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Fund Raising for 2006  Click here to see the document belowDecember 11, 2006 Dear Friend of the Women's Center, At 35 years old, The Women's Center has reached a turning point! The challenges facing women are as daunting as ever, and the importance of having a place to find help, to create new resources and to fight oppression is huge. The Women's Center really needs your support! We know you've heard that before! During the past two years the Center has been in financial crisis. Help was essential in order to keep the doors open, and urgent requests were sent out. Many have helped (thank you!), and The Women's Center is still with us and going strong! We now have 18 support groups, including new ones that focus on bereavement, depression, and eating disorders, as well as the Women of Color Book Club. And much older groups, including several for survivors of child sexual abuse and Women Maximizing Abilities Now. The Computer Lab is often full, a great resource for many women. The Women's Counseling and Resource Center's volunteer therapists are busy seeing low and no-income clients. Volunteers are attentive and helpful to anyone who needs some help. Childcare is again available to women attending groups. The Library is in great shape. Women of diverse backgrounds and situations are here, giving and receiving. Though there is much still to be done, a "can do" feeling abounds. We have taken significant measures to face up to the financial shortfall: Expenses have been reduced by reducing staff. The Women's Center now has only one full-time staff member, Ming Chang, the Women's Center Coordinator. She oversees the volunteers, and just about everything else, with grace, kindness, caring and competence. Expenses have been reduced by donations of supplies and by locating less expensive services. Many community members have stepped up and offered to donate something that is needed. Businesses have also contributed, especially food donations. Less expensive phone service has been found, and we have replaced a cleaning service with volunteers. We are doing without what we can and cutting costs wherever we can. Expenses have been reduced thanks to the generosity of volunteers. Volunteers have always done so much at the Center and are now doing more than ever. They answer the phone and help women who come to The Women's Center. They clean, paint, fix, and help get the Center organized. They fundraise and keep the computers working. They patch holes in ceilings, repair windows and extract crumbling cement from foundation walls! And all our support groups, classes, and workshops are facilitated by volunteers who donate their time and expertise to the Center. We've increased community participation. We encourage community members to again feel a part of the Women's Center. Board meetings are now open, and the Board holds regular Community Meetings, where we can all discuss changes and ideas about The Women's Center's future. The next one will be on Monday, January 22 at 6:30 pm at the Women's Center. The Board is recruiting additional members to be elected that evening. If you are interested in joining the Board, please email board@cambridgewomenscenter.org or call (617) 354-8807 for more information. If you would like to be involved and/or help in other ways, please contact Ming at (617) 354-6394 or by email: ming@cambridgewomenscenter.org. Financial stability is still a huge challenge. Please be as generous as you can and give the Women's Center your financial support, which is fully tax-deductible (checks made payable to The Women's Center, and sent to The Women's Center, 46 Pleasant Street, Cambridge MA 02139). Your help is needed right now! In sisterhood, Elaine Westerlund and Laura Cherry, Board members, and Judy Norris, volunteer. A THANK YOU GIFT To thank you for your donation of $125 or more, you will receive a free poster from the Women Activist Series by Betsy Warrior. These gorgeous and unique posters have been exhibited at local galleries and are a powerful tribute to women's international activism. They make wonderful gifts for yourself or others. For more information or to choose one of the seven full-color, matted posters, click here for more information
E-List To receive our monthly calendar, and event announcements and reminders, sign up for the Women's Center's e-list click here for more informationSee our updated wish list Click here for more informationExpanding and Strengthening our Community We hope and believe that as more and more women feel a sense of ownership and belonging and power, new ideas and programs and energy to launch them will spring forth, and those programs will bring possibilities for new funding. We welcome the involvement of all women in moving the Center forward. For information about the variety of ways you can be involved, contact Ming@cambridgewomenscenter.org or Ming at (617) 354-6394. The Board, Staff, and volunteers are committed to making sure that women from different races, cultures, backgrounds, and lifestyles feel welcome and included. Just as when the Center was founded in 1971, we know that we are the community and the community is us." Feedback about the Women's Center
And We Wish for Lots More Volunteers We need volunteers to do regular weekly slots answering the phone, greeting and helping women who come to the Center. ALSO: Childcare volunteers for when women request it so they can attend a group Cleaning : to regularly (once a week or less) clean a specific area of the house Grant-writing and many fundraising-related tasks, including making calls to ask for donation of goods, food and/or money, data entry, writing thank you notes. Tabling at events. Posting flyers. Caring for the houseplants Fix-it: whatever your skills or interests, there's a job for you! Caulking, getting drainpipes to drain, replacing clapboard or an aging fence, refinishing a floor, painting, shoveling snow, you name it! To find out more about volunteering, PLEASE call Ming at (617) 354-6394 or email her at ming@cambridgewomenscenter.org Click here to see the document above |
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