Wisconsin Women of Color Network, Inc. December 2009 event
Scholarship fund-raiser highlights small businesses
Scholarship fund-raiser highlights small businesses
By Heidi M. Pascual
The Wisconsin Women of Color Network, Inc. (WWOCN) held its
annual fund-raising brunch on December 5, primarily to raise funds for
its scholarship grants: Mabel Mable Smith Memorial; Cammer-Hill
Grant; Hattie J. Hilliard Scholarship; and the Future Leaders Fund. The
fund-raiser was held at DoubleTree Hotel along W. Johnson Street in
Madison.
Presided by Sadie Pearson, the new WWOCN president, and the
WWOCN founder and matriarch, Agnes Cammer, the event featured a
silent auction and several booths of women-owned businesses, as well
as a booth of The Capital City Hues multicultural newspaper that offered
its 2010 President Barack Obama calendars for sale.
Unlike previous annual fundraising events hosted by WWOCN, this
one featured no special keynote speaker. What made it so special was,
the business owners themselves were given the time to introduce their
wares, or goods and services. Hence, this center spread pays tribute to
these minority or small business owners who have supported WWOCN
and its activities through the years. The business owners included:
Dana Warren (Tupperware); Wanda Tapp (Tappestry Designs); Afi Lake
(Sew Nubian); Harsha Keister (Satyam Ayurvedic); Heather J. Cass
(PartyLite/Two Sisters Gourmet); Jon Gramling (The Capital City Hues
Newspaper); Kathryn Moore (Life’s Force); Gail Hutchinson (Massage &
Body Works); Phyllis Sanders (Phyllis Faces & Ceramics); Brenda
Lincoln (Flowers of Color); A. Austria (Pearls, Ava International); Tina
(African Center); and Milele Chicasa Anana (UMOJA magazine). Cora
White announced the availability of the WWOCN 2010 desk/notebook
calendars as part of the fund-raiser.
Two WWOCN awardees who were not present during the Fall
WWOCN annual awards event were likewise given the floor and their
corresponding award/scholarship: Kabzuag Vaj (Woman of
Achievement award) and Rowena Lanier (Cammer-Hill Grant
scholarship). Both thanked WWOCN profusely for their awards, with a
promise to continue working harder to achieve their goals for the
community, their families, and themselves.
This article is also a tribute to WWOCN, an organization whose
mission is to assist women of color in accessing educational
resources, healthcare, social services and political participation to
promote leadership, cross-cultural awareness, and the spiritual and
economic well-being of their families and communities. Through
WWOCN’s strategic directions in the areas of leadership, diversity, and
economic self-sufficiency, many women of color have been helped
through scholarships, business support, provision of resources for
social services, health care, employment opportunities, and many other
areas. Many women of color leaders have been “trained” and
supported by WWOCN in various ways. WWOCN has been their “family,”
that which provides necessary networks and essential support for
women of color in all areas of societal living. If you are a woman of
color, join WWOCN, and be part of a movement that changes lives for
the better. Visit www.womenof colornetwork-wis.org.
The Wisconsin Women of Color Network, Inc. (WWOCN) held its
annual fund-raising brunch on December 5, primarily to raise funds for
its scholarship grants: Mabel Mable Smith Memorial; Cammer-Hill
Grant; Hattie J. Hilliard Scholarship; and the Future Leaders Fund. The
fund-raiser was held at DoubleTree Hotel along W. Johnson Street in
Madison.
Presided by Sadie Pearson, the new WWOCN president, and the
WWOCN founder and matriarch, Agnes Cammer, the event featured a
silent auction and several booths of women-owned businesses, as well
as a booth of The Capital City Hues multicultural newspaper that offered
its 2010 President Barack Obama calendars for sale.
Unlike previous annual fundraising events hosted by WWOCN, this
one featured no special keynote speaker. What made it so special was,
the business owners themselves were given the time to introduce their
wares, or goods and services. Hence, this center spread pays tribute to
these minority or small business owners who have supported WWOCN
and its activities through the years. The business owners included:
Dana Warren (Tupperware); Wanda Tapp (Tappestry Designs); Afi Lake
(Sew Nubian); Harsha Keister (Satyam Ayurvedic); Heather J. Cass
(PartyLite/Two Sisters Gourmet); Jon Gramling (The Capital City Hues
Newspaper); Kathryn Moore (Life’s Force); Gail Hutchinson (Massage &
Body Works); Phyllis Sanders (Phyllis Faces & Ceramics); Brenda
Lincoln (Flowers of Color); A. Austria (Pearls, Ava International); Tina
(African Center); and Milele Chicasa Anana (UMOJA magazine). Cora
White announced the availability of the WWOCN 2010 desk/notebook
calendars as part of the fund-raiser.
Two WWOCN awardees who were not present during the Fall
WWOCN annual awards event were likewise given the floor and their
corresponding award/scholarship: Kabzuag Vaj (Woman of
Achievement award) and Rowena Lanier (Cammer-Hill Grant
scholarship). Both thanked WWOCN profusely for their awards, with a
promise to continue working harder to achieve their goals for the
community, their families, and themselves.
This article is also a tribute to WWOCN, an organization whose
mission is to assist women of color in accessing educational
resources, healthcare, social services and political participation to
promote leadership, cross-cultural awareness, and the spiritual and
economic well-being of their families and communities. Through
WWOCN’s strategic directions in the areas of leadership, diversity, and
economic self-sufficiency, many women of color have been helped
through scholarships, business support, provision of resources for
social services, health care, employment opportunities, and many other
areas. Many women of color leaders have been “trained” and
supported by WWOCN in various ways. WWOCN has been their “family,”
that which provides necessary networks and essential support for
women of color in all areas of societal living. If you are a woman of
color, join WWOCN, and be part of a movement that changes lives for
the better. Visit www.womenof colornetwork-wis.org.
