Press Releases

WOMEN UNITED IN PHILANTHROPY HOSTS AN EVENING WITH
GLORIA STEIMEM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Gina Plotino, Director of Communications
Bergen County's United Way
201-291-4054
gplotino@bergenunitedway.org

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ, August 27, 2007 —-It promises to be this fall's most exciting and important event for Bergen County women of all ages when Women United in Philanthropy hosts An Evening with Gloria Steinem on Thursday, October 18, 2007 from 6 - 9:30 p.m. at the Stony Hill Inn in Hackensack. It is the 3rd Annual Fall Gathering for the women's giving circle - New Jersey's first. Members will be treated to a private reception with Ms. Steinem prior to the start of the event. There will also be a book signing at the conclusion of the program. Tickets are $85 per person.

When we thought about who was the voice to help catapult us from a small fledgling group to an established part of the national network of women's philanthropy, Gloria Steinem immediately came to mind. "She is one of the most important voices for women in our time," said Maxine Frampton, Director of Women United in Philanthropy. "She takes our message of big ideas to one of action, commitment and hope."

Gloria Steinem is a writer, lecturer, editor, and feminist activist. She travels in this and other countries as an organizer and lecturer and is a frequent media spokeswoman on issues of equality. In 1972, she co-founded Ms. Magazine, and remained one of its editors for fifteen years. She continues to serve as a consulting editor for Ms., and was instrumental in the magazine's recent move to join and be published by the Feminist Majority Foundation. Her books include the bestsellers Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem, Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, Moving Beyond Words, and , Marilyn: Norma Jean on the life of Marilyn Monroe. Her writing also appears in many anthologies and textbooks, and she was an editor of Houghton Mifflin's The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History. Ms. Steinem helped to found the National Women's Political Caucus, a group that continues to work to advance the numbers of pro-equality women in elected and appointed office at a national and state level.

Since its launch by Bergen County's United Way in 2005, Women United in Philanthropy has gathered at the Stony Hill Inn each fall to revisit their vision, restate their commitments, and most recently to vote to award their collective contribution to a program helping women in Bergen County.

We try to invite a keynote speaker who embodies our message to help draw a crowd who might otherwise not come to hear what we're all about. Gloria Steinem has proven to be the right choice. "Ticket sales are brisk," said Frampton. Women from all spectrums of our community are responding and they tell us they plan to bring their mothers and daughters. It's an opportunity to mark an important time for us as women.

Women United in Philanthropy is dedicated to promoting the economic power of women to affect change in each other's lives. Membership in the circle is extended to women who contribute $1,000 annually to a collective fund and vote each year to award a large grant to a local program helping women. Last year, the group awarded a $50,000 grant to the Inter Religious Fellowship for the Homeless to establish a transitional residence for women and children leaving the emergency shelter.

We are growing our membership every day. "It's clear that women are responding to this new idea of collective, strategic, democratic and local philanthropy-- by women and for women," said Maxine Frampton, Director of Women United in Philanthropy. "To have Gloria Steinen endorse our effort is incredibly exciting."

Space is limited. Act now to reserve your place or find out how to join. Call 201.291.0601 or email Maxine.Frampton@wuip.org .