We appreciate every donation and every chapter fundraiser that is organized for the 13^th Month Annual Appeal. Here are just a few examples of how our members and chapters have been supporting our annual appeal:

 Founders’ Circle – Thank you to all of the members of our Founders’Circle for their contributions of $1,000 or more. Special thanks to Tara LaRose (MI, Plainwell-1)  for giving $43,000 — the largest single donation in DFW’s history, and to Anne Capestrain (Chapter Leader of the IL, Springfield-1 chapter and past DFW board member), who donated $25,000 for the second year in a row!  Thank you also to Linda Byars (GA, Atlanta-6) for her $10,000 gift.

We also extend our deepest appreciation to our $5,000 donors:

• Francine Fleming (TX, Houston-3)
• Sandy Lease & David Hugg (TX, Houston-6)
• Susan Negrin (CA, Castro Valley-1)
• Karen Rowley (PA, Philadelphia-4)
• Susan Stall (SC, Greenville-7)
• Connie Williamson (SC, Greenville-1)

A complete list of 2016 Founders’ Circle members will be posted on our website in the New Year. If anyone is interested in learning more about our Founders’ Circle, please contact Beth Ellen Holimon, bethellen@togetherwomenrise.org.

“Celebrate the Girl” — On Oct. 9, the three chapters of Marin County, CA (San Francisco area) hosted a public event in honor of the International Day of the Girl Child. The concept was to share with a broader circle of women the work that DFW has done for girls. The event was called “Celebrate The Girl” and included a luncheon and information session modeled after a DFW chapter meeting. Guest Speaker was Kelly Anderson, the new CEO of Nepal Youth Foundation, one of DFW’s past grantees. It turned out to be a grand way to bring attention to both DFW and International Day of the Girl Child. There were 58 attendees, of which 38 were women new to DFW (plus 4 of their daughters). So far, 11 attendees have joined chapters and there is some interest in starting two new chapters. A total of $1,520 was raised for our 13^th Month Annual Appeal!

5^th Anniversary Celebration and $5,000 Match – Three DFW chapters in Philadelphia, known as the Weavers Way chapters due to their connection to the local Weavers Way Co-op, celebrated their fifth anniversaries with a special fundraiser for the 13^th Month Annual Appeal. Karen Rowley, a member of the Philadelphia-4 chapter generously offered to match up to $5,000 donated to the 13th Month Annual Appeal. At the celebration on Oct. 25^th, it was joyfully announced that more than $5,000 was raised, and Karen wrote a check for her matching grant on the spot!  That’s more than $10,000 in total to our annual appeal!

Southeast Multi-Chapter Event in Atlanta – For several years, our Southeast Region has held an annual, multi-chapter dinner during our 13^th Month Annual Appeal. This year’s event was held on Oct. 16 – a little earlier than usual – so everyone could also honor outgoing Regional Leader Kira Walker. DFW Co-Founder Barb Collins spoke at the event as well. [Photo at top of page.]

If your chapter is doing something special for the 13^th Month, please email media@togetherwomenrise.org (with a photo if possible) and we will publish it in our next issue.