Fall 2019
WIL News & Updates
Message from the President

I am excited to welcome our new and renewing members to WIL’s vibrant diverse community. Our committees are in full swing with exciting opportunities to participate in researching educational programs, looking for partner microfinance banks in Central America, vetting NGO grant applicants and participating in local service projects.

Please welcome our 2019/2020 board of directors :

Past President : Caroline Wischmann

Past president Emeritus : Loretta Raider

President Elect/ Fund Development Chair: Anna Maria DiDio

Treasurer/ Finance Committee Chair : Judy Ron

Secretary : Carole Cohn

Program Chair : Debbie Fleischman

Empowerment Grant Co-chairs : Renee Brandon and Cheryl Weiss

Marketing Chair: Kathy Howell

Membership Chair: Mary Osbakken

Microfinance : Pat Foell and Irish Olynyk

Service Chair : Clare Kahn Mozes

Travel Co-chairs : Madeleine Champion and Mary Kahn

Emeritus Founding Members : Linda Resnick and Terri Gelberg

Finally, our strategic initiatives are on track for new innovative ways for you and our recipients to connect with WIL. So please look for the announcements that are coming soon. I am looking forward to seeing you at a committee meeting, upcoming program or a WIL member get together.

Nancy Alter
President
Welcome New Members

Please join us in welcoming these women who have joined WIL over the past few months:

Beth Cohen
Catherine Radbill
Sunita Sheth
Ruth A. Smith
Maleah Spicer

New Member Reception November 5, 2019

There will be a new and recent member reception and orientation from 5:30-6:00 pm on November 5, 2019 prior to WIL’s Program meeting on the same date. All members who joined WIL since August 2018 are invited to join us. Reception and networking for all program attendees starts at 5:00 pm and at 5:30 pm we will have a brief orientation meeting. Committee chairs, co-chairs or one of their representatives from WIL’s 8 active committees will give a two- to three-minute presentation about the work that their committee is doing. The committees are Empowerment Grants, Fund Development, Marketing, Membership, Microfinance, Program/Education, Service, and Travel. We look forward to hearing your questions and ideas, and welcome you to get more involved with WIL! 
November 5 Program

Save Three Lives
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
5:00 - 7:30 pm

at Independence Live!
1919 Market Street, Philadelphia 
Mike McGrath
WIL welcomes Mike McGrath, the host of the nationally syndicated PBS show You Bet Your Garden as well as garden editor for WTOP news radio in Washington, DC and contributing editor and regular columnist for Greenprints Magazine. McGrath co-authored the book Save Three Lives exploring how women, who comprise at least 8% of the farm labor force in developing nations, most benefit from prevention methods that include local and native crop species.
Save the Date!

Monday, December 2, 2019
The Pad Project
5:00 - 7:30 PM
at Independence Live!
1919 Market Street, Philadelphia
Claire Sliney is an Executive Producer of the Oscar-winning documentary short Period. End of Sentence, along with being a Co-Founder of The Pad Project, a nonprofit that creates and cultivates global partnerships to end the poverty and stigma surrounding periods as a mechanism for improving social, health, and economic conditions for all.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Winter Party for Members
at a member's home

Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Puentes de Salud (Bridges of Health)
5:00 - 7:30 PM
at Independence Live!
1919 Market Street, Philadelphia
A multi-disciplinary approach to health and wellness with Alexandra Wolkoff, Education Director of this South Philadelphia based organization for migrant womens health.
Inaugural WIL Travel Book Club Discussion

Travel, the feeling of being transported and learning about new cultures by following the footsteps of others. Whether near or far, through WIL, it’s learning about women exhibiting the courage to lift themselves and others into places they could only imagine.  

For WIL members, this experience just got easier! The WIL Travel Committee is pleased to announce the WIL TRAVEL BOOK CLUB . Meeting 3 times per year, the WIL TRAVEL BOOK CLUB will select a powerful, multi-cultural story that transports the reader into the lives of inspiring women. 

Our first selection is Love at the Border: An Adoption Memoir from Mexico by WIL’s own Anna Maria DiDio.  Love at the Border provides a rare look into the international adoption of an older child and speaks to all blended families as mother and daughter endeavor to bridge two worlds.

Date:   December 10, 2019
Time:  7:00 - 9:00 PM

Special Event:  Meet the author! Anna Maria will join us for a reading and the discussion.
Cost: $0 for WIL members and their guests

Location: in the city, to be communicated to those who RSVP
Space is limited to ensure all attendees can participate in the discussion.

Love at the Border: An Adoption Memoir from Mexico is available on Amazon.com . Check it out, and join our inaugural Book Club discussion.
2020 Empowerment Grants Application – Now Online!

The Empowerment Grants Committee is now accepting applications for 2020 WIL grants!

WIL members are encouraged to notify and sponsor any organizations that would be good candidates for our support. Completed applications will be accepted from now until December 31, 2019.

We are excited to announce our new streamlined website application process. All applications will be accepted via our website (only) for 2020 Empowerment Grants.

We will be announcing the projects accepted for funding on International Women’s Day — Sunday, March 8, 2020.

To find out more about the WIL Empowerment Grants for 2020, visit our website at  www.wil-gp.org.
Street Child recognized globally for innovation in education

WIL’s Microfinance committee has supported the Street Child program in Sierra Leone with two grants in recent years. One was for a Seedbank Microfinance Program for women farmers in 3 villages and the other was a program aimed to help keep girls in school by supporting families’ microbusinesses. Street Child is a small but mighty global NGO that works in the world’s toughest places to help the most vulnerable, marginalized children go to school for a brighter future.

Street Child is one of six 2019 winners of a global WISE Award, in recognition of its Family Business for Education program which provides an innovative approach to learning and education for children in remote and underprivileged parts of the world.

Each year the WISE Awards recognize and promote six innovative projects that address global educational challenges from across the world. The awards are granted by The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), an initiative of Qatar Foundation (QF).

Anna Bowden, CEO of Street Child’s US branch, said: ‘We are delighted that Street Child’s Family Business for Education model has been recognized by WISE for its transformative impact on the lives of some of the world’s poorest children and families. With the support of WISE, I am excited by this opportunity to further replicate the program in other countries where we work, helping even more children access education.’

Stavros N. Yiannouka, CEO of WISE congratulated the winners: ‘We are very excited to announce the 2019 WISE Awards winning projects. Each project varies in terms of project focus, geographical distribution and reach. The WISE Awards demonstrate once again how global organizations and governments can tackle pressing education challenges with innovative solutions in sustainable and scalable ways. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Awards jury and pre-jury members who did a thorough job in evaluating the projects.’

The projects will be celebrated during the WISE Global Summit from November 19- 21, 2019 in Doha, Qatar. The theme of the global Summit is ‘ UnLearn, ReLearn: What it means to be Human ’. In addition to publicity and networking opportunities, each will receive $20,000.
WIL KENYA TRIP TO LEWA CONSERVANCY UPDATE

Eight WIL members are all ready for their February 2020 trip to Kenya in Africa! Combining microfinance and wildlife conservancy is a very exciting endeavor. WIL members will visit micro-credit projects, health clinics and schools, and meet with women and children in the villages that benefit from these initiatives. Many opportunities will also be available to do game drives, walking safaris and a visit to the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary. LEWA Wildlife Conservancy was honored at WIL’s 2018 Women’s Global Empowerment Award event for their work empowering village women in local business enterprises.