CANCELED: Women of Distinction

press release:  YWCA Madison is taking the health and wellbeing of our residents, staff, volunteers and community very seriously with the arrival of the COVID-19 virus. As such, we have made the difficult decision to cancel our 46th Annual Women of Distinction Luncheon, scheduled for May 28th. We had wonderful nominations of incredible women this year. We are going to hold onto those nominations, for now, and review them for our 2021 event. We can’t wait until May of 2021, when we can celebrate our brave and empowered community together.

But before we look towards the future, I want to acknowledge that we know our community and world is suffering and scared. YWCA Madison is as dedicated to our mission today as we have ever been, and we will get through this together through our care for one another.

Here is one way our local community is helping us out. TASC, Summit Credit Union, and Boardman Clark, who had committed to being Women of Distinction sponsors, have all let us know that we can keep their sponsorship dollars despite the cancellation. We are so very grateful to these local businesses for this tremendous support in such a trying time.

Dollars from this event support critical programs at YWCA Madison, like our housing programs. In fact, we have 110 people living in our downtown Madison building right now. YWCA Madison staff are working incredibly hard to keep residents safe, our pantry stocked, and keep women and families informed. We can’t shut down, because the families we provide homes and shelter for need us now, more than ever.

We had planned to raise $25,000 from Women of Distinction. Because our generous Women of Distinction sponsors have “stepped in” we have $17,000 remaining to raise from the community. I hope you will consider a donation today and help us reach our goal. We need you more than ever.

If you want to know more about what YWCA Madison is doing during the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit: https://www.ywcamadison.org/blog/2020/03/17/ywca-madison-statement-on-covid-19/

As you well know, each day there are new developments with the COVID-19 virus and we are modifying as we go. We are grateful for your consideration of support for YWCA Madison during this very stressful and trying time. We will get through this together by upholding our organizational values of Humanity, Community, Growth, and Restoration. Thank you for your commitment to eliminating racism and empowering women.