Advocates For Women Logo

Together, the Advocates work with organizations that help women overcome societal, political, or economic limitations that are imposed based on their gender. We leverage the support pledged by our generous congregation for Social Justice work by raising funds for organizations working in Puget Sound and around the world. Although the pandemic has limited many in-person fundraisers, we have continued to raise funds online. When proposing a beneficiary, whether for an Advocates fundraiser or for the  Sunday offering, we extensively research relevant organizations,  reviewing their track record and looking for projects where our gifts can have a significant impact. Since 2011, we have donated over $52,000!

 

Want to know more about us and our current activities?

If you are curious about our group or have a question, please go to our About Us page or email Advocates for Women. To learn about our upcoming events, check out our calendar. You might also be interested in learning about our Advocacy and Awareness projects.

Our Projects

Worldwide Fistula  – ongoing from 2011. $8848 was donated from 2013-2022 to Worldwide Fistula (formerly One by One), a Seattle/Chicago based organization that helps cure women in Africa of this debilitating condition. Watch this video to learn more.

2021-2022

I Support the Girls. Our fall fundraiser raised $1264 to purchase personal products for Afghan refugee women and girls arriving in the United States.

The Hungarian Unitarian Church’s Ukrainian Refugee Program. We donated $1000 to aid refugees, mostly women and children, after the Russian invasion.

Myers Midwifery Program at Bastyr – Our gift of $800 will help train midwives of color in our region.

Planned Parenthood Spokane ($600) and Bellingham ($600). We donated funds for reproductive healthcare at these sites because Bellingham has no secular hospital beds and Spokane is seeing many patients from Idaho.

I need an Abortion. This organization provides consolidated online information on abortion access across the country. Our spring fundraiser provided most of $650 that was donated.

2020-2021

YWCA of Seattle. We donated $1000 for emergency housing, thanks to the Social Justice pledge funds.

Girls on the Run. To enable a middle school girl to join the program, we provided $340 of our pledge funds to train.

YWCA Pathways for Women: collaboration with the Racial Justice and Community Engagement committees to raise $491 for essential hair and skin care products for women of color.

Innovations Human Trafficking Collective: Our $500 gift will help fund “flee kits” for native women escaping the sex trade, primarily in Thurston County.

Kitchen Box collections for Afghan refugees, we provided materials to help set up kitchens in multiple households. 

2018-2019

Peoria Home in Everett. Attendees at our Reproductive Justice event donated $460 worth of bus passes and gift cards for women leaving the sex trade.

Pathways for Women and Snohomish County Domestic Violence Services. Thanks to our congregation, we raised $1235 to purchase over 100 pillows to provide women in housing transition.

Planned Parenthood of St. Louis and SW Missouri. Due to additional pledge funding, we were able to donate $1500 to Planned Parent in a state where reproductive rights have been increasingly curtailed.

Sexual Violence Law Center – Our gift of $1500 to this organization was made possible by the generosity of our congregation members. This organization provides legal services for survivors of sexual violence in Washington state, as well as resources to survivors, attorneys, and prevention programs. 

Caring and Sharing: Ethnic products. Advocates for Women and the Racial Justice Committee collaborated to raise $527 to purchase ethnic skin care products, an unmet need in shelters in our area. These were donated to Pathways for Women and Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County for use by their residents of color.

Pathways for Women and Snohomish County Domestic Violence Services. Attendees at our educational event on Gender Equity in America donated $550 worth of gift cards for local grocery and variety stores to be used by clients. 

Native Action Network. This organization celebrates accomplishments of Native women elders and looks to the future with their leadership programs for young Native women of Washington. We were pleased to donate $3800 from a benefit dinner to this organization!

Pathways for Women. In this all-ages project (Awash with Quarters), the congregation was invited to donate quarters for clients to use in washers and dryers at the facility. $515 was raised!

The Malala Fund. $3300 was raised at our benefit dinner to help Syrian refugee girls, as well as girls in South Asia, achieve a quality high school education.

Pathways for Women (2016-2018). Small gift items were donated each June and December for women in housing transition who are served by the YWCA of Everett.

2015-2017

Tomorrow’s Hope Child Development Center in Everett. Our Girl Power Book Drive collected 100 new books for children who are homeless or in housing transition.

Days for Girls. At our benefit and concert, we raised $3400 to help teen girls in Africa remain in school by providing reusable feminine kits and teaching about hygiene. Our donation will help the Edmonds chapter establish a program in Swaziland.

REST – Real Escape from the Sex Trade. Our benefit dinner raised $2900  for REST, which provides direct services to some of the hundreds of women and girls who are sold for sex each night in our area.

Salaam Cultural Museum Sewing Project $3700 was donated to the Seattle-based organization for their Sewing Project at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, which teaches the refugee women to sew and to market their finished pieces. We also conducted a Baby Box Drive to provide items at the camp.

Tomorrow’s Hope $2,400 was raised to meet the critical needs of homeless and low-income children for quality daycare in Snohomish County.

Mary’s Place. $3964 was raised at our benefit dinner to help homeless women rebuild their lives at Mary’s Place day shelter in Seattle. We also collected personal care items, which are in short supply for homeless women.

Sahar. Our donation helped Sahar provide educational opportunities for Afghan children and build connections between Afghans and Americans.

Landesa Girls’ Project. $2700 was raised to help provide micro-plots to girls in West Bengal, India, and to teach them about farming, nutrition, and property rights. The resulting income helps them stay in school, decreases child marriage, and combats malnutrition.

Young Women Empowered. $2300 was raised to help teen women and youth in the Puget Sound build confidence, resilience, and leadership skills. Half of those served are immigrants and 85% are young women of color.

2011-2014

Mary’s Place. $3964 was raised at our benefit dinner to help homeless women rebuild their lives at Mary’s Place day shelter in Seattle. We also collected Personal care items, which are in short supply for homeless women

Sahar. Our donation helped Sahar provide educational opportunities for Afghan children and build connections between Afghans and Americans.

Mujeres de Maiz Opportunity Fund. $2450 was raised to help support a seamstress cooperative in Chiapas, Mexico, providing educational opportunities and other benefits important for learning such as eye exams.

Youthcare Bridge Shelter. Our benefit raised $1044 for YouthCare’s Bridge shelter which provides beds and services to youth who have been trafficked.

Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWA). From 2022-2014 Small gift bags (24 per year) were given to graduates of the ReWA classes in domestic violence.

Women for Women International. Our first benefit raised $1700 which was donated to help provide women survivors of war and civil strife with the resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency.