Downtown Women's Center E-Newsletter

September 2006

Please join us at DWC's 9th Annual Gala! It’s not too late to purchase tickets or sponsor a table. Growing Supportive Housing: Cultivating a Foundation for Housing and Lives will be hosted by Actress Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle) and held the evening of September 25, 2006 at the Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The evening promises to be a delightful engagement at which long-time supporters and new-found friends will enjoy a reception and dinner, Silent and Live Auctions, and a Raffle! Please join us as we honor our friends who are sowing the seeds of supportive housing and healthcare for homeless women in downtown Los Angeles:

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

CAP-MPT

Washington Mutual

LA Department of Water & Power Employees’ Association

Jim Donlan, Sidley Austin LLP

Please contact Development Director Molly Moen at mollym@dwcweb.org for ticket and sponsorship information and visit www.dwcweb.org/gala.html for more information and to view photos from last year’s event.

Every day, women struggle to survive on the streets as conditions worsen. In addition to providing basics such as food, showers, housing, and a mailing address, DWC offers opportunities for women to express themselves and connect with one another, helping to increase self esteem and build friendships that keep them safe if they are living on the streets. The arts have always been an important component of the Center, and we are excited to share some recent happenings.

The Centre Pompidou in Paris – along with Benetton’s COLORS Magazine and Reporters without Borders – will host an exhibition this fall to celebrate diversity, freedom of expression, and humanity. Seven DWC participants created personal testimonials for this world-wide show, filling notebooks with art and the stories of their lives that will be displayed.

Meanwhile, celebrated Playwright, Director, and Actor Michael Kearns is providing weekly self-expression classes over the next nine months that focus on creative writing and performing arts and will culminate in a production of participants’ work in April 2007. DWC Learning Center Instructor Michelle Gubbay is joining him on this project. The first meeting was held this week, and over 15 women attended.

Razzle Dazzle Balloon Designs is a small company with a very special history. Gloria, owner/operator of Razzle Dazzle, has extensive training and experience creating elaborate balloon displays for weddings, parties, and other special events. She is also a past DWC participant now taking part in The Next Step – DWC’s new Continuing Services program. Gloria first came to DWC in 2004 after surviving an eviction, domestic violence, and a fire, when she found herself homeless on Skid Row. Now successfully living in an apartment and working part-time as a security guard, she has finally achieved her longtime dream to open her own balloon design business. If you are interested in hiring Razzle Dazzle Balloon Design for an upcoming event, contact Gloria at (323) 365-0395 or Director of Continuing Services Mina Kedar, PhD, at (213) 680-0600.

Did you know that in 2005, DWC Volunteers contributed the minimum-wage equivalent of over $47,000 worth of service and provided more than $75,000 in food, hygiene, and clothing items? Our newest way to get involved in volunteering at DWC is the Birthday Guild.

The DWC Birthday Guild is a groundbreaking opportunity for volunteers to give Residents unique and special birthday celebrations each month! Past favorites have been our “Under the Sea” Party, Hawaiian Luau, and Masquerade. There are many ways to be involved, including: attending a monthly Party Prep meeting to plan the month’s themed party, delivering flowers to a DWC Resident on the day of her birth, making a birthday cake, and helping with decorations at our monthly Birthday Party.

We do ask for a minimum 4-hour monthly commitment for 9 months to be part of the Birthday Guild. However, if you are unable to make that time commitment you can still support the Guild. You could celebrate your own birthday in a unique and meaningful way – during the month of your birth, invite friends and family to make donations of money or gifts to the Center in your honor, in lieu of (or in addition to) birthday presents! Standardized invites and thank you cards are available. You could also conduct a gift drive among your friends, coworkers, faith, or community group; donate the meal for the Birthday Party; or share your favorite restaurant/caterer with the Ladies that month. Also, supporters are welcome to make a monetary donation to ensure gifts, flowers, and special touches are provided each month!

If you would like to be involved please contact, Brooke Lykins, Volunteer Coordinator, at brookel@dwcweb.org, or (213) 680-0600, ext 122.

Did you know that something you do every day can help raise funds to support DWC?!

The Downtown Women’s Center is now registered as an eligible nonprofit on www.goodsearch.com. GoodSearch is an Internet search engine powered by Yahoo!, which gives one cent of its advertising revenues to the nonprofit of your choice each time you conduct an online search. Now, that may not sound like a lot – but if each one of DWC’s hundreds of friends and supporters uses GoodSearch to do something most of us do many times each day already, we could turn this into something so much bigger! All you have to do to help is go to www.goodsearch.com, enter the Downtown Women’s Center as your charity of choice, and search! The more you search, the more you help DWC provide essential resources to homeless women on Skid Row. Let’s see what we can do together. Happy searching!