WLC News and Events

Emily Andrews receives Women Extraordinaire Award

Emily Andrews was honored as a Woman Extraordinaire at the eighth annual Women Extraordinaire award ceremony hosted by Business Leader Media on December 7th.

Pictured from left to right: Libby (sister), Emily, and Beth (daughter)

Emily was recognized for being the Founder of United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council in 2003, while she was a Senior VP at First Citizens Bank. Since then, the WLC has helped raise over $9 million to invest in valuable services in the Triangle area. In 2007, under Emily’s leadership, an initiative around middle school girls was created and in the past 2 years, 38 middle school girls have received leadership development scholarships from the WLC.

Sponsored by First Citizens Bank and Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, the Women Extraordinaire Awards event was held at Brier Creek Country Club. Sixteen accomplished women business leaders in the Triangle community were honored as Women Extraordinaire. This year the honorees for Women Extraordinaire were chosen from over 300 nominations.

Remarkable Women, Inspiring Teen Girls and Fabulous Desserts were the recipe for a successful 2009 WLC Awards Luncheon and Dessert Auction

Over 300 women filled the ballroom of Embassy Suites in Cary for the Women’s Leadership Council (WLC) 6th Annual Awards Luncheon and Dessert Auction on September 18th.

The Mad Hatter Signature Black and White Cake

Each table was topped with an exquisitely designed dessert which has become the “signature” centerpiece of the WLC Awards Luncheon.  Our hats go off to the 47 area chefs and bakeries who donated their fabulous desserts making our luncheon a premier event in the Triangle.  For the second year in a row, the cake with a winning bid of $1,007 came from Mad Hatter – their Signature Black and White Cake. Over $19,000 was raised from the dessert and silent auction along with table sponsorships, an increase of 20% over last year.  These funds will enable middle school girls from UW’s partner youth agencies to participate in leadership training opportunities.

Three middle school girls and two women were recognized for their achievements: the girls were honored for their leadership, self confidence, commitment to education, caring for others and giving back to their community; and the women for their philanthropic efforts in the community, especially on behalf of teen girls.  2007 Teen Girl Award Winner from 2009, Caitlin Hooks, spoke at the event about the positive impact United Way, WLC, and the Girls Club have all had on her life.

2009 Teen Girl Winners

• Kaylin Davis, Girl Scouts, NC Coastal Pines
• Eliza Eisenhardt, Boys and Girls Clubs of Wake County
• Maggie Respass, The Women’s Center in Chapel Hill

2009 Women Winners

• Jill S. Gammon, GMB Nonprofit Council LLC
• Dr. Evelyn Schmidt, Lincoln Community Health Center

Congratulations to all!
Click here for the full photo gallery of the event

'Pump It Up' Pasta Party - Lace ‘Em and Pace ‘Em WLC Team Prepares for 5K Race

The Lace ‘Em and Pace ‘Em Team, comprised of Raleigh Girls Club middle schoolers and members of the Women’s Leadership Council, ran a 5K race during the Old Reliable Run on November 15.  In preparation, close to 30 members of the Team came together to learn about pre-race carb-loading to keep up their stamina during the run.

Sandra Birckhead, WLC Team Captain, watches as the girls make the salad with the assistance of Dianne Mulcahy, WLC volunteer and her daughter Chris

In the kitchen of the Raleigh Girls Club, professional chef and owner of TLCatering, Trudie Laches talked about healthy eating as she prepared a variety of pasta dishes for the middle schoolers.  The girls got to roll up their selves and help make a huge fresh salad and “short cut cookies” for the group.  And then Trudie engaged the girls in making individual servings of Chicken Baked Ziti in a mini loaf pan for them to take home and eat prior to the race. 

Team Co-Captain Wendy Hicks watches as Chef Trudie Laches, on the right, shows the girls how to make the Short Cut Cookies

The girls were focused in their efforts to help make the dinner, and were very focused and ready on race day.

2009 Advocate Tea at RTI

Twenty five women gathered last week to kick off the 2009 WLC Advocate Program – with a WLC Advocate Tea sponsored by RTI International.

Energy, enthusiasm, and excitement filled the room as women shared their passion for the WLC.  Lisa Gilliland, member of the WLC Steering Committee and COO of the RTI International Group welcomed everyone to RTI and expressed her support and that of RTI for the WLC.

Gayle Harris, 2009 Chair of the WLC and Director of the Durham County Health Dept. thanked everyone for coming – especially, the women who will serve as the WLC Advocates within their companies.   

The WLC is committed to inspiring, celebrating, educating and engaging women in philanthropy and community service to positively impact peoples lives.  With the WLC focusing its outreach efforts around the issues and challenges facing middle school girls, guests heard about the impact that the WLC is having on this age group. 

Women serving as WLC Advocates are an extension of the WLC, communicating with female colleagues – thanking members for their support of the WLC and recruiting new members to join our group.  Their involvement is critical to the success of the WLC.

The WLC would like to thank the 2009 Advocates for agreeing to serve in this very important role.

To view all the pictures, please click here.

2009 Saks Shoe Social

Nearly 150 women wound their way through SAKs shoe, cosmetics and jewelry departments Thursday night, February 19, for some shopping and pampering. They were being treated to a special ‘thank you’ night for members of the United Way of the Greater Triangle Women’s Leadership Council (WLC) who were celebrating their successes in helping to change young teen girls’ lives.

WLC members also had the opportunity to meet and listen to author Lynette Lewis who discussed her recent book, “Climbing the Ladder in Stilettos”. The evening ended with Craig Chancellor, President and CEO of United Way of the Greater Triangle, awarding a pair of designer stilettos to one lucky attendee.

 

WLC members were celebrating their recent successes including:

• Fourteen girls received scholarships to attend the Girls Leadership Institute at Meredith College this
  past July.
  
• Girls, whose lives were impacted by TUW partner youth agencies, displayed their art work at five area
  corporations.
  
• Three teen girls were honored with the Emily’s Star Award for their leadership, perseverance, positive values and commitment to learning and service to others.
  

The WLC mission is to inspire, educate and engage women in philanthropy, community service, advocacy and mentoring in order to positively impact the lives of people and our community.

 

 

The Women’s Leadership Council would like to thank the following sponsors for their support during the Sak's Shoe Social:

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Agency Tours, Service Projects and Volunteer Opportunities

Do you want to Get Up Close and Personal?

We want you to feel good about how your gift to United Way of the Greater Triangle is making a difference in girls’ lives. All you have to do is visit one or more agencies and talk to the girls.

• Look for upcoming agency visits OR we will schedule a special one just for you and your women friends and/or colleagues. Just email ltuday@unitedwaytriangle.org
• Consider volunteering with an agency serving young teen girls. Opportunities can be “one-time” activities or an “ongoing commitment” such as mentoring or tutoring girls. Click here to view a list of volunteer opportunities.

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