Dear DAWNers,

As we say goodbye to 2009 and welcome 2010, DAWN wants to thank you for all the incredible support and enthusiasm you've given us this past year.  2009 has been our greatest year by far. In twelve short months, we grew from a virtual listserv in January to a full-fledged, membership-based organization in December.  

I know I don't have to convince you, but a quick look at all we've done this past year will show just how much we've grown.  We established our mission statement, created the DAWN Executive Committee, and launched our official website and monthly newsletters.  We also held our first membership drive and performed community service projects.  We hosted special events with partner organizations and continued our monthly dinners, including the DAWN Annual Dinner in July.  Our members were featured in The Root, the New York Times, and Politico.com.  We participated in special events during Passport to Africa Week and the Congressional Black Caucus' Annual Legislative Conference as well as the African First Ladies Health Summit in Los Angeles and the Women's Empowerment Conference hosted by the British Embassy and the National Geographic Society.  Finally, we most recently developed our first SEEDS Mentorship Program for our would-be DAWNers set to launch in January!

What a list!  And there's still more to come!

I know none of this could have been possible without your support, time, energy and ideas. DAWN is where it is today because of YOU.  And I thank you.  I want to especially thank our Executive Committee members who worked tirelessly with me this past year: Esraa Bani, Carolou Goodridge, Martha Haile, Nkechi Mbanu, Tina Musoke, Eddine Mureke, Karen Parker and Sara Yonas.  What a fantastic team to work with!  Thank you!

We are always looking for more volunteers and contributions.  If you would like to help DAWN as a volunteer or join the Executive Committee, please contact me at semhar@dawners.org.

Watch out 2010, here comes DAWN! 

Happy New Year!

Semhar