e-News from Women's Foundation of Arkansas

The WFA office is a happening place this summer: we have a new IT sponsor to ensure that WFA has a solid IT infrastructure, committees are working on upcoming events, and volunteers are joining us in the office daily to help with our summer research project! In addition to all that, several intersting articles and free events have come to our attention that we thought you would be intersted in.

IT Sponsor: Starwood Technologies

We are excited to announce Starwood Technologies is WFA's IT Sponsor - providing trouble-shooting, web design and data migration services! Starwood Technologies is a new Little Rock-based IT company that "merges innovative technology and client needs into simple solutions."

Remember to save the date of Friday, October 15th so you can attend the annual Power of the Purse luncheon at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock! A limited number of volunteer opportunities have been posted on the WFA website. More information and exciting announcements coming soon!

The Power of Women's Funds

In The Power of Women's Funds, from the September/October 2009 issue of Advancing Philanthropy, May Morten shares why and how women's funds are unmatched in terms of their size, reach and connections.

The aricle is also posted on the Resources page of the WFA website.

Girls of Promise Update

The 2010 Girls of Promise Report is posted online on our Girls of Promise Sponsors page! Highlights include:

5 conferences were held across the state this Spring reaching 258 young women!
37 career fields utilizing the STEM curriculum represented!
Over 1,200 volunteer hours were contributed through local committee work and "day of" volunteer roles!

Among the great feedback we received on post-conference surveys was this quote from an 8th-grade girl:

"It was the best way to learn more things about the opportunities of careers and the many ways to make a lifetime of friends. Thank you for letting me explore new things and ideas and also, this conference helped me have confidence in myself to meet new people and do different things."

To put all 10 years worth of feedback into electronic format and to find out what impact Girls of Promise has made on the lives of participants Girls of Promise: Educating Our Future was launched in WFA's June e-Newsletter. Volunteers have contributed over 90 hours since June 21 and are signed up for every day until August 5! Volunteer roles still available - register here.

We now have over 3,400 surveys from GoP participants & volunteers entered in our electronic database. Starting next week, volunteers will begin calling GoP alumnae to find out what effect (if any) attending a GoP conference had on their lives. This fall, we will publish a report highlighting the effect 10 years of Girls of Promise conferences have had on Arkansas's girls!

Plans have also been started for spring 2011. Conferences will take place at 6 locations: Arkansas State University (Jonesboro), Arkansas Tech University (Russellville), NorthWest Arkansas Community College (Bentonville), South Arkansas Community College (El Dorado), University of Arkansas at Little Rock - and Harding University in Searcy, WFA's newest Girls of Promise Campus Partner! Those interested in serving on one of these six local committees can apply here.

Recycle to Give Hope

Verizon Wireless' HopeLine program puts their wireless network to work in our communities by turning unused wireless phones into support for victims of domestic violence.

Verizon Wireless collects no-longer-used wireless phones, batteries and accessories in any condition from any wireless service provider at Communications Stores nationwide. Phones that can be refurbished are sold for reuse and those without value are disposed of in an environmentally sound way. Proceeds from the HopeLine program are used to provide wireless phones and cash grants to local shelters and non-profit organizations that focus on domestic violence prevention and awareness.

More information: HopeLine

Childhood Hunger & Obesity

A report released by the Southern Education Foundation (SEF) finds that a growing number of the South's students who live in extreme poverty - surviving on less than seven or eight dollars per day - attend public schools that spend the least on educational resources.

The Worst of Times: Children in Extreme Poverty in the South and Nation summarizes and analyzes the latest census data and patterns on
children in extreme poverty in the South and the nation. More than 5.7 million children lived in extreme poverty in the United States in 2008 in a household with an income below 50 percent of the federal poverty line - 2.4 million or 42 percent of those children lived in the South.

With Arkansas included among the nation's leaders in both childhood hunger and childhood obesity, the Clinton School will host a panel discussion to increase awareness and discuss solutions for these contrasting problems. Thursday, July 15 from 12:00 - 1:00, the Clinton School of Public Service will host a panel discussion on the question: Why are so many Arkansas children hungry or obese?

Panelists include Margaret L. Bogle, WFA board member & director of the Delta Nutrition Intervention Research Institute in the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Dr. Pat Casey, professor of developmental pediatrics at UAMS and Arkansas Children's Hospital; Rich Huddleston, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, and Rhonda Sanders, executive director of the Arkansas Alliance for Hunger Relief.

For more information or to RSVP to this free event, e-mail publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or call 501.683.5239.

Supporting Women

DIVAS, Inc. and Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families are hosting a Policy Café to discuss Public Policy 101, Coordinated School Healthcare, Closing the Achievement Gap, Juvenile Justice and other issues affecting our community. This FREE event will be on July 23 from 9:00 - 12:00 at the Junior League of Little Rock Building.

Sheena Lewis, CEO & Founder of DIVAS, Inc., shared that "the partnership between DIVAS, Inc. and Arkansas Advocates came about because it is vital for the community to come together to discuss issues that can be improved upon. It is our duty, as a human being, to make our world a better place." DIVAS, Inc. (Dynamic Individuals Victoriously Achieving Success) is committed to being Central Arkansas's signature program for empowering and maximizing the self-development of females ages 13 - 19 to ensure a successful future. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families works to ensure that all children and their families have the resources and opportunities to lead healthy and productive lives and to realize their full potential.

Seating for the Policy Café is limited, so please RSVP via the FaceBook event page (link), or contact Sheena Lewis at 501-247-1023 or diva-girls@live.com.

Vision|360°

In my early 40's, I had a desire to give but no expendable income. I realized I could add one sentence to my will and leave a small percentage of my estate to my cause. Easy enough. I quickly added that I would leave 5%. Now, whatever I amass over my lifetime, my charity will receive a piece of it, my kids will be fine - receiving the rest - and I've had a happy life knowing that I'll be helping folks even after I die. That experience was so easy, that a couple of years later I added another charity as beneficiary on my retirement account. If I die before I retire, the charity receives the money (my kids are in my will, remember?). If I live to retirement, I get my account. Another easy way is to add a charity as a beneficiary on your life insurance policy. All easy to do, and all requiring no money down! I invite you to consider a planned gift to WFA. It's a great way to help ensure that the women and girls of our state will be taken care of for years to come. Lynnette

Please remember that we want to involve you in the important work of the Women's Foundation wherever and whenever we can. Drop by and visit us, send an email, visit our website... let us hear from you! As we all know, a group of women with a single purpose can achieve ANYTHING! Together, we can ensure a better future for all the girls & women of Arkansas.

Director of Operations

Board of Directors

OFFICERS Cynthia L. Conger, CPA, PA - President, Leila Alston - First Vice President, Debby Thetford Nye - Second Vice President, Amy Pierce - Treasurer, Dorothy Hall - Secretary, Karen Potts - At-Large Representative

DIRECTORS Tracy Alderson Fort, Susan Davis Allen, Ph.D., Katherine Baltz, M. D., Ginger Beebe, Margaret L. Bogle, Ph.D., Jill Brown, Sericia Cole, Lee Lee Doyle, Ph.D., Tonya Hass, Janetta Kearney, Heather Larkin, Beverly Morrow, Marla Johnson Norris, Janet Ply, Ph. D., Trudy Redus, Mary Beth Ringgold, Stephanie S. Streett, Sue Tull, Millie Ward

THE MISSION OF THE WOMEN'S FOUNDATION OF ARKANSAS IS TO PROMOTE PHILANTHROPY AMONG WOMEN AND TO HELP WOMEN AND GIRLS ACHIEVE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL.