By Kaitlin Candelaria
Party smarter, not harder – that’s the premise behind the Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham’s fourth annual Smart Party.
The party, set for Oct. 29 at Iron City, is an innovative approach that combines social media, crowdfunding and cocktails, all while honoring 10 extraordinary Birmingham women.
The women, who are nominated and voted on by the Women’s Fund board and past honorees, will compete online leading up to the party to raise money and awareness about women living in poverty.
“Four years ago, we were looking for a signature event and our board was willing to take a risk and try something new and it’s been extremely successful and a lot of fun,” Women’s Fund President and CEO Jeanne Jackson said. “You win the event in one of two ways. One way is that you raise the most money and the other is by being the most social; so through Facebook and Twitter, you encourage your friends to look at our page and funnel activity to our page.”
During the party, attendees can keep up with all the action by watching the live leader board. Junior League volunteers also will be on hand with iPads to take down donations. The winners will receive stellar prizes, including a trip to Seattle to tour Microsoft and Boeing’s headquarters for the top fundraiser and an in-home dinner with wine pairings prepared by Mountain Brook chef Julie Grimes for the most social.
The party is just one way the Women’s Fund is finding innovative ways to change the lives of women in Birmingham.
“The Women’s Fund’s mission is to move women beyond poverty,” Jackson said. “What we’re really focused on now is the high percentage of single moms in poverty. Our focus is how to address that devastating problem because if a mom is in poverty, there’s a good chance her child is, too.”
The Women’s Fund conducts research on issues that impact women and girls to ensure all its actions are data driven.
“We realize that it’s hard and complex to move women out of poverty so we encourage collaboration among agencies – we call it a collective impact,” Jackson said. Through this wrap-around approach, the Women’s Fund takes agencies that provide individual services for women such as free education or free childcare and creates partnerships between the two to address more needs.
“We support cross-sector agencies working together,” Jackson said. “It could be a community college and a Head Start program. It could be a housing program and savings program so she can get her credit in good shape. The third thing that we do is we advocate for public policies that impact women.”
The Women’s Fund originally was a component of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. When it broke off into its own 501c3 organization four years ago, Jackson assumed leadership, and the fund has been growing ever since.
“We invested $80,000 in the community our first year,” Jackson said. “Last year, we invested $525,000.”
One of this year’s honorees, Dr. Allison Black Gregg understands firsthand through her job how important the Women’s Fund is, not only for women, but for their children, as well.
“I think that especially in my job, I see a lot of women who have dreams and a huge potential but due to their circumstances weren’t able to live up to what they could do,” Gregg said. “When you educate a woman, you educate her family. So many women are the rock of their family and community, so we can help them attain their goals and live up to their potential and others will fall behind.”
Gregg is a Birmingham native and a neonatologist. She serves as a faculty member at UAB in the department of neonatology as well as serving as the NICU director for Shelby Baptist Medical Center in Alabaster and the director of neonatology at Grandview Hospital, formerly Trinity Medical Center.
“It’s my ideal job,” Gregg said. “Throughout medical school, I tried to keep an open mind but there’s something to me about pediatrics that’s different than other medicine. Kids just constantly surprise you with how resilient they are and how tough they can be. As far as the NICU goes specifically, it is an ICU so I love the fast pace and I found that I was able to bond with a lot of these families.”
Black describes the feeling of watching a child whose survival was once questionable walk back into a NICU months or even years later as her favorite part of her job.
“On a daily basis, my job makes me realize how fortunate I am to have three healthy children,” she said.
Black said she always encourages women to go after things they are passionate about.
“If it is something that you truly love, a profession or something you want to do with your life, then you need to pursue it,” she said. “There are obstacles that will come in your way – ‘How do I have a family? How do I keep hobbies?’ – but you will find a way to make it work.”
She loves the Women’s Fund because it enables women to take those goals and turn them into reality, she said.
“This organization says not only can you do this, but we’ll give you a way,” Gregg said. “Here’s the roadmap.”
Gregg is one of 10 women being honored at this year’s Smart Party. She joins Michelle Bearman-Wolnek, Elizabeth Hughey Brantley, Myla Calhoun, Anne Copeland, Lara Embry, Ph.D., Cynthia Lamar Hart, Sally Mackin, Elizabeth Featheringill Pharo and Anuradha “Anu” Rao, MD. Jackson describes their honorees as “unique, smart, under the radar women” who are making a difference in the Birmingham community.
For more information on the Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham or to purchase tickets for the Smart Party, visit www.womensfundbirmingham.org. The event will also be live streamed at www.womensfund.smartparty.org.
