United Way Celebrates Women’s Leadership in Our Community

At a special women-only event, more than 800 community leaders were recognized for their volunteer efforts and their philanthropic contributions to the community through United Way of Greenville County.  Dorothea Benton Frank, New York Times best-selling author and native of Charleston, served as the event’s keynote speaker.

As members of United Way Women's Leadership, these women have generously contributed $1,000 or more to benefit the 93 local programs United Way supports in our community.  Additionally, they are an integral part in helping to impact key issues that affect our entire community like school readiness, high school graduation and financial stability for low-income, hard-working families.  The event celebrated the power that women have in shaping our community and making it a better, stronger place to live, grow and work. 

Attendees were encouraged to participate in a special “Wear One, Bring One” initiative. “When a woman needs to leave her home due to abuse or other crisis, she typically leaves with nothing more than the clothes on her back.  She needs our help,” said Marian Carpenter, 2008 Chair of the United Way Women’s Leadership Council.  “Attendees were asked to bring one new bra and one new pair of panties to the luncheon. Thanks to their generosity, nearly 800 sets of undergarments were collected and will be distributed to women in need at a local women’s shelter.” 

The purpose of United Way Women’s Leadership is to:

• Recognize women's philanthropic efforts in our community, specifically recognizing those who contribute $1,000 or more annually through the United Way.
• Identify and cultivate women who have the ability to become a member of this group who are dedicated to furthering philanthropy of women.
• Develop volunteer leadership opportunities in civic and non-profit organizations for professional women.

Through United Way Women's Leadership, 1,059 women contributed nearly $1.5 million to United Way in 2007.  United Way has used these dollars to support 93 local programs that are working to achieve results in the issues that matter most to all of us.