I had never been particularly politically active before. My previous activism was limited to volunteering for candidates, making phone calls, and posting yard signs. But the Preschool Matters campaign pulled me further in. I was recently divorced, so I had time on my hands and loved the positive energy of the young paid staff. I immersed myself in every aspect of the campaign. I walked precincts, reached out to media outlets, spoke at Rotary clubs, and stuffed mailings. I was the chair of the campaign and a tireless volunteer.
In 2010, Rachel’s Network celebrated the astonishing growth and distinguished slate of program offerings that characterized our first decade. We looked back in appreciation on our remarkable expansion from the Founders’ Circle, a cadre of 18 dedicated women funders who established our “good old girls’ network” in 2000, to nearly 100 advocates who span the nation and collectively represent over $500 million in annual grantmaking. Under the leadership of Past President Lisa Renstrom and a committee representing our accomplished membership, we also completed the Blueprint 2010 strategic planning process that set a course for our next five years. The resulting plan succinctly expressed our renewed focus on community-building initiatives and outlined new efforts to raise our organizational profile.
We need a comprehensive plan to address restoration in the Gulf, and a key part of that plan must be to establish a long-term research and monitoring program so that we can better understand changes in the ecosystem and develop management solutions that keep our environment and economy healthy. A well-funded and robust science program will help guide these efforts by providing research to support the design, selection and evaluation of restoration projects.
Throughout 2009, Rachel’s Network welcomed new members; offered unique leadership services; hosted networking events; updated our communications; grew our outreach programs; and educated members on strategic philanthropy and cutting-edge environmental and women’s empowerment issues. Most importantly, we helped extraordinary women connect with peers who share interests and passions.
Laboratory tests commissioned by Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Rachel’s Network have detected bisphenol A (BPA) for the first time in the umbilical cord blood of US newborns. The tests identified the plastics chemical in 9 of 10 cord blood samples from babies of African American, Asian and Hispanic descent.
In 2005, Rachel’s Network established the Congressional Women’s Networking Initiative (CWNI) to create a collegial atmosphere in which women leaders could work together to promote issues important to women.
