Giving birth to (business) twins! EXCITING NEWS! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Dear WCC Community,

So, I have REALLY EXCITING news to share with you! 

The Women's Collaborative Circle is growing by LEAPS and BOUNDS! So much so that the WCC (as a brand, business, and organization) has bursted into two!  Well, not quite bursted, but has gone through a strategically planned rebranding and development to bring you TWO new business to best serve your needs ;) 

 

First, let me say that your dedication and commitment to the development of the WCC has meant the world to me!  Because of your support and generosity, I have been able to connect, work with, and serve women locally and globally. Because of your time and energy, I have been able to further grow the vision of the WCC and introduce you to the next level of women's self-care, empowerment, and social change.  

 

I am thrilled to announce the soon-to-be launch of Woman Centered - a personal development and social action organization.  Woman Centered empowers forward thinking women to actively effect change within themselves and in the world around them.  Woman Centered will be offering 1:1 mentoring services, special events, programs, resources, and SO MUCH MORE! YAY! The site is set to launch in another few weeks, so stay tuned!

 

I am equally excited to announce the development of my specialized psychotherapy practice for women.  Dr. Carly Goldberg - Therapy for Women. My private practice offers a dedicated space for women to receive in person psychotherapy services to meet the needs of women's psychological development and emotional wellness.  For more information, please visit www.drcarlygoldberg.com.  

... Wow!  I feel like I just birthed twins! ;) 

As I finish the final touches on both new websites, I want you to know that I am developing this with all of you in mind.  I can not wait for us to further grow as a community and create long lasting change within ourselves, our families, communities, and world around us! 

Please feel free to reach out, let me know your thoughts, feedback, or just say hello! 

With deepest gratitude,

Carly 

Carly Goldberg, DSW, LCSW

www.drcarlygoldberg.com

www.womancentered.org

Your WCC Holiday Shopping Guide!

Chanukah is already here and Christmas and Kwanza are just around the corner... so what are you getting your loved ones?  Here are some suggestions that will support women and girls around the globe and save you a trip to the mall!

1. Heifer International - Heifer International is a global nonprofit with a proven solution to ending hunger and poverty in a sustainable way. Heifer helps empower millions of families to lift them out of poverty and hunger to self-reliance through gifts of livestock, seeds and trees and extensive training, which provide a multiplying source of food and income.

2. Ten Thousand Villages - Ten Thousand Villages' mission is to create opportunities for artisans in developing countries to earn income by bringing their products and stories to our markets through long-term fair trading relationships.

3. Nest - Nest is a nonprofit organization that empowers female artists and artisans around the world. Using a unique combination of interest-free microfinance loans, mentoring from established designers, as well as a market in which to sell their crafts, Nest helps its loan recipients create successful small businesses. Nest instills pride of ownership, preserves ancient artistic traditions and successfully moves women from poverty to self-sufficiency.

4. Goods 4 Good - Our slogan is straightforward because our mission is straightforward: through the innovative use of surplus, G4G promotes the development of orphans and vulnerable children.  Send an E-Card or make a donation to help out this amazing organization!

5. Peacekeeper Cause-Metics - Peacekeeper Cause-Metics is the first cosmetics line to give all of its after-tax, distributable profits to women’s health advocacy and urgent human rights issues. PeaceKeeper builds a bridge between extraordinary women in the land of plenty and extraordinary women who, by chance of birth, don’t have our resources or opportunities.

6. Nothing But Nets - Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to raise awareness and funding to combat malaria, one of the largest killers of children in Africa. With a $10 contribution, Nothing But Nets provides individuals – from CEOs to youth, professional athletes to faith leaders – the opportunity to join the global fight against malaria by sending a net and saving a life.

7. Global Girlfriend - Specializes in fairley traded apparel and accessories hand-made by women and communities in need. 

8. Women's Peace Collection - The Women’s Peace Collection is an enterprise that fully supports women in regions of conflict and post-conflict – as mothers, peace builders, entrepreneurs, and skilled artisans.

9. Global Sistergoods -  Brings you the finest in fair trade, eco-friendly, and handmade gifts, jewelry, handbags, accessories, children's clothing and toys, baskets, and home decor items. All of our fair trade products are made by women from around the world, and offer the high quality and one-of-a-kind feel that today's socially responsible customer demands. Each fair trade product is as unique as the woman who makes it, and each purchase helps women throughout the world earn a living wage and build beautiful, thriving communities.

10. One Mango Tree -  One Mango Tree uses a fair trade model to provide income generating opportunities for women in impoverished and conflict-ridden areas of the globe.  Our first project is now well underway in Northern Uganda, a region devastated by more than twenty years of armed conflict. The war has taken the lives of thousands, displaced more than two million, and destroyed the once-vibrant local culture and economy. 

11. Same Sky - Is a fair-trade company whose mission is to empower women worldwide and inspire a movement of women empowering women.  Founded in 2007, Same Sky aims to be a part of the global movement lifting women out of poverty by giving them the tools to become entrepreneurs and lead self sustaining lives. 

12. Vital Voices - Our mission is to identify, invest in and bring visibility to extraordinary women around the world by unleashing their leadership potential to transform lives and accelerate peace and prosperity in their communities.

13. Kiva - Kiva's mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Improving Lives Through Literacy

I definitely take for granted the fact that I can read.  I take for granted every opportunity that literacy affords me and, by extension. my family and community.  In the past several years, I have engaged with women in various parts of my daily life who are working very hard to learn English as either a second or primary language.  Many of them immigrated to this country in search of a "better" life for themselves and their families back home.  Some women are victims of human sex trafficking, others are second, third, or fourth generation Americans who are still struggling to find their way through literacy.

Though I intellectually know that literacy is a critical issue among women in the United States and other developed and developing countries, it was a letter from Stella, the Services Coordinator of the Literacy Volunteers of Union County, Inc program, where my mother volunteered for a short time in 2008, that really brought this issue home for me.  My mother, who died this past August, served as a volunteer working passionately with her students to teach them English as a second language (ESL).  My mother was a very intelligent, smart, passionate, loving, and caring woman, and fully embraced her role as a literacy volunteer.  She never went to college, because that is not what women in her community and family did when she was growing up, and despite being very bright and well-read, she always felt inadequate and inferior to her peers because of this.  Working as a literacy volunteer was a tremendous accomplishment for her.  She spoke to me not only of her great pride in her efforts and accomplishments, but more often of her genuine interest and investment in the lives of the students with whom she worked.  She would bring to life the very personal journey that her students were taking through their reading and writing efforts and how this made a great difference in every aspect of their lives. 

In the letter that I received from Stella, she wrote:

Jane joined our program in March, 2008 when she became a tutor.  She was very interested in helping our students because she loved to read and wanted to share her knowledge with others.  She helped 14 students to learn the language and prepared some of them to become U.S. citizens.  She was very concerned about how difficult it was for a foreigner to survive in this country without English.  She always came prepared with her lessons and activities that her students needed.  Jane was amazing, in that she always agreed to have more students, she never said no to me.  I really appreciated her commitment to this cause.  She was a wonderful and dedicated tutor and will be missed. 



It is in this spirit that I offer the WCC community a look into the need for literacy among women in our greater Philadelphia community and abroad.  As it is well known, when you take action to improve a woman's life, you in turn improve the lives of an entire community.  Dominique Chlup writes for Ms. Blog an article called Gender Equity Begins with Literacy outlining the critical importance of literacy in the effort towards gender equality and, I would argue, for the prosperity of women.  In this article she also provides a great number of resources on the topic, such as WE LEARN (Women Expanding Literacy Education Action Resource Network), and opportunities for social action.  For more information about the topic of women's literacy, check out ProLiteracy.  Here in the Philadelphia area, the Center for Literacy provides community-based literacy services to youth, adults, and families, where you can find opportunities to receive or provide services.

Working Towards the End of Poverty?

Following on the heals of President Barak Obama on The View, I would like to take a more concentrated look into joblessness and poverty in the US and around the world.  Poverty is insidious and spares no one.  One group in particular who are affected by poverty at alarming rates are lesbians.  Curvemag.com shares an article by Victoria A. Brownworth The Silent Majority: Lesbians and Poverty questioning and examining why lesbians are falling below the poverty line and at such alarming rates.  What is so striking to me in this article is that it recognizes that women who are self identified as lesbians and live beyond the poverty line and fall victim to silence and invisibility; therefore, their needs go unnoticed, unaddressed and unmet. 

Brownworth writes in her article that "factors for lesbians in poverty include the number of young lesbians forced out of their families of origin. These young women start out at an economic disadvantage that may never be bridged. Homelessness impacts queers under 25 at a rate nearly ten times that of their heterosexual peers.

Lesbian activist Jeanne Cordova notes that butch lesbians have more difficulty finding jobs because of their looks, and thus are also more likely to fall into poverty. In her award-winning book Stone Butch Blues, writer Leslie Feinberg, who experienced such discrimination herself, charted the difficulties this presents for many butch lesbians...'No one wants to be poor...[b]ut being poor makes you hidden. It’s a whole other closet we have to climb out of.'"

Globally movements through media such as The End of Poverty?  are a call to raise consciousness, perspective and an outlet to take action against poverty globally.  The End of Poverty? boldly asks the question "with so much wealth in the world, why is there still so much poverty?"       



With the development of the new Women's Collaborative Circle website coming soon, stay tuned for various interactive opportunities for social action, activism and ways to take action in the fight against poverty domestically and globally!

International Reproductive Health Education - Pathfinder International

Since 1957, Pathfinder International has maintained an unwavering belief in the right of women and families to have access to contraception and to quality reproductive health care. Pathfinder’s founder Clarence Gamble, a pioneer in family planning and maternal health, introduced contraception to more than 60 developing countries, including some where Pathfinder is still engaged today.

 Pathfinder works in remote locations, under the most difficult conditions, serving the most vulnerable people. We collaborate with governments, NGOs, and community- and faith-based organizations to make contraception available and provide the quality care needed to ensure safe childbirth and healthy families. Working in countries with high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, we provide a continuum of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services and are expanding the integration of these services into reproductive health and family planning programs. Though controversial, we support safe abortion care in countries where it’s legal, provide reproductive health services to commercial sex workers and adolescents, and advocate for sound reproductive health policies in the US and abroad.

Pathfinder’s work focuses on overcoming barriers and is based on developing long-term relationships, not only with clients, but with entire communities. Working in traditional societies, we understand that changes in attitude and behavior must have the support of religious and community leaders, the guardians of local culture. We train doctors, nurses, midwives, traditional birth attendants, community-based health workers, and teachers. At the same time, we build the capacity of our partner organizations to make them stronger, more effective, and able to thrive independently once our support has ended.


Pathfinder International was recently featured on CNN's Amanpour with Christiane Amanour.  This story features one of  over 120 countries that Pathfinder serves.  If you are interested in more information or how to get invloved in the work of Pathfinder International, visit their website today!

Happy World Social Work Day!

As a social worker, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge March 16th as World Social Work Day.  We as social workers in collaboration with the citizens of the planet have a lot of work to do to make this world a healthier, more peaceful envoronment in which to live. 

And in honor of World Social Work Day, I would like to honor (although there are many more), a pioneering social worker, feminist, educator, second female recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, founder of the U.S. Settlement House movement and prominant figure of the early 20th century Peace movement - Jane Addams. Her work and influence continues its legacy in the field of social work and among women today.   

Girl 2 Woman - 200 Thousand for 200 Million!

     As 2010 International Women’s Day approaches with the theme, ‘Equal Rights, Equal Opportunity’ Pathfinder International believes a crucial aspect of improving women’s lives is missing in the current dialogue: reproductive health. An astounding 200 million women around the world want, but lack access to contraceptives.
     Pathfinder wants to ensure every woman can exercise that right. That is why Pathfinder is launching a unique challenge in the week leading up to International Women’s Day 2010: 200 Thousand for 200 Million. On Pathfinder’s microsite, Girl2Woman.org, are six videos showcasing the importance of reproductive health care throughout life. Every time a video is shared through Girl2Woman.org, a generous donor is giving $1 to improve reproductive health services around the world. The goal is to achieve 200,000 shares of the videos by International Women’s Day so that we can reach the more than 200 million women in need.

Speaking Her Voice - Jacqueline Novogratz on Tackling Poverty

Jacqueline Novogratz is CEO of Acumen Fund. Acumen Fund is a non-profit global venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty. We seek to prove that small amounts of philanthropic capital, combined with large doses of business acumen, can build thriving enterprises that serve vast numbers of the poor. Our investments focus on delivering affordable, critical goods and services – like health, water, housing and energy – through innovative, market-oriented approaches.   www.acumendfund.org.  Jacqueline's inspirational and innovative story is told in her book The Blue Sweater.

Speaking Her Voice: Melissa Kushner/Goods for Good

Melissa Kushner, Founder and Executive Director of Goods for Good, has spent her entire career dedicated to international development.
She was first presented with the opportunity to travel to abroad to Malawi, East Africa with her mentor from the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships in 2003. Melissa knew that she would be exposed to extreme poverty and wanted to do more than just visit; she wanted to contribute. In preparation for her trip she researched the needs of the region and initiated a delivery program to an under-funded orphanage and community center serving children affected by AIDS.

Melissa negotiated with several U.S.-based manufacturers to donate goods from their excess inventory, and raised funds from friends to cover shipping costs. In just a few weeks she was able to collect and deliver over two tons of clothing and educational toys to St. Mary's Orphan Care Center. Throughout the course of her stay in Malawi, Melissa saw first hand how something as simple as a pen and school uniform can mean the difference between a child being able to attend school or not.

Witnessing the impact of her work and recognizing the long-term potential of this model, Melissa knew where her future lay. Over the next several years, while continuing to work part-time and studying for her graduate degree, Melissa continued to coordinate shipments from New York to Malawi as well as Liberia and Pakistan. She returned to Malawi on many occasions, including a seven-month stay during which she taught English in a rural elementary school and researched methods of care for orphans and vulnerable children. In 2006, three years after her first trip, she formally founded Goods for Good.

Goods for Good currently provides material support to 183 community-based organizations, orphan care centers, and public schools, which serve the needs of 54,000 orphans and vulnerable children across Malawi and Haiti. By providing school supplies, clothing, shoes, and health and hygiene products, Goods for Good ensures that a lack of basic materials is not a barrier to their achievement.

Prior to establishing Goods for Good, Melissa served as a consultant for Hahn Associates, a New York-based development consulting firm, as well as a Project Consultant for Gay Men’s Health Crisis, focusing on strengthening health systems. These experiences provided Melissa with a deep understanding of multi-sector partnership building, health infrastructure strengthening, fundraising, field research, and program development.

Melissa received her Masters in Public Administration with a concentration in International Development from New York University, and Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. She was recently featured on NBC’s Nightly News, in The Gap’s “Born to Fit” advertising campaign and will speak at the upcoming TEDx Atlanta Conference in January of 2010.                                               

 

For more information about Melissa Kushner and how to support Goods for Good, please visit www.goods4good.org.

(Pictures reprinted by permission of Melissa Kushner.  All rights reserved.)

     

Speaking Their Voices: Where the Water Meets the Sky

From Where the Water Meets the Sky website this documentary "is the inspiring story of a group of women in rural Zambia who learn how to make a film as a way to speak out about their lives. Produced in partnership with Camfed, all funds raised through the film will support Camfed’s work to educate girls and invest in economic and leadership opportunities for young women in Africa."



Visit www.watermeetsthesky.com and www.us.camfed.org for more information. Check back for more details as the WCC works on hosting a viewing of Where the Water Meets the Sky.

Women Can Hold Up Half the Sky

Take a moment to learn more about journalist and op-ed New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and business woman and Pulitzer prize winner, Sheryl WuDunn's new book Half the Sky:Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. It is imperative to not only look at the treatment of women worldwide, but to think about how to effect long-lasting change! Check out this recent article on Oprah.com; an excerpt from Half the Sky on 3 things you can do to empower women.

In Half the Sky, Kristof and WuDunn speak, for example, about their work with women who are trafficked for sex. Right here in Philadelphia, PA there are many ways to get involved working with women who are trafficked for sex, living in brothels and hoping to escape and recover. Organizations include Center for the Empowerment of Women and Girls, Dawn's Place and Soroptimist.

For more information about Half the Sky please listen here to the Amazon podcast or check out the book at your local book retailer or library. To get involved in the above mentioned organizations, please contact us at info@womenscollaborativecircle.org.

About: Social Entrepreneurship

Distinct from a business entrepreneur who sees value in the creation of new markets, the social entrepreneur aims for value in the form of transformational change that will benefit disadvantaged communities and ultimately society at large - skollfoundation.org.

Organizations like the Skoll Foundation which drives large-scale change by investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs and other innovators are dedicated to solving the world’s most pressing problems. Social entrepreneurs are proven leaders whose approaches and solutions to social problems are helping to better the lives and circumstances of countless underserved or disadvantaged individuals. By identifying the people and programs already bringing positive changes to communities throughout the world, the Skoll Foundation empowers them to extend their reach, deepen their impact and fundamentally improve society.

Ann Cotton, who started the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) in 1993 [is an example of a social entrepreneur] whose simple goal was one of ensuring an education for young girls in Africa whose families cannot afford school fees. By establishing a sustainable model that provides community support for girls to go to school, start businesses and return to their communities as leaders, CAMFED has broken the cycle of poverty for hundreds of thousands of young women in Zimbabwe, Ghana, Zambia and Tanzania. Since 1993, 645, 400 children have benefited from Camfed’s education program across a network of 2,798 Schools. 5,132 young women have received business training and start-up grants to establish their own rural enterprises. 1,067 young women have been trained as community health activists; in 2008 alone, they reached 79, 998 children and young people with vital health information - skollfaoundation.org.

Other notable social entrepreneurs are Muhammed Yunus founder of the Grameen Bank and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize recipient whose work can be found at the Grameen Bank website, and Florence Nightingale, founder of the first nursing school and developer of modern nursing practices.

What do you dream of doing?

It is Monday! What's for Dinner?

What are you doing Saturday night?

How about a consumer-informed, mindful dinner, and an eye-opening, thought-provoking movie! Check out Robert Kenner's new film (and website) Food, Inc.


If you can not make the movie, check out this reading list and pick up a book at your local library!
After you have seen the movie, let's share! Email us with your comments at info@womenscollaborativecircle.org.

Change Starts With A Girl

"A revolution led by a 12 year-old girl!"

For more information please visist http://www.girleffect.org/

We at the WCC are thinking how can we get hop on the girl-revolution wagon! How can we inspire, support and lead our future girls - both locally and globally?! Any ideas contact us info@womenscollaborativecircle.org.

Women Funding Women

Beverly Guy-Sheptall, founding director of the Women's Research and Resource Center of Spellman College, states in the Winter 2009 edition of Ms. Magazine, "Don't forget the poor." She argues that "the most urgent problem facing women and girls here and around the globe is poverty and its dire consequences: poor health, dying young, illiteracy, violence, HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancies, dependency, bleak futures. Women continue to be unsafe in their homes, their work-places, refuge camps and in war-torn spots around the world. Their families, not just middle-class families, need the president's ear" (pg. 37).

It is no secret that when women are provided with sufficient resources, entire communities are not only taken care of but thrive. As Ms. Magazine set out to accomplish with its special inagural issue article, "Visions for Change," women have the power to change the world. A crucial aspect of this change is ensuring that donations and contributions intended for women's causes and development actually reach the intended group. Malaika Durban of World Pulse magazine states, “The majority of women’s groups worldwide are so small they are often not on most funders’ radars.” She also writes that "[i]t’s a tragic paradox. Experts agree that the most effective way to solve global problems is to invest in women, but social initiatives that focus on women actually receive less than 7% of all philanthropic funding worldwide." Check out this article, "10 Ways to Give to Women and Girls," to get detailed information and education on ways to give to better the lives of women and girls around the world. You can also visit organizations online such as Women's Funding Network and Kiva Micro Loans for more information.

What do a Bedouin woman in Israel and a woman in Philadelphia have in common? A lot!

Traditionally, Bedouin women living in the Middle East are not allowed to work outside their home, let alone make a salary that contributes to the greater financial and social welfare of their tribe and family. However, a new generation of Bedouin women are changing that belief.

A JTA online article, Bedouin women weave tradition, economics together by Jo-Ann Mort, reports that these women are finding old ways to create new lives for themselves and their daughters: "Though the method is old, the women who run the project are part of a new generation of Bedouin women whose work is empowering women who for millennia were denied social and economic opportunities in their conservative society." The project is called Lakiya Negev Weaving, led and supported by a grassroots organization called Sidreh.

The women who are employed gather in their homes to weave together traditional Bedouin colors or a contemporary palate to create rugs to be bought and sold throughout Israel. In addition to the work, women who are employed with Lakiya must agree as a condition of their employment to take part in educational seminars in women's health care. Economic sustainability, education, and social gathering provide a formula for social change.

Ok, so what do these Bedouin women have in common with a Philadelphia woman?

Freedom!

Ahyana King has been getting local press and recognition latetly for her new line of socially conscious and stylish t-shirts called Phreedum.

Phreedum is an independent novelty t-shirt company for men, women, and infants. Phreedum is dedicated to providing unparalleled creatively constructed clothing to the socially conscious, fashion-forward individual. Ahyana uses the creativity of fashion design to raise money through the sales for non-profit organizations currently addressing societal challenges such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, and access to education. She also has a book scholarship fund for men pursuing an undergraduate degree in education or social work and women pursuing an undergraduate degree in math or sciences.

For Ahyana, Phreedum has provided her not only with a creative outlet, and a unique way to express herself, but has been a vehicle to create individual and social change. Now that is empowering!

More information about Negev Bedouin Weaving, please visit http://www.lakiya.org/.

For more information about Phreedum, please visit www.phreedum1984.com.