|
 This year’s Women Helping Women Fund luncheon, featuring “Homeless to Harvard” speaker Liz Murray, exceeded its organizers’ expectations.
A total of 1,675 people attended the May 10 luncheon at the Spokane Convention Center, donating $242,000, which was $15,000 more than last year. The luncheon proceeds will pay for grants to 24 local programs designed to meet the needs of the most vulnerable women and children in the Spokane area.
After the luncheon, attendees gave glowing reviews for Murray’s speech and donations continued to flow into the fund.
“I’ve lost track of how many people told me that this was one of the best, if not the best, speaker we’ve ever had,” said Sima Thorpe, Women Helping Women Fund board president. “As I looked out over the audience, I noticed that people were just riveted to what she was saying.”
Murray shared her story of growing up with drug-addicted parents in New York City and becoming homeless as a teenager. She described the combination of the decisions she made at individual moments of her life (such as choosing to apply to a particular alternative high school) and the support she received from what turned out to be a brigade of “angels” who helped her overcome the challenges in her life.
The support she received from people like those who attended the WHWF luncheon, she told the audience, helped her rise above the brick wall that seemed to separate her from a better life.
Murray plans to return to Spokane in the fall as part of a tour to promote her new book.
The fundraising total represented an average gift of $145 per person, a particularly generous result during a difficult economic year. It brings Women Helping Women Fund’s fundraising efforts to a total of $4 million over the last 18 years, supporting 329 programs.
“It was a luncheon that strongly connected to the mission of Women Helping Women,” Thorpe said.
To watch KXLY’s interview with speaker Liz Murray, click on this link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtYnrBmLW-s
Photo courtesy of Portrait Creations by Diane Maehl |
