This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Help change a woman's life – Help change the future

A conversation with Sande Smith, Director of Communications, the Women's Foundation of California.

Hi Sande! So great to have you with us today. Could you tell us more about Women’s Foundation of California and its mission?

We are passionate about California being a place in which all women are economically secure. In particular, we focus on improving the lives of low-income women – women who are getting by on minimum wage and who depend upon public programs like subsidized childcare and cash assistance from CalWORKs (our state’s welfare to work program.)

Find out what's happening in Piedmontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

When we say economically secure, we’re talking about women and families meeting their basic needs – a place to live, enough healthy food for the month, health insurance, transportation, quality child care – and savings for something extra to deal with emergencies, education and retirement. But too many women in California are barely making ends meet. That’s simply not acceptable to us.

So we have three interconnected strategies to make economic security a reality for women who are living month to month and paycheck to paycheck.  All of these strategies rely upon building community and women’s leadership.

Find out what's happening in Piedmontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

1)    We train grassroots women leaders through our Women’s Policy Institute. Since 2003, we’ve trained almost 300 women leaders in how to navigate the legislative process. The result? To date, we’ve had 20 new laws passed that improve the lives of women and families.

2)    Through our Stand with Women campaigns, we educate and mount public awareness and advocacy campaigns to advance policies that improve economic security for women and families.

3)    We leverage the power of our giving circle philanthropists. Our giving circles build community and they help build economic security by investing in women and women-led solutions to increasing economic security. Since 1999 our circles have collectively given $10.4 million in grants to improve the lives of low-income women and their children!

How did you first hear about #GivingTuesday?

While we heard about #GivingTuesday last year, we didn’t have much time to devote to it. This year, one of our board members expressed great excitement about us participating because she heard so much about #GivingTuesday last year. It was clear that #GivingTuesday helped a lot of organizations to raise funds and get more attention for their excellent work. Then, one of our supporters offered a $20,000 match for #GivingTuesday. So we’re thrilled to jump in feet-first!

What do you hope will be accomplished through your #GivingTuesday fundraiser?

  1. We want to give our current supporters, staff and board members an opportunity to spread the word about the Foundation through a fun, collaborative, youthful and social media powered activity.
  2. We want to raise funds
  3. We want to acquire new supporters
  4. We want to learn. We’ve wanted to dip our toe into crowdfunding for a while. This gives us a great opportunity to try it and learn from the experience.
  5. We want to inspire even more giving and participation with the $20K match

What is one of your favorite stories about Women’s Foundation of California, one that speaks to the core of what WFC is about?

There are so many stories. The story of the advocacy, struggles and people who got the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights passed is one of my favorites. I feel a personal connection because my mom was a domestic worker, a nurse and a home health care worker. She always took tremendous pride in caring for others and she expected to be treated with respect.

Because of my mom, the story of Maria Luna, a grandmother and a domestic worker, resonates all the more powerfully. Maria Luna was one of three women who started the campaign for the California Domestic Worker Bill of Rights after going door-to-door and surveying domestic workers about their lives and work conditions.

Like many domestic workers, Maria Luna was head of her household and raised five children on her own. Yet, because domestic workers have been denied basic labor protections, it has been hard for them to achieve economic security.  Because of the determination of women like Maria Luna, after ten years and two vetoes – by Governor Schwarzenegger and then Governor Brown – on September 26, 2013, the Domestic Worker’s Bill of Rights became a major victory for low-income women in California. More than 100,000 women in California now have the right to overtime pay when they work longer hours.

How did you first get involved with WFC?
I love working for organizations that have big vision and big heart. I first got involved with the Women’s Foundation of California when I attended and event and heard about the work of the Women’s Policy Institute. What? I thought. I had no idea that it was possible to change laws so that they would support the hard work and moxie of low-income people. I was inspired by the vision and passion of the women and men I met that supported the Women’s Foundation of California, and I wanted to get involved too. It’s an honor and privilege to work for this organization.

With #GivingTuesday kicking off the season of giving, how do you plan on giving back this holiday season?

I love that #GivingTuesday encourages people to think about the many ways that they can give of their time, talent and treasure. One of my favorite ways to give back is to attend events for other non-profit organizations. I love to learn about these organizations and the people that make them effective, make donations to them and spread the word.

How can people help and support WFC?

Don’t lose heart. We’re trying to solve big problems. It took 10 years to get the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights passed! California has a poverty epidemic. Over the last five years,California’s poverty has risen seven times faster than the rest of the country.  Did you know that one of three single mothers in California is living in poverty? It doesn’t have to be that way. Single mothers have ambition, vision and work ethic. What they need are jobs and services that help them to succeed.

People can help by getting involved with us – Sign up for our enews, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, sign our petitions, make a donation, tell their friends, colleagues and local journalists and newspapers that we can end poverty in California. It will take all of us talking about poverty to bring the issue of poverty on our political agenda.

[Start a #GivingTuesday Fundraiser for Women's Foundation of California]

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?