March 2018 Newsletter

TPC Link

March 2018



Learn more about TPC’s 2017-2018 Grantees
 

What We Do and Why


Interested in learning more about the nuts and bolts of TPC? We’re going to provide occasional behind-the-scenes looks at what we do and why so that we maximize our relationships with grantees as well as the value of your membership. This month, we feature the Liaison Program.


SAVE THE DATE!


TPC grantee Louis D. Brown Peace Institute is holding its 22nd Mother’s Day Walk for Peace on Sunday, May 13. The Walk is a beloved Boston tradition, with more than 15,000 people walking to remember victims of gun violence and to celebrate our potential to create more peaceful communities. 

The Walk is also the Peace Institute’s most important fundraiser, with a goal of raising $400,000. We hope to form a TPC Walk Team to support this important mission and to help ensure that the Peace Institute meets its fundraising goal. Today, we’re asking members to anonymously indicate interest in either walking or supporting the team financially by filling out this short form.

 

Things You Should Know …

The March 14 BEST Mock Interview sessions were canceled due to Mother Nature’s latest offering. We’re hoping a few of you might be available to help out on the make-up date of Wednesday, March 21. If not, there are opportunities in April, May, and June to help students sharpen their interview skills.

There is still some space at the March 22 Philanthropy Dialogue as we welcome current and former grantees Boston CASA and Silver Lining Mentoring, who will facilitate a discussion of Steve Pemberton’s book: A Chance in the World: An Orphan Boy, a Mysterious Past, and How He Found a Place Called Home. Reading the book is not a requirement, but bring your questions around the challenges facing youth in foster care.

Connect the Dots are recruitment events for new members and opportunities for current members to learn more about TPC and connect with one another. Each gathering also includes special speakers from our grantee organizations and our membership. There are two upcoming gatherings:
April 5: Connect the Dots in South End Boston
April 24: Connect the Dots in Newburyport

TPC in the News…letter. We are really excited about our Volunteer Days and send a big “Thank You!” to Ruth Isaacs, who coordinates the myriad details; the women who have volunteered their time and talents; and the Liaisons, who keep Ruth on her toes with requests from our grantees. RIAC, who hosted a Volunteer Day in January, gave us a shout in their Winter Quarter Newsletter. In addition, the Member Impact section in this month’s Link underscores the win/win nature of Volunteer Days.

Grantee Impact: Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project
TPC Liaisons: Laura Dziorny and Susie Friedman

Laura Dziorny and Susie Friedman interviewed Anita Sharma (pictured right), the Executive Director of the Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project (PAIR), and Tamara Omazić, the Development Specialist for PAIR. Formed in 1989, PAIR provides free legal services to asylum-seekers and promotes the rights of detained immigrants.

Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to the PAIR Project.

Anita: I was drawn to PAIR because of my background in international human rights work. I started my career working on women’s rights in India, and working on asylum cases is as close as you can get to human rights work when you stay in the US. I joined PAIR as a part-time detention attorney in 2002, back when there were no full-time positions at PAIR (including that of the Executive Director). I became the first full-time staff member six months later and served in that role (as an asylum staff attorney) for 13 years before taking on my current position when the former ED departed in 2015.

Continue PAIR Interview by Laura Dziorny and Susie Friedman

 

Member Impact/Member Impacted: Volunteer Day, BEST Mock Interviews

As noted above, TPC members continue their involvement with grantee BEST Hospitality Training by participating in mock interviews with students preparing to launch their careers. Joan Abbott and the BEST staff have been effusive in their appreciation for our support. But, as is often the case, volunteers receive as much or more when they participate in such efforts. We’d like to share the comments of TPC member (and President) Susan Benford as she reflects on her morning with these students, and one in particular…

I had a phenomenal experience today that was one of the most rewarding in all of my time in TPC.

Iesha, whom I’d guess is in her mid-20s, was one of the most poised, quietly competent young women I’ve met in ages. Great eye contact; succinct, well-thought through answers; attentive listener; calm and not in the least nervous; and eager to move her life forward. She even had prepared a schedule of when she was already committed to work in the next few weeks in case I, as her employer, asked for her to start soon. I’ve interviewed hundreds of people in prior management roles, and outside this context would never have imagined that she was anything other than another college grad from a comfortable life.

After we turned off the video, I smiled and told her that I would be looking for her name in the stars, and that she completely aced the dry-run interview. Her eyes welled up, and she told me that she’d had the most amazing week. Yesterday, she had learned that she and her children got an apartment and could leave the homeless shelter; also yesterday, her 10-year old came home grasping a certificate from school saying that he was doing an outstanding job. Iesha told him that they would put it up on the wall, and he responded by saying that you couldn’t do that in a shelter. She then got to tell him they were moving out and into their own apartment.

On my way out the door, one of the BEST staff told me that after Iesha did a hospitality internship with Loft Hotel, they asked her to apply for a job. She was the only one who received this offer.

Does it get any better than this?

 

Young Philanthropist Update

On Saturday, February 24, TPC Fellows gathered for a day of learning and reflection at the Annual Fellows Retreat. The event, hosted at Board member Ilene Greenberg’s home, was an effort to provide Fellows with tools to improve their life, their work, and their giving. Board member Amy Feind Reeves, of JobCoachAmy, led a session on how to stand out in the workplace. Board member Marta Pagan-Ortiz, led a session on how to better understand and identify the motivations that guide your life goals (and your giving!). Finally, Fellow Esther Howe led a yoga session to promote self-care among a group that works so hard caring for others. 

If you know of a young woman who you believe would be a great addition to our team, please let her know she has until March 18 to submit the 2018 Fellowship Application.

Corporate Sponsor of Philanthropy Dialogues:


 

Copyright © 2018 The Philanthropy Connection. All rights reserved.
Contact email: connect@thephilanthropyconnection.org

The Philanthropy Connection’s mission is to inspire and enable a community of women to learn, grow, and engage in collective giving to support nonprofit organizations that address systemic inequities impacting individuals and families within the greater Boston area.

Email: connect@thephilanthropyconnection.org
Phone: 617-544-7812

TPC members include all women who identify as cisgender, transgender, agender, gender queer, and femme. TPC welcomes everyone for whom “woman” is a meaningful identifier or experience.

TPC qualifies as a public charity under section 501(c)(3) for US tax purposes. Our EIN is #46-0665444.