Women Empowerment Club at RFH has Successful First Year

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RUMSON – A new organization at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, Global Women Empowerment, enjoyed a highly successful inaugural year, with many activities and fundraising events benefitting the cause of improving the lives of women around the globe.
The organization, founded by rising seniors Hope Haywood and Alexandra Siwulec with social studies teacher Christie Ferraris, raised more than $3,700 in the course of its first year at RFH.
The group’s most recent fundraising event was an infant-themed candy and baked goods sale which raised more than $650 for the Eastern Social Welfare Society (ESWS). The ESWS is dedicated to the welfare of orphans and single mothers in South Korea, and with the funds raised, the RFH club was able to become a permanent sponsor of a South Korean orphan.
To further the group’s awareness of issues affecting women living in South Korea, Siwulec invited Monmouth County resident Eleanor Falcichio to speak to the organization members. Falcichio told the students about her experience with adopting through ESWS, and addressed the social stigma surrounding single motherhood and adoption in South Korea.
Among the successful fundraising and awareness events the organization held this year were:

  • A lollipop sale benefitting Dining for Dignity, which raised $433 in an effort to end human trafficking in New Jersey. The group communicated by Skype with Kelly Master, the president of the organization, to learn more about how to help deter the growth of this multibillion dollar industry
  • A bake sale that raised $120 for Women Thrive Worldwide, the leading nonprofit organization bringing the voices of women around the world directly to decision-makers in Washington, D.C.
  • The sale of bracelets with the message “Education is Empowerment, which raised more than $1,000 and allowed Daisy, a teenager living in Uganda, to attend high school for one year through the organization Change a Life Uganda
  • A bake sale benefitting Karapatan, a human rights organization, that raised $142 for female victims of the November 2013 typhoon in the Philippines
  • The co-sponsoring of a screening of the powerful film “Girl Rising”
  • A screening of the film, “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity,” which raised $149 for KIVA, a nonprofit organization providing loans to female entrepreneurs in developing countries.

Global Women Empowerment plans to continue and expand its efforts to raise funds, spread awareness, and empower women around the globe during the upcoming school year and in those that follow.
“We are thrilled to have had such a successful year and grateful to the support of club members and those that financially supported our fundraising,” Siwulec said.  “We hope to continue to make a difference in the lives of women around the globe next year.”

In addition to Co-Presidents Hope Haywood and Alexandra Siwulec, officers include Annie O’Brien, Shoshana Swell, Sarah Turi, and Payton Wall.