Greetings!
All the world’s a stage and everyone has their part,
so the saying goes?and one man whose life we
celebrate at this time who certainly played his role in
the
advancement
and encouragement of humanity’s potential for
peaceful co-existence both in this country and
abroad was of course, Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. Although not necessarily associated with
women’s issues, MLK illuminated concepts of equality
and social justice that can apply to the feminist
movement and whose life work and mission, most
clearly articulated in his “I Have a Dream”
speech, reverberates at the core of TWM.
MLK's world platform to spread his message
of peace, equality and freedom for all was
a rallying call that applied not only to the turbulent
60’s but the need for which continues on today.
Each of us has our own part to play in making MLK’s
dream become a reality - by taking responsibility for
demonstrating our own individual greatness,
and to
recognize the unity and
celebrate the diversity which exists within and all
around us that will allow us to live harmoniously
with one another.
Of course in theory we all like to admit we can easily
or perhaps already do this, but the reality is that
only when we really know and accept who we
are and feel
connected to that, can we truly connect to,
understand and respect another human being no
matter who they are or where they come from. That
is why TWM relates the two concepts of diversity
and women together through programs that allow
women to learn both about themselves as well as
each other, and why we feel that women’s
personal
growth and development is essential to the evolution
and peacemaking capabilities of our human
family,
and why we continue to create opportunities that
unite and empower women both here and abroad in a
variety of unique ways.
This time of year is also significant for TWM, as the
organization was founded with our first event which
took place on Chinese New Year of 2001. As we
celebrate our sixth year anniversary, we move
forward in 2007 with a renewed sense of purpose,
determination and excitement to do our part in
inspiring women to make this world the best it can be
for all people, everywhere!
Before we talk about our plans for 2007, we want to
thank everyone who came out on Wednesday,
December 13th for our TWM End-of-Year
Fundraiser Gathering, which included a
wonderful Wine Tasting, festive Holiday
Bazaar and
incorporated our annual ESP (Empower, Support
&
Promote Each Other & Ourselves) Conference.
We raised just over $2000 for TWM and many great
connections were made among attendees, vendors
and speakers alike!
Read
below article for all the details
Also at the end of the year, TWM awarded
our Certificates of Appreciation for Outstanding
Service, which were
handed out at the fundraiser and went to:
Sally Sullivan/Gatekeeping Goddess;
Jane Lee/Membership Maven; Sally
Mercedes/Industrious,Illustrious
Intern;Melanie McEvoy/Fundraising Phenom;
Ana Djordjevic/Passionate Program
Coordinator; Kate Brett/Committee Catalyst
& Pow Wow Princess; Kekla
Magoon/INSPIRER Editor Extraordinaire.
Thank
you all for your amazing efforts! If you
have time, talent, or treasure that you would like to
share with
TWM, see the below article on how to get more
involved, and be sure to check off the Volunteer
Opportunities Interest Category on your
subscriber
profile.
For those of you who have were not able to attend
the fundraiser, don't forget there
are several
other
ways you can support
our
mission of
educating, inspiring and motivating women to
express their full power and potential in the world.
There are many costs
associated with putting the
events together with the staff needed to
coordinate and run them year round. We
urgently need your
financial support to continue doing what we are
doing and eventually grow to offer you even
more. Whether you become a TWM Member, use
GoodSearch.com
or spend $5 for
a CHICKS ROCK button, every penny counts, so
please contribute to the best of your ability!
As for what lies ahead, you
already know about our Upcoming Event tonite,
New Year, New You! Igniting Your Passions for
2007 which will be the first in series of several
collaborations with other women's organizations
around the city that we mentioned in our last
eNewsletter. This one is with WomanVision, a
company that provides ceremonies and
rituals for the modern day woman that are based on
traditions from around the world. See below
article for more details, and we hope to see you
there!
You'll also notice that we'll be doing a fun and
empowering pre-Valentine's Day event on
Thursday,
February 8th called Love Your Self, Love
Your
Body! which will be a "Lingerie Party"... We
all know how finding the right bra can be challenging,
and that's why we'll have an expert on hand to not
only help us with that, but with all the body issues
that go along with the process of purchasing our
most intimate apparel - it's a wonderful opportunity
for us to feel great
about our physical selves! See below for more
details
and stay tuned for a separate announcement as well
coming soon.
In other news, as you see we've published some of
the results from our TWM 2006 Survey,
which
provided useful data, feedback and insights for us -
thanks very much to all who responded!
We're also excited to announce that we have
recently published
the second edition
of our, INSPIRER
Newsletter,
so be sure that your snail mail address is up to date
by going to the Update Email Address/Profile
link at the bottom of this email to get the
printed version. You can also check it out in PDF
version by clicking here or in the article below.
We are going to be trying some different things in
2007, so you may be receiving more and/or different
types of communication from us than you are used
to. TWM will continue to connect you with
other dynamic, diverse women and expand your
internal
and
external horizons with a blend of enjoyable activities
and
events that are both serious and sublime. As we
go
through the year we'll be
experimenting with new formats and ideas to expand
our own
horizons, so stay tuned and let us know if you'd like
to get involved!
Here's to making 2007 the best year yet!
Kristina M. Leonardi, Founder & Executive Director
