue of INSPIRER to go with it. We also are still working on a survey to go out to all of you at some point, so stay tuned for that as well. We've got some exciting programs and opportunities cooking up for the Spring as well, just keep an eye out for announcements on all of that as we go along. Don't forget to check the below article for all your email preferences so that you can be in the loop with what we're doing, and be sure that we have the correct snail mail address in your Subscriber Profile so that you can receive any paper mailings we send!

As always, we want to remind you that if you like what TWM has accomplished so far, enjoy reading the newsletters, are in harmony with what we are doing and with what we stand for - and want it all to continue - please know that we need your financial support. Thanks to all our recent members and many of you who have renewed your membership. A basic Mosaic Membership costs less per month than a fancy cup of coffee! Please see the article below or visit our Membership or Donate pages for more info and links to make your contribution.

We'll be continuing to make changes throughout the year that we hope you will be as excited about as we are - please feel free to contact us with your thoughts, comments and suggestions at any time. We've added a new article link called Who's Saying What About TWM so you can see some of them there!

Here's to making 2006 our best year yet!

One of the best ways to show your appreciation for what we are doing is to support The Women's Mosaic by becoming a member! We want to expand and grow our organization to become a powerful voice for women, but we cannot do so without your help.

Besides providing general financial support for the organization, your membership allows us to garner funds from other sources such as foundation and corporations; and gives you benefits and perks like reduced admission to our events, discounts on various products and services, as well as other opportunities - the more members we have the more benefits we can offer. The bottom line is that if you enjoy what we are doing, please show your support!

There are lots of exciting things we'd like to do in 2006, but cannot do so without your help! The more members we have, the more we can do for you!

Please join at the highest level possible today! A basic Mosaic Membership is only $25 ....

* Want to share your culture or other passion? Plan a TWM event!

* Volunteer for TWM! We've got many ways for to you to help out depending on the skill set you have or want to develop, and the time you can give.

*Spread the word about TWM! Forward this email newlsetter on to friends so they can sign up and become part of our dynamic and diverse community!

*Become a Member of TWM! Support an organization that enriches your life and the lives of others! The more members we have, the more we can do for you as well as be a force for women both here and abroad.

*Donate to TWM! Besides actual cash donations, we need in-kind donations of supplies, copying, postage and other items to help us cut down on costs. (We are in current need of a DIGITAL CAMERA - so if you got a shiny new one for the holidays and not sure what to do with your old one - we can most certainly use it!) We are also in need of donated OFFICE SPACE.

If interested in any of the above contact us directly, or if you just wanted to be a general volunteer you can check off the "Volunteer" category box through the Update Profile/Email Address link at the bottom of this page. For information on internshops we have available please click below.