June 3, 2008

Over 300 people who share the Women’s Fund’s belief in giving back and making a difference in the lives of women and girls attended at our second annual Trailblazer Luncheon at The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center on June 3, 2008.

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Candace King Weir, Sister Constance Casey, snjm, and Jane Golub

At this luncheon, we honored the three outstanding Trailblazing Women of 2008 in recognition of their philanthropy: Sister Constance Casey, snjm, President and CEO of the Academy of the Holy Names; Jane Golub, Director of Vendor Marketing Programs, Price Chopper Supermarkets; and Candace King Weir, President, C.L. King & Associates, Inc.

The Trailblazers shared stories about their personal challenges and strong belief in the importance of supporting community efforts on behalf of women and girls in our community. For more information about the Trailblazing Women of 2008, please click here.
The Women’s Fund 2008 grant awardees also were announced at the luncheon. These included:

Bond Strengthening with Mothers and Daughters

Lead Agency: Girls Incorporated of the Capital Region
Partners: Bank of America and The Sage Colleges

This program will strengthen the bond between girls and their mothers or guardians, based on the belief that mothers and guardians are influential role models, and that the relationship is critical to healthy development. The program will provide five mother/daughter workshops designed to build leadership, confidence and communication.

Career Development Program for Underemployed Women

Lead Agency: Albany Community Action Partnership
Partners: Career Links: Creating Opportunities that Last, Inc., Equinox and SEFCU

This program will provide resources and expertise to empower, support and connect women living in poverty (many of whom are between jobs or in low wage positions) to career and job opportunities. Through various educational and training programs, women will develop action plans, achieve employment/educational goals and move beyond a survival lifestyle to one of financial independence and job satisfaction.


Older Women’s Stability and Independence Project

Lead Agency: Jewish Family Support Services of Northeastern New York
Partners: Catholic Charities Support Services, Community Caregivers, Bethlehem Senior Services and the Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Community

The Older Women’s Stability and Independence project will work with women over age 70 to respond to and overcome the multiple barriers to financial stability and independence that they frequently face.


Project Hope and Power

Lead Agency: Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis (DVRC) Services of Saratoga County
Partner: Soroptimists International of Saratoga County (SISC)

This is the second grant awarded by the Women’s Fund to Project Hope and Power, a collaborative project that conducts an 8-week financial literacy for women who are domestic violence victims or at-risk of victimization. Participants develop vitally important skills in budgeting, establishing credit, finding affordable housing and increasing assets.


St. Patrick's Home-Based Child Care Partnership

Lead Agency: Catholic Charities
Partners: SEFCU, and Capital District Child Care Council

This is another two-time grant award winner. The St. Patrick’s Home-Based Child Care Partnership is a neighborhood-based project emphasizing the support and training of child care providers residing in the low-income Albany inner city area. By becoming New York State registered childcare providers, participants are able to conquer one of the biggest barriers to employment: finding affordable, quality child care.


A total of $46,000 was awarded to these five impressive collaborative programs focused on helping women and girls achieve success. For more information about the our second grant recipients, please click here.

The event raised more than $30,000 to support The Women’s Fund. One hundred fourteen people comprised the luncheon’s Honorary Committee; and Academy of the Holy Names, Price Chopper’s Golub Foundation, and C. L. King Inc., each sponsored a table at the event.

As part of this event, we collected items to benefit women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

Our honorary event chairperson was Charlotte Buchanan, a Trailblazing Woman of 2007. The Women's Fund thanks both her and the rest of the honorary committee for their support, as well as all the volunteers who made this luncheon possible.

Our Mistress of Ceremonies was Benita Zahn of NewsChannel 13.

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Our Sponsors

The Women's Fund gratefully acknowledges the generosity and support of our sponsors.

Pinnacle Patrons

keybank key4women

cl king

paradigm

Expedition Team

holynames

russell sage

Media Sponsors

channel13

spotlight

wamc