The Women’s Empowerment Alliance (WEA) will be hosting its second annual benefit gala Saturday, April 9 to celebrate and support YMCA’s Women’s Residency Program.
“While we love working with Capital students, we wanted to reach beyond our campus and become involved with advocacy in the broader community,” said Rachel Arnold, WEA treasurer. “We did the gala last year to support the UN ‘HeForShe’ campaign, and after it was such a huge success … we decided as an organization to make it a yearly event.”
Arnold said she is very optimistic about the event this year, and that they have built on the successes from last year’s event to make this one even better.
The gala will kick off at 7 p.m. in Kerns Religious Life Center. Entry is open to all Capital students and tickets are $20 for non-Capital students.
“We decided that [the gala] was an excellent way to educate campus about women’s issues and empower women not only on Capital’s campus but even across the world (with the ‘HeForShe’ campaign) by financially supporting women’s empowerment efforts,” said Madeline Aeschbury, president of WEA.
Aeschbury said that WEA selected the YWCA’s Women’s Residency Program this year because the members really believe in its cause.
YWCA’s Women’s Residency Program is dedicated to helping homeless women with physical or mental disabilities improve their lives through job training, abuse counseling, and many other important services.
Aeschbury also said that this year they wanted to keep the focus closer to home, allowing them to create relationships with other female-centered organizations in hopes of further partnerships in the future.
The event will have a wide variety of activities, such as live music, gambling tables, basket raffles, appetizers, and a cash bar.
Raffle and game tickets will be available for purchase, and attendees over 21 will receive two free drink tickets. All proceeds will go directly to the YWCA’s Women’s Residency Program.
Last year, the organization raised almost $1,000. Arnold said she hopes for the same level of fundraising success this year because they are supporting an incredibly important local organization.
