Support the WBA Foundation's Founders Fellowship
By Diana M. Savit, WBA Foundation President
The WBA Foundation established its Founders Fellowship in 2006, on the occasion of our 25th anniversary, in memory of the WBA's founders, Ellen Spencer Mussey and Emma Gillett. The first Founders Fellowship was awarded to a student at American University's Washington College of Law, in recognition of the WBA's close ties with that school, which was also founded by Ms. Mussey and Ms. Gillett. The fellowship is a stipend that allows its recipient to donate his/her time to a local nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women and children. We award it each year in the hope that it will encourage law students to consider spending their summers pursuing public service, knowing that the salary most nonprofits would have trouble paying them will be funded from another source.
Since it was first established, there have been two additional Founders Fellows — students at, respectively, Howard University School of Law and George Washington University Law School. All three of our fellows have undertaken worthy projects of which both the WBA and the WBA Foundation should be proud:
- AU's Ana Ayala spent her fellowship summer as an intern with Ayuda, Inc., where she helped attorneys represent victims of domestic violence, most of them Latinas.
- Howard's Courtney Dixon used the Founders Fellowship to support her summer work as a legal intern with the Sexual Assault Legal Institute. SALI is one of the only programs in the country devoted solely to providing direct legal services to victims of sexual assault.
- GW's Jennifer Rodrique donated her time to two organizations: as an intern with the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, and as the student volunteer coordinator for WomensLaw.org, a domestic violence resource website.
Our Founders Fellows select their projects independently; our only requirement is that the nonprofits that receive the benefit of their service be dedicated to helping women and children. It is therefore both notable and praiseworthy that each fellowship recipient to date has used her stipend to benefit some of society's most vulnerable and desperate persons: victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Your dollars make this happen. Since 2007, the WBA Foundation has raised the money to fund the Founders Fellowship at its annual wine tasting and silent auction, currently the sole fundraising event devoted exclusively to supporting the Foundation. We will join together again soon, to support the 2010 Founders Fellowship and its recipient, a student at the University of the District of Columbia's David A. Clarke School of Law, on January 28, 2010 for a wine tasting and silent auction at the offices of WilmerHale. I urge everyone to join the Foundation in doing good while having fun that night.
We continue to grapple with a difficult economy, which tempts us to ignore the needs of others as we focus on our more immediate concerns. But those of us who have achieved success in the legal profession have a moral obligation to help others who have not come quite so far. The WBA Foundation's wine tasting and silent auction provides an opportunity to do just that in a convivial atmosphere. Our presenters always teach us something new about wine and this year's theme — Value Vino—Finding Great Wines for Less — recognizes that we live in austere times. Nevertheless, our current situation, while somber, is not mournful. Nothing prevents us from putting the best face on things. Some of the greatest Hollywood comedies and musicals emerged during the years of the Great Depression; we can, on a much more modest scale, forget a skittish stock market and our 401(k)s for one night to lift a glass (or two) of wine to a good cause and to help others. And for the teetotalers, as well as the rest of us, there is always the prospect of finding the perfect gift, household item, or getaway opportunity among the varied auction items. We welcome your attendance, your sponsorship and your donations. We hope to see you there!
7th Annual Wine Tasting & Silent Auction
7th Annual Wine Tasting & Silent Auction
Mark your calendar for the 2010 Women’s Bar Association Foundation Annual Wine Tasting and Silent Auction. This year’s event will be held on January 28, 2010 at the law firm of WilmerHale at 6:30 p.m. As in years past, guests will mingle and taste a unique assortment of wines and crudites from around the world. Keeping with this year’s theme, Value Vino–Finding Great Wines for Less, the wines will be specially selected by our connoisseur to highlight wines that truly offer value across a wide price range. The event will also feature the ever-popular silent auction which will include items from local restaurants, service providers, and vendors. Tickets for the event are available online on the WBA/WBA Foundation website. Register before December 18 and receive a $10 discount off the regular ticket price. You do not want to miss this popular networking event!
Grantee Honored by Ebony Magazine
Dr. Shireen Lewis, Executive Director of DC nonprofit and WBA Foundation grant recipient EduSeed, and founder of its SisterMentors program, has been honored Ebony Magazine as an "Unsung Hero" who is making a difference for children, schools and communities.
As the Founder of EduSeed’s SisterMentors program, Dr. Lewis has helped 32 women of color to earn doctorates and two groups of girls of color to get into college, including to Duke University, Goucher College, and Bates College. Many of the women graduates now serve in many roles in communities in the United States and abroad, including as leaders of nonprofits and professors at universities.
SisterMentors women and girls are African Americans, Latinas, Asian Americans, and immigrants. SisterMentors helps women of color doctoral candidates to complete their dissertations and get their doctorates. The women in turn, while in the program, give back by mentoring girls of color from disadvantaged backgrounds, inspiring girls to stay in school, do well and go to college. The girls are in elementary, middle and high school in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. The women serve as role models—women of color who have achieved academic success despite the odds.
