Dear Ariel,
A huge thank you for making our second Giving and
Activism Retreat such a resounding success. The
energy, active participation and commitment of all
those gathered in Dallas was truly inspiring. We were
deeply moved by the tremendous love and support
you showed to Astraea on Sunday morning. It was a
special moment that will be etched in our hearts and
minds forever. And it was a perfect send-off for
many of us who then traveled on to other social
justice conferences.
Wendy and I flew straight from Dallas to Mexico for
the International Network of Women's Funds strategy
meeting. Immediately following that, we attended
the Money and Movements conference organized by
the Association of Women's Rights In Development.
Joo-Hyun and other Astraea staff and grantee
partners traveled to Kansas City for NGLTF's Creating
Change conference where they participated in panels
including "Advancing Racial, Economic and Gender
Justice." Organized by Astraea, it featured several
of our grantee partners.
Back in New York, we have just posted an array of
materials for you to view on the Astraea
website.
You can view both the Retreat photo gallery as well
as the Astraea video - which had its very
special
debut with you in Dallas! Please encourage your
friends and colleagues to visit our site so they too
can learn more about Astraea.
If you haven't yet filled out an evaluation form,
please do so right here online. Your feedback--in
addition to ideas and information generated while we
were all together--will be of great help in assessing
lessons learned and planning next steps.
We look forward to sharing with you the array of
creative strategies you generated in the Sunday
breakout session, Astraea Moving Forward,
geared toward our upcoming 30th Anniversary year.
We were encouraged that so many of you are eager
to participate.
Within the next week you will receive an official
pledge form with a request to complete and return to
Astraea. And as promised, we will send you the
names and emails of all Retreat participants as well.
Again, we extend our appreciation for your
participation and commitment to Astraea and the
LGBTI social justice feminist
movement. Together, we are truly "building the
bridge as we walk on it."
Warmly,
Katherine
Katherine Acey, Executive Director
Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice
