FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 28th, 2015
“Connecting for Women Empowerment”
GC4W celebrates “International Women’s Day” in Washington DC
New York, January 28th, 2015 – On Saturday March 7th, 2015, the Global Connections for Women Foundation (GC4W), the international non-profit organization dedicated to connecting, educating and empowering women and young girls around the globe, plans its annual festivities for the 2015 GC4W International Women’s Day Awards & Benefit Gala celebration on Saturday, March 7, 2015 at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The proceeds from this event will be used to fund the GC4W Community Development & Empowerment Programs that supports initiatives such as the Karamajiji New School Development Project for disable girls and GC4W Women Empowerment Workshops.
Building on the wildly successful inaugural celebration at the Harvard Club of New York in 2014, GC4W continues its rich tradition and important work of recognizing and celebrating women leaders from around the globe who are making a difference in the fight for women empowerment. The theme for the 2015 GC4W International Women’s Day Awards & Benefit Gala celebration will be “Connecting for Women Empowerment” as GC4W focuses attention towards progress on the 3rd Goal of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations. GC4W was founded in response to this UN mandate and the foundation’s aim to enrich the lives of 100 thousand women and youth by the end of 2015 is strategically aligned to support its achievement.
The 2015 International Women’s Day celebration will be highlighted by a keynote address from the Former President of Malawi Dr. Joyce Banda, one of the very first Female Presidents in Africa. Honorable Dr. Banda will focus her remarks on the importance of investing in young girls and women. As with past award recipients such as Jenna Fernandes, Denise Ajayi-Williams, Amy Hixon, Teresa Clarke, Chief Temitope Ajayi, and the Honorable U. Joy Ogwu, Dr. Banda represents a 2015 class of honorees that hail from both the public and private sectors, including prominent global women leaders, CEOs, NGO leaders, Government officials, Magazine Editors, Grammy Award Winner, GC4W Champions, and Several others. Honorees will descend on Washington DC from diverse geographical origins with dignitaries and social innovators traveling from the United Kingdom, Malawi, Uganda, Nigeria, United States, Canada, and more to join the celebration.
“Simon Venture Group is honored to receive the Corporate Contribution & Leadership Award on International Women’s Day. Women-owned and founded companies are a critical component of the overall transformation taking place in the fashion and retail industry today. We are excited to be investing in the future of retail alongside so many outstanding business leaders. We hope that even more women are inspired to take the risk to start their own company and create technology solutions that continue to innovate the overall shopping experience, ” J. Skyler Fernandes, Managing Director of Simon Venture Group.
New for 2015, GC4W will be presenting the first ever “Corporate Contribution & Leadership Awards” to two (2) outstanding companies who have excelled in their commitment to women empowerment – Intel and Simon Venture Group. This distinction, along with honorees from organizations such as the United States Congress, UN Women, United Nations Foundation, Nigeria Ministry of Health, NYC Department of Finance, Clinton Foundation, Samsung, Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, Comms Axis, Black Enterprise, Small Biz Lady, Women in AV, and Love Social to name a few, underscore the strides and progress made in the areas of women empowerment and gender equality, in large part due to the continuing efforts of leaders like our “Global Women Champions”.
For 2015, GC4W will move its International Women’s Day celebration to the Library of Congress, a storied landmark in the nation’s capital of Washington, DC. The Global Connections for Women Foundation Founder and Executive Director Lilian O. Ajayi commented on the site selection for this year’s host city, “Washington DC is a vibrant global hub not just for power and politics, but for social change and transformational leadership – which our host committee describes as the perfect site to celebrate the GC4W International Women’s Day Awards & Benefit Gala.”
“Our reasoning for choosing the Library of Congress as the site for the upcoming GC4W International Women’s Day celebration is because our organization’s mission is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda and Millennium Development Goals – particularly the 3rd goal, which is to ‘promote gender equality and empower women’ originally set to be achieved by 2015. We felt the enormous duty to celebrate this hallmark achievement at a historical location that represents freedom, justice and equality – which are at the core of what the Library of Congress stands for” said Lilian O. Ajayi, Global Connections for Women Foundation Founder and Executive Director.
With the Library of Congress cemented as a backdrop, this year’s celebration will benefit from a strong list of sponsors and media partners including the United Nations Foundation, Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, Workingmomin20s.com, Jet Blue Airways, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Farmers Insurance, The Resolution Project, Arik Air, Black Enterprise, Diplomatic Courier, Africa.com, Applause Africa, MUIPR among others.
The upcoming GC4W International Women’s Day Awards & Benefit extravaganza, hosted by Amy Hixson, Former Victoria Secret model and Tech CEO, and Shannon LaNier, Arise Entertainment 360 National TV host and National TV Correspondent for Black Enterprise, is an opportunity not only to highlight what these wondrous women have been able to achieve for themselves and their larger communities but also celebrate their willingness to join the fight and engage in our global struggle to achieve women empowerment and gender equality. Moreover, the Global Connections for Women Foundation views the 2015 celebration in Washington DC as a forum where these powerful women can connect with one another, converse on how to keep the momentum going and share their inspiring stories with others to ensure continued progress – and importantly, provide their support for the GC4W Community Development & Empowerment Programs.
About GC4W: With a goal to enrich the lives of 100,000 thousand women and girls, the Global Connections for Women Foundation has quickly grown into one of the leading international non-profits of the millennium in the areas of gender equality and women empowerment. The Global Connections for Women foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization – all donations and contributions are tax-deductible.
If you are interested in participating in this celebration, please purchase your tickets here.
For more information or if you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact us at champions@gc4women.org and press@gc4women.org for Media relations.
To learn more about this momentous event, please visit http://www.internationalwomensday.com/gc4w or www.gc4women.org.
