It's not too late!
You can run for CWU

If you are a qualified runner for the 116th Boston Marathon in April, you can join Team CWU and help us raise $25,000 in support of low-income women and their families.

Runners receiving numbers directly from the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) will augment the efforts of the three core members of Team CWU who will sport bibs donated to Crittenton Women’s Union by John Hancock. Core Team CWU members will pledge to raise a minimum of $5,000 each; BAA-qualified runners will have a fund-raising goal of $1,000 each.

This will be the first time CWU has fielded a marathon team as part of the John Hancock Non-Profit Marathon Program. John Hancock, principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon, will support more than 800 nonprofit runners for over 60 different local organizations in 2012.

Prospective core Team CWU members had until December 19th to apply for a donated bib. Successful candidates will be notified by Friday, January 6. 

BAA-qualified runners can join Team CWU anytime, right up until race day.

To learn more, visit our Team CWU Boston Marathon page and come cheer on Team CWU on Marathon Day!

It's not too late! You can run for CWU

CWU to host inaugural economic mobility conference

CWU gala exceeds fundraising goal

CWU participants treated to MA Conference for Women

CWU's Bridge to Self-Sufficiency™

Your 2011 deadline for tax-deductible gifts

CWU to host inaugural economic mobility conference

Crittenton Women’s Union will bring together service providers, academics, policy makers, researchers, and financial experts for a half-day economic mobility conference on May 1, 2012 at Simmons College.

“There’s a lot of exciting, pioneering work being done in developing practical routes to economic self-sufficiency for families,” said CWU President/CEO Elisabeth D. Babcock. “The conference will provide an opportunity for those engaged in different aspects of the work to learn about each other’s approaches, share insights, and report our successes and our failures.”

“Disrupting the Poverty Cycle: Emerging Practices to Achieve Economic Mobility 2012” will offer two sessions of four panels each. Panel topics include, among others, “Poverty and Social Networks: The Role Social Networks Play in Creating Economic Mobility,” “The Neurobiology of Poverty,” and “Low-income Families at the Forefront of Change.”

Click here for details. Registration opens on January 15, 2012.

CWU gala exceeds fundraising goal

Crittenton Women’s Union’s fifth anniversary gala, Live! Work! Thrive! Celebrating 5 Years of Innovation, raised nearly $230,000, exceeding its goal by more than 14%.

Held on November 10th at WGBH studios, the festive event celebrated CWU’s accomplishments over the last five years and drew 300 attendees.

 “We thank all our friends and supporters who made our fifth anniversary celebration such an overwhelming success, especially our event lead sponsors Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and State Street,” said CWU Chair Peter Zane.

Co-chaired by Zane and CWU Board Members Pamela Murray and Fredi Shonkoff, the event’s fund-raising goal was $200,000. Among the night’s program highlights were remarks by Dr. Margaret McKenna, former president of Walmart Foundation and of Lesley University, and Masika Gadson, graduate of CWU’s Woman to Woman program.

To view photos and video, go to our 5th anniversary page.

CWU participants treated to MA Conference for Women

Nine CWU program participants received full scholarships to attend the Massachusetts Conference for Women in December, thanks to the generosity of Jonathan and Jeanne Lavine. For each of the scholarship recipients, attendance was a first-time event and, for all of them, it was an unforgettable experience.

The Massachusetts Conference for Women, the largest women’s conference in the state, welcomed more than 7,000 women on December 8th at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.  The event featured a star-studded roster of keynote speakers and covered topics such as career advancement, personal development, reinvention, social media management, and entrepreneurship.

Six of the CWU-connected women who received Mass. Conference for Women scholarships were students in the fall cycle of Woman to Woman, CWU’s 12-week career development course. The other three scholarship recipients are participants in Career Family Opportunity, CWU’s innovative long-term program for families committed to becoming fully economically independent in five years.

Here are some of their impressions of the day.

“The conference filled me with energy I didn’t know existed in me. I left the conference feeling invigorated, empowered, and (of course) ready to live fearlessly!” - Anne Desjardins, CWU Career Family Opportunity participant

“I was so impressed that there were so many women. When we sat down for lunch, there were thousands of women filling the room. I attended Mel Robbins’ “How to Become Unstoppable” and she was very funny and wise. She gave her presentation with her coat wrapped around her because her skirt had ripped open. She said one of the lessons she had planned to share with us was no matter what life throws at you, just keep moving forward—and she proved it.” - Lesley Harrington, CWU Woman to Woman student

“Empowering! I took away life lessons: Take your creativity and dreams and make them a reality. Ask for help. You can’t do it alone.  Women need to learn to ask for help—something I’ve always had issues with.” - Michelle Feliz, CWU Career Family Opportunity program participant

Thanks to you Lechille and Lanae have a home for the holidays

Last year at this time, Lechille and her infant daughter, Lanae, suddenly became homeless and found temporary housing at CWU’s emergency family shelter in Brighton.

This year, thanks to your generous support, Lechille and Lanae will be celebrating the holidays in their very own apartment at Abbot House, CWU’s new permanent housing alternative for young mothers ages 19-24.

“I was bummed,” Lechille said. “I had never been to a shelter. My family had never been to a shelter. My CWU caseworker thought it was a good idea for me to take a look at the Abbot House program. She said it would help me and my daughter get stabilized to have a home to live in on our own.”

At Abbot House, young mothers and children receive a constellation of supports designed to help families successfully transition to permanent housing and into well-paying jobs.

“Most other people don’t get the type of help like we have here at Abbot House,” Lechille said.

She now has a full-time job and contributes to the rent on her Abbot House apartment. In January, she will begin a medical information management program at Bunker Hill Community College.

What a difference a year makes! You can view Lechille telling her own story online.

Please remember hard-working mothers and their families by making a gift today. Donate Now

Your 2011 deadline for tax-deductible gifts

If you are 70½ or older, you can contribute up to $100,000 to CWU directly from your IRA in 2011 without paying taxes on the distribution. This deduction expires at year end, so call us today for more information at 617.259.2932.