Location: Seasons, 644 Pascack Road, Township of Washington, NJ
Cost: $125 per person
Honoring Extraordinary Bergen County Women Including Two Ridgewood ResidentsYWCA Bergen County has announced on May 9, 2016 the organization will mark its 95th anniversary with “95 Years of Walking the Talk: A Celebration of YWCA Bergen County,” at Seasons in Washington Twp., NJ.
This will be a unique event for YWCA Bergen County and for its supporters. “We are planning an elegant, full-scale celebration,” says CEO Helen Archontou. “We want to draw in the entire community—members past and present, young families, with a special focus on welcoming men—as we take this moment to celebrate all that we’ve been, all that we are, and all that we will be.”
At the heart and center of the celebration are four incredible women:
• Joan Groome, Executive Director of the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce and former YW Development Director will be honorary legacy host. “Joan’s dedication to YWCA Bergen County helped build our organization and she continues to inspire us,” says YW CEO Helen Archontou.
• Ridgewood’s own Charlotte Samuels will receive YWCA Bergen County Young Leader Award. “Charlotte is an incredible young woman. Her achievements as an athlete and swimmer only begin to showcase her power and integrity.”
• Gina Plotino, a member of Women United in Philanthropy, and VP of Operations at Bergen County United Way will receive our YWCA Bergen County Beacon of Light Award for her dedication to lifting up and mentoring women and girls.
• Assemblywoman Valerie Vaineri Huttle will receive our YWCA Bergen County Woman of Action Award for her courageous work around key individual rights issues including ending campus sexual violence. Archontou says, “Valerie has been a friend to the YW and to all women as she courageously takes on the most meaningful battles.”
The program will also feature five “stand out” men from our community who will be there to “stand up” for Bergen County women.
Tom Toronto, President of Bergen County United Way; Anthony Cureton, President Bergen County, NJ NAACP; AJ Luna, Director of Bergen County, NJ Veterans
Services; Jeremy Lentz, Executive Director of the Teaneck International Film Festival; and Anthony Johnson, WABC-TV News journalist.
We will also take time out to “cut loose” on the dance floor. Arthur Murray Ridgewood has generously agreed to lead a special “Dancing through the Decades” feature.
Ridgewood resident Nell Doremus started the YW back in 1920 as a way to support single women who wanted to work and live on their own. Her dream has given way to a profound local legacy of service and support as YWCA Bergen County has pursued its mission of eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, dignity, and freedom for all, spreading its work beyond Ridgewood and throughout Bergen County.
“We are so very excited about honoring these remarkable women and about this fundraising and awareness building celebration,” says Archontou. “It’s a chance to open the community’s eyes to the full range of our programs and services.”