The Women’s Leadership Council of the LaPorte County United Way held their kickoff event, Wine, Women and Impact on Thursday, August 7th, from 5:00 – 7:00 pm at Shady Creek Winery in Michigan City. Over 40 philanthropically–minded professional women from LaPorte County were in attendance to help the WLC kick off their new women’s leadership group. Event attendees shared their suggestions for improving LaPorte County and learned more about the Women’s Leadership Council’s mission: “to mobilize the power of women’s philanthropy to advance the common good in our community.”
The Wine, Women and Impact event had the support of several local businesses, including Al’s Supermarket, Great Lakes Catering, Horizon Bank, and Shady Creek. Attendees also heard a brief introduction of the Women’s Leadership Council from Kris Pate, the Executive Director of the LaPorte County United Way, and additional comments from Sharon Wright, AVP, Commercial Lender at Horizon Bank, Bobbi Petru, the Director of the Community Chapter of the American Red Cross, and Alexis Pontius, Vice President of Lakeshore Foods, who collectively serve as the Steering Committee for the WLC.
Sharon Wright shared some interesting facts about women’s philanthropy: Single women donate almost twice as much as single men Married women give more than both single and married men Women are 43% of the nation’s top wealth holders, and give an average of 3.5% of their wealth to a charity, whereas men give an average of 1.8%.
The Women’s Leadership Council hopes to build their membership as the 2015 LaPorte United Way campaign kicks off this fall. Members of the council have the opportunity to select and support local causes that matter most to them, and see the direct results of their involvement.
Kris Pate shared; “It is incredibly exciting to see the energy and enthusiasm of such an engaged group of women. There are great things in store for LaPorte County!”
All women in LaPorte County who are interested in becoming part of the Women’s Leadership Council and having a direct impact on improving the community are encouraged to learn more on how they can become involved with the council at UnitedWayLPC.org/WomensLeadershipCouncil or contact Valerie Lambert at 219-210-3534, Ext. 11.
