The hosts of the Anita Hill Party introduced an initiative called “Connecting Community” in 2017. It’s back.
Our hosts, who are S.C. professional women and activists, know that many people want to volunteer but don’t know where to turn to make a difference. On Tuesday, October 23, 2018, “I Believe Anita Hill!” will make that easier by introducing potential volunteers and donors to vetted organizations that support their values.
The hosts of “I Believe Anita Hill” know that volunteering is a good career entry point for women. While women hold 52 percent of all professional-level jobs but only 25 percent of senior-level jobs in the workforce, women make up 75 percent of nonprofit workers and 43 percent of nonprofit CEOs.
And women and men are almost equally represented on nonprofit boards. This means nonprofits are not only a way for women to support and give back to their communities but also a way for women to experience and practice leadership.
Volunteering has declined in the United States in recent years, from 29 percent of Americans volunteering in 2004 to 25 percent now. But current research says that people who volunteer report feeling happier and more fulfilled from doing meaningful tasks. On a local level, people committed to making a difference want to know where they can go to serve. The Anita Hill Party will connect this energy to organizations that need help and support.
The doors at 701 Whaley open at 5:30 p.m. Valet parking is provided at no cost.
Meet the organizations that will be represented through “Connecting Community”:
The Auntie Karen Foundation, founded in 2001, creates and implements a series of replicable community outreach programs designed to empower, enlighten and educate through the arts.
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands
The BE GREAT ACADEMY of the Boys & Girls Club of the Midlands provides programs for young people after school and during the summer that are designed to meet their needs and interests, and that teach them the skills needed to succeed. More than 25 national programs are offered in the areas of education, the environment, health, the arts, careers, alcohol/drug and pregnancy prevention, gang prevention, leadership development, and athletics.
Carolina Peace Resource Center
The mission of the Carolina Peace Resource Center is to advance the cause of peace and justice in the world – and peaceful resolution of conflict – by facilitating and encouraging research and education.
Choose Well is a contraceptive access initiative for South Carolinians. Sponsored by the New Morning Foundation, Choose Well connects women and men to reproductive counseling and affordable access to eight different methods of contraception. The initiative intends to reduce unintended pregnancy by 25 percent by 2021, saving taxpayers an estimated $50 million a year. Choose Well is not funded by government entities and has nothing to do with abortion.
Communities In Schools of the Midlands
Communities In Schools of the Midlands surrounds students with a community of support that encourages young people to stay in school and be successful. It brings caring adults into the schools to address children’s unmet needs and to ensure that students facing barriers, such as poverty, have an opportunity to succeed. The full-time Site Coordinator inside schools assesses needs and delivers necessary resources to help change lives — one day and one student at a time.
Every Black Girl (EBG) aims to center black women and girls as active agents of change who can thrive beyond the adversities of their communities. EBG works to bring awareness and solutions through training, research and civil engagement, and highlights the role women and girls play in this movement by sharing their stories nationwide.
Family Connection of South Carolina
Based on the concept of parent-to-parent support, Family Connection is a support network of families and professionals who care for children of all ages with disabilities and special health care needs. Networking and advocacy provide opportunities for change.
The Harriet Hancock LGBT Center
Named for Harriet Hancock, a longtime activist for the LGBT community, this is the only LGBT Community Center in Columbia. It provides a safe and welcoming space for South Carolina’s LGBT community and its allies, and offers a variety of resources, including meeting spaces for LGBT-supportive groups and a directory of LGBT-friendly businesses, organizations, and counselors.
Formerly known as Trinity Housing Corporation, Homeless No More was created in 1989 in response to the rising number of homeless families in the Midlands. The organization seeks to eradicate family homelessness as it helps parents and children achieve lasting independence. Homeless No More has four strategic initiatives: emergency services, transitional housing, affordable housing, and community bridge (which advocates on behalf of the homeless in numerous ways).
League of Women Voters of South Carolina
The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan political organization. Formed from the women’s suffrage movement, the League actively registers and encourages citizens to vote. It is also active in the areas of social and economic justice and citizens’ health and welfare. In addition to the state League, there are 11 local leagues in various locations throughout South Carolina.
Founded in 2005, PASOs’ mission is to build a stronger South Carolina by supporting Latino communities with education, advocacy and leadership development. PASOs provides culturally responsive education on family health, early childhood, and positive parenting skills; individual guidance for participants in need of resources; and advocacy with health care and social service providers.
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic is a nonprofit healthcare provider offering a wide range of affordable, reliable reproductive and sexual health care services in 14 locations across South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. For more than 100 years, women, men and teenagers have relied on Planned Parenthood for quality health care, information and education.
Richland County First Steps to School Readiness is a community partnership dedicated to helping children arrive at school healthy and ready to learn. The partnership focuses its efforts where research shows investment yields the highest rewards – from prenatal through age 3. Direct services to families are offered through Early Head Start centers and home visitation programs. Child care providers in Richland County can receive training, technical assistance and materials through the Excellence in Care and Early Learning initiative.
Senior Resources is a non-profit organization that coordinates services, provides resources and encourages the personal choices that allow Midlands’ area senior citizens to remain independent. Their services touch the lives of more than 4,000 Midlands residents.
Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands
STSM, one of 15 rape crisis centers in South Carolina, advocates for and supports survivors of sexual assault and abuse and educates the community to identify and prevent sexual violence. Because survivors of sexual violence may experience the abuse in culturally specific ways, the center’s counselors, educators and advocates have received training to support survivors who represent the diverse communities living in the Midlands.
Sistercare provides services and advocates for survivors of domestic violence and their children. It also promotes prevention of domestic violence through community awareness and training. Sistercare is the only organization that specifically offers shelter and support services for survivors and their children in Richland, Lexington, Kershaw, Newberry and Fairfield counties.
South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center
SC Appleseed advocates on behalf of the low-income community to address social, legal and economic injustice. South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center is a forceful and respected advocate for low-income South Carolinians on issues such as health care, immigration, re-entry questions, housing, education, hunger, public benefits, domestic violence, and consumer problems.
The Hive Community Circle is a grassroots community organization committed to ensuring that ALL survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence receive equitable support and services to live healthy, safe, and stable lives free from all forms violence. Our mission is to instill hope and provide support for historically undeserved survivors of sexual assault. Through our efforts, we seek to increase awareness of sexual assault and intimate partner violence, while reducing and challenging societal stigmas and cultural biases that often times pose as barriers for disclosure and support sought among marginalized communities. While we serve all survivors of sexual assault/intimate partner violence, our current initiative is to increase support, access to services, and awareness within the faith community, communities of color, and low wealth within South Carolina.
The Women’s Shelter offers safety and assistance to women who are temporarily or permanently separated from their children. Offering temporary housing, transitional housing, dental services and on-site counseling, the Women’s Shelter provides an environment that fosters recovery, rehabilitation, personal responsibility and respect – thereby offering an opportunity for growth and change.
Women Engaged (W.E.) is an African-American Women’s Giving Circle focused on economic inclusiveness, civic literacy, and social justice. The organization cultivates philanthropy and leverages resources to support member-identified initiatives addressing social and financial obstacles in South Carolina.
Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network (WREN)
Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network is a South Carolina-based network created to build a movement to advance the health, economic well-being and rights of South Carolina’s women, girls and their families. WREN provides a strong, collective voice for South Carolina’s women and girls.