Congratulations to the Working Group on Girls of Schenectady on winning Women United's Perfect Pitch tonight at Brown's Revolution Hall! Women United's signature event, Perfect Pitch, is a "Shark Tank-style" competition at which four local nonprofits "pitched" an idea for an innovative program that supports Women United's mission of advancing women’s rights and health and educational and economic equity for all women in the Greater Capital Region. 

Delivered by Board Co-Presidents Chinira Lovick and Monique Wade, the Working Group on Girls of Schenectady pitched an original program called FRESH (Food, Resiliency, Education, Socialization, and Health). FRESH's main benefits are educating, empowering, mentoring, and providing sustainable life skills to young women in the Schenectady community. FRESH will be a holistic program including several components: mentorship, leadership, gardening, farm-to-table, health and wellness, entrepreneurship, social-emotional learning, and community service.

Congratulations to the Capital District Recovery Center (CDRC), which was chosen by tonight's audience to receive the Sunmark Charitable Community Foundation Fan Favorite Award! CDRC will receive a $2,500 grant courtesy of our partners at Sunmark.

Delivered by Board President Deborah Eley, CDRC pitched an idea to expand its Trauma Workshop for Women and the Social Determinants of Health program.  This initiative grew out of recognizing that men and women need separate supports that recognize the specifics of women’s diverse experiences and needs. 

The proposed workshop focuses exclusively on women participants and centers on how gender impacts health inequities and social determinants of health. Being trauma-informed helps those in recovery to understand themselves and why they began using, their need for emotional safety, the universal need for healthy coping skills and connections, and their right to feel calm and good about themselves.

L to R: Cinnamon Carlarne, Vera Cohen, Jennifer Keida, Leola Edelin, Carrie Hillenbrandt

The toughest job in the building went to our Sharks, who were tasked with picking a winner after hearing four amazing pitches last night. In addition to being business leaders in the Capital Region, each of these women has prioritized giving back to the community.

Immediately before the night's winners were announced, our Sharks surprised the audience by combining to donate an additional $3,500 to the contestants! We can't thank them enough for their generosity and support of Women United and its partners. 

Read their bios

Women United is a group of energetic, passionate, and philanthropic women empowered by the United Way of the Greater Capital Region (UWGCR) to make a true impact in our community. Our many and diverse experiences moving through the world as women inform how we mobilize change to invest in, advocate for, and host events with a mission to drive equity and excellence for all women.   

In 2024, Women United will focus on organizations that address women’s rights, center women’s experiences, and look at the social determinants of health that affect women in the Capital Region. We recognize that women experience the health, education, and economic systems differently, and we know that programs designed to support the health and well-being of women are not prioritized and adequately resourced. This past year, we have been active and vocal in what needs to be done to support the well-being of women.  

• During International Women’s Day, panelists spoke about gender health inequity in this country. Women in America are unwell. We’re sicker, more stressed, and die younger compared to women in other high-income countries. Key findings highlighted the maternal mortality crisis in this country, death from preventable disease (being a woman is not a disease), higher rates of chronic illness, and bias in the healthcare system. In its Health Equity Impact Assessment legislation and statute, NYS Department of Health categorizes “women” as a medically underserved class.  
   
• In May, we advocated on Menstrual Equity Day, asking New York lawmakers to provide sufficient funding for free and consistent access to menstrual hygiene products in all public schools, NYS facilities, pantries, shelters, and correctional facilities. Menstruation should not prevent or limit any girl, woman, or person who menstruates from participating in their daily lives, yet for many, it does.  We will keep this on the agenda for the 2024 legislative session and the 2025 Budget.   
   
• We are working to ensure nutrition security is equitable. 53% of SNAP participants in NYS are in households with children. Recent data on participation show that women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities were likelier to participate in SNAP, the bedrock nutrition and anti-hunger program in this country. This fall, we will continue to keep the pressure on state and federal lawmakers for key nutrition programs that, if not passed and/or not sufficiently resourced, will have an inequitable negative impact on women and children. 

Post-pandemic, we know that many families, especially those headed by women, are struggling to make ends meet.  74% of these households in New York are below the ALICE threshold, meaning they do not have enough to afford their essentials for housing, food, education, health, and transportation (2023 ALICE Report). The pandemic showed us possibilities and promises of reducing poverty, supporting nutrition security for kids and their families, and increasing health access; however, many of these supports and programs have ‘returned to normal,’ meaning we are reversing course. 

We know there is much to be done. Our goal with Perfect Pitch is to help shine a light on the importance of women’s health, education, and economic equity, uplift outstanding leaders and efforts in this space, and generate community-wide discussion and advocacy for positive change. Our intention with Perfect Pitch is to encourage organizations with their new initiatives to lean into something promising or to support their work in changing the dominant narrative molding women. While not every organization will walk away with the grant, we can promise that each finalist will walk away with a network of people who want to support this work and will follow that up with action.