FUNDRAISER: Support The Race for Space!

Chicago Women's Health Center (CWHC) seeks community support to match a $35,000 challenge grant from the Topfer Family Foundation by June 30 to move into a larger space by the end of the year.

CWHC was founded in 1975 to specifically and thoughtfully address the barriers to gynecological health care for women, with special attention to the experiences of those often marginalized by systems of power including the economically disadvantaged, LGBTQ communities and people of color.

With an increasing need for quality, affordable health care, the organization sees moving to a larger location as an opportunity to better respond to Chicago?s health care needs. The goal of transitioning to a larger space has been in place since late 2008 when the organization launched its $150,000 capital campaign. Considering the tough economic climate for non-profits, the matching grant comes at a fortuitous time for the grassroots organization.

CWHC is in the final phase of The Race for Space! 

CWHC must raise $35,000 by June 30th before Topfer Family Foundation matches them. Through this matching grant, your gift can go even further.

DONATE TODAY!

Thank you! (Update on Chicago Abortion Fund fundraiser)

Thank you to the 25 fabulous people who supported my virtual house party to benefit the Chicago Abortion Fund. We raised $580.67. That's an average of less than $25 a person. That's not a lot of money, but as you can see, together it will make a big difference.

I've been swamped with travel and getting back into the swing of things at work this week, so  apologies for this tardy thank you. But I know that CAF has already sent out thank you notes to you all! I like to keep them busy.

In April I raised $700 for CAF through Bowling for Abortions and with this fundraiser my 2010 total is $1,280.67. That is about four grants worth of donations. Four more women in Chicago will be helped. Four more women will know that people care about her. There is one woman in the CAF leadership group who has told her story at public events. In her story she talks about feeling alone until she called the CAF hotline.

THANK YOU!!!!

Bowling for Abortions

Yup, I'm bowling for abortions folks!

My goal is to raise $500 and I'm at $410. Not too bad, eh?

I've been volunteering with the Chicago Abortion Fund since January 2006. I was drawn to them because the executive director is a woman of color. At that point in my life, it was very important for me to work with an organization being led by a woman of color. It matters...It really does. And what a difference it has made to my activism AND to my drive to fund raise.

I'm competitive. Plain and simple.

$500 is where I want to start all my fund raising efforts from now on. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far.

I know this is a national bowl-a-thon, so if you have already supported a bowler or are bowling yourself, you are exempt from this plea. BUT if you aren't bowling, I am asking you to please support the Chicago Abortion Fund today.

$10 will help pay for a public transit pass.

$30 is 10% of the average grant.

$100 is one-third of the average grant.

The women CAF assists are mostly low/no-income African-American women in their late teens to early 20s. But we get calls from the moms of young teens and calls from moms in their 30s for themselves. We get calls from rape survivors, women hoping to escape from a violent relationship and women just hoping to continue their education.

Your money makes a difference in a woman's life.

Rather support your local fund? No problem! Look at all the bowling events around the country.

And thank you.

Fundraiser: The Advantage and Disadvantage of Zine, a funding proposal

If you read my blog at my blog, you may have noticed a little box over there >>>>

That is a ChipIn widget for fellow Chicagoan, feminist and in her own right, total bad ass, Anne Elizabeth Moore. So it's not me asking for your dollars for me or my own sake, but rather for Ms. Bad Ass. Here's what she's fundraising for:

Advantage and Disadvantage of Zine is a long-term, multifaceted collaboration with a group of young women college students in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I first met these young women when I was offered a residency in their dormitory, where I lived for two months during the winter of 2007-2008. (To read more about this work, scroll down to the right-hand section of this blog, Camb(l)o(g)dia, Condensed.) During my time there I initiated a close relationship with all 32 residents, and together we created two seperate bodies of self-publishing work and initiated an international dialogue about human rights and young women in developing nations. I intend to return in December to continue this work during a time of tremendous need.

So click on over there or fuck it, here's the widget and the full funding proposal:



Give $5, yes the cost of a fancy coffee, and help send Anne back to Cambodia to organize a fabulous group of young women. Or buy the booklette! So what are you waiting for?

Natural Communicators

As someone who writes scripts on a regular basis, it's always refreshing when I uncover presenters who are natural communicators. These folks know their subject intimately, and speak to it from a place of authenticity. They get their point across well, engaging their audience with their own experiences, relevant statistics and, above all, a call to action.

Earlier this week, I attended a breast cancer golfing event in Atlanta called Agile on the Green. The event has raised more than $130,000 in its six years of bringing Atlanta's IT community together to make a difference in breast cancer outcomes. The event's founder, Tricia Dempsey, started her IT staffing company and the fundraising event six years ago while recovering from Stage 3 breast cancer. Both she and Kelly Dolan, executive director of Komen Atlanta, spoke passionately about the need for more awareness and support for affordable mammograms in a state where one in three Georgians has gone without health insurance over the past two years.

Everyone's ears perked up when Tricia shared a comment from her recent oncologist check-up. When she asked, "How is the cancer business going?" her doctor replied, "The cancer business is terrible." That was her segue into an alarming trend of job losses leading to lost health insurance, which in turn, has led to fewer clinical exams and later cancer diagnoses. Kelly stood up and urged everyone in the room to break the 1,000 mark of company participation next year, and provided undeniable stats on the pervasiveness of breast cancer (one in eight women will be diagnosed with the disease at some point in her lifetime). What I found most memorable was Kelly's personal tribute to Tricia, saying, "To have started the tournament the way Tricia did out of the adversity of breast cancer is a great testament to Tricia’s strength and commitment to this cause, and that is what motivates this entire cause."

These ladies are inspiring role models who have mastered how to speak well to get their message across memorably.

SAVE BITCH!!

It's that simple people. I want to see that dachshund become the longest dog in the world! I'm dubbing her Annie after our own doxie.

How can you help?

If you aren't a subscriber, sign up now. When you subscribe, Bitch gets your money NOW not months from now after the bookstore takes their cut. Plus you save money when you subscribe.

If you are a subscriber, why not become a sustainer? Give on a monthly basis! That's what I do.

If you are both or can't afford to do either, then just give. Skip your soy white chocolate mocha for today and send that $5 to Bitch. Join the Save Bitch Magazine group on Facebook and invite your friends!

AND SPREAD THE WORD!!!!

Read Bitch's plea for help on their blog.

Support the girls....Support Amy!

My bud Amy is doing the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk and needs your help. I'm so proud that she's even trying to do this...all the training...all the fundraising...all the walking! If you can, please support her...and yes, I know that we should think before we pink, but this is my bud. Thanks!

Please support me as I take an amazing journey in the fight against breast cancer! The Breast Cancer 3-Day is a 60-mile walk over the course of three days. Net proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure and National Philanthropic Trust, funding important breast cancer research, education, screening, and treatment.

My Aunt Rita passed away from Breast Cancer. Knowing this disease as I do, I can only hope that people can help me help them find a cure. This walk is much more than a physical journey...its a walk toward a cure....an end to the pain and suffering that this disease inflicts.
So please...give...even if its just a little? It would mean the world to me!!