WomenewsW o m e n ' s C e n t e r o f M o n t g o m e r y C o u n t y

A p r i l 2 0 1 6 w w w . w c m o n t c o . o r g

WomenewsThe Women's Center of Montgomery County Champagne Brunch Celebrating our 40th Year

Empowering Women, Serving Victims of Domestic Violence, and Working Together with our Volunteers and Members to Improve our Community!

Honoring Michael Smerconish

with Distinguished Panelists Valerie Arkoosh, MD Valentino F. DiGiorgio, III Marcel Groen Farah Jimenez

May 1st 2016 at the Meadowlands Country Club

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Volunteers and staff from the Women's Center joined more than 100 advocates from across the state at our Capitol in Harrisburg on April 11th to advocate for victims of domestic violence as part of our Crime Victims Rights Week com-memoration.

We would like to thank Represen-tatives Stephens, Murt, Quigley and Vereb and Senator Mensch for their warm welcomes!

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Seeking Interested, Committed and Qualifi ed Candidates toJoin the Women’s Center of Montgomery County Board of Directors

Once again it is that time of year when we are in search of prospective nominees for Board candidacy. If you or someone you know would consider serving our Center at this level, please feel free to discuss with a Committee member or our executive director at our Elkins Park Offi ce (215-635-7340). We are at present seeking persons with expertise/interest in the areas of fi nance, development and/or strategic planning, as well as connections to local corporations.

Interested potential candidates can also contact our Governance Committee Chair via email at:bethfrubin@msn.com.

Please remember this is YOUR board and its composition and service refl ects your interests and concerns. Your input is of great value to those of us currently on Board. We appreciate and honor each of you for all that you do. We look forward to hearing from you!

WCMC BOARD GOVERNANCE COMMITTEEBeth Rubin, Chairperson

Save The Date

Sunday, July 31st - 12th Annual 5K Run/3K Walk - Turn the Tide of Domestic Violence

Sunday, October 16th - 3rd Annual Concert to Benefi t the Women's Center with nxt2normal

Details : www.wcmontco.org

Board of Directors News

The next meeting of the Women’s Center of Montgomery County Board of Directors will be held on Thursday, May 19th at 6:45 pm in our Colmar offi ce at 2506 N. Broad Street in the Walton Meeting Room.

The June Board meeting and Annual Membership meeting is tentatively scheduled for Thursday June 23rd at 6:45 pm at our Elkins Park location in the ground fl oor Community Room.

Board meetings are open to current members of the Center.

Also, as a reminder, current members can also join most of our Board committees. If you have an interest on serving on our standing committees – Finance, Special Events, Planning, Governance or Development – please contact our President Sandy Capps c/o the Elkins Park offi ce.

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BILLS NEEDING ADVOCACY FROM YOU!By Donna J. Byrne, Outreach Coordinator

Last Friday (4/29/16) the Bucks-Mont Collaborative hosted a forum with area legislators and their staff in Colmar to have an exchange about proposed legislation and understand how to better advocate for their pas-sage. One of the three topic areas discussed was Women and Families. Below are the talking points dis-cussed, developed by Maggie Leigh Groff of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. with minor edits.

HB 1051 – Amending the Landlord Tenant Act (Lead Sponsor Rep. Madeleine Dean) This amendment would allow a tenant who is a vic m of domes c violence, sexual assault or stalk-

ing to change his or her locks or prematurely terminate a lease for safety reasons.

Recently the proposed bill was been amended to require that a temporary protec on-from-abuse order (TPO) be in place in order to be eligible for this relief, cos ng the vic m me, expense and further jeopardizing safety.

As advocates, we know that for many women a TPO is not always a viable or priority strategy for becoming safer. There are other op ons that may sa sfy the requirement for eligibility in place of a TPO, such as police reports, Dr. or hospital records, and/or a le er from the WCMC a es ng to hav-ing received services ( with permission, of course).

HB 1176/SB 40 – Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: Women make up about half the work force (and ALL of the pregnant workers!)

Although every woman may not need them, reasonable accommoda ons such as access to drinking water, assistance li ing heavy objects, restroom breaks, and a chair or stool to sit periodically, will protect pregnant women and support working families. The proposed bill ensures employers need comply as long as the accommoda on does not impose an undue hardship.

Re Federal law, the Pregnancy Discrimina on Act only applies to employers with 15 or more em-ployees

Many neighboring states have passed laws to protect pregnant workers – NJ, NY, MD, DE. PA should do the same.

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HB 1 100/SB 1196 – Workplace Accomodations for Nursing Mothers Act: Breas eeding has many health benefi ts for women and babies. Yet, some women in PA are being

forced to pump milk in unsanitary places (restrooms), or are not given enough break me to pump.

Although the ACA and federal Fair Labor Standards Act provide some protec ons, they do not cover everyone. This bill would provide employees with unpaid break me and a private, clean place to pump, as long as it does not provide an undue hardship to the employer.

Re the two bills above: Please cosponsor these bills and encourage their passage. It’s sad that the PA House will a empt to push a sweeping abor on ban bill (HB 1948) in just a few days, but won’t push legisla on that will actually help pregnant women and nursing mothers.

HB 1160/SB 303 – Equal Pay Act: PA women earn less than the na onal average and are on track to not achieve equal pay un l

2072, as opposed to 2058 for other states. Of course, neither meline is acceptable. The 2072 projec on is based on the meline for white women. The situa on is even worse for women of color.

Current PA law is not adequate – pay discrimina on is diffi cult to detect and to prove.

Equal pay would reduce poverty by half for all families with a working woman, and for a woman living alone.

The bill would prohibit wage secrecy, thereby clarifying the reasons employers can use to jus fy pay disparity, improve remedies, and expand the popula on protected by the law.

Encourage legislators to cosponsor and encourage passage of the bill.

ACTION STEPS: If you don’t know your legislators, go to www.legis.state.pa.us and click on “Find Your Legislator.”

Go to www.palegis.us/bills and enter the Bill number to see if your legislators have signed on to the Bill.

Contact them:

- Thank them if they have signed on to the Bill in ques on

- If they haven’t signed on, ask them to do that. If they don’t support it, ask for the reason, so we can work on addressing their concerns. Then email me at dbyrne@womenscentermc.org, so I can follow up.

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On Sunday, April 3rd at the William Penn Inn, the Women’s Center of Montgomery County, in partnership with the law fi rm of Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg & Giff ord, held our fi rst Annual Toby Lynn Dickman Award Presentation, honoring the valuable contributions and the legacy of The Honorable Toby Lynn Dickman. Toby was a beloved advocate for children and victims of domestic violence, a devoted civic leader and community volunteer, and supportive friend to the Women’s Center of Montgomery County.

As our 1st annual Toby Dickman Honoree, the Event Committee selected her daughter, Sarah Armstrong, who this month will be graduating from the Annapolis Naval Academy and following in her mother’s tradition of service.

Our Speakers for the event included her husband John Armstrong and friend Mark Dischell, Esquire.

The Board of Directors and Staff of the Women’s Center gratefully acknowledge the dedicated eff orts of the Event Committee members in coordinating this successful celebration of Toby’s accomplishments and legacy. Our sincerest thanks to:

Jay Glickman, EsquireAmy Stern, EsquireMarguerite Nocchi, EsquireDavid CramerJonathan Klass, Committee Chair

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The Women's Center of Montgomery County Champagne Brunch Celebrating our 40th Year , May 1st 2016

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May 1st 2016 Champagne Brunch Celebrating 40 Years of Empowering Women

The Board of Directors and Staff of the Women’s Center of Montgomery County would like to recognize the amazing efforts of our

Special Event Co-Chairwomen

Rosalie Marcus and Donna Jarrett-Kane With the loving guidance of

Andi Seidner

We offer our heartfelt admiration and gratitude for your hard work, vision and dedication in putting together a wonderful event!

You have truly done a wonderful job!

We also want to express our sincerest gratitude and regard to

Stephanie Seidner

who lent her amazing creative talents to embody our theme in the decorations, displays and centerpieces!

and

Our deep regard, affection and regard goes out to our

Moderator and Emcee

Larry Kane

Who gives tirelessly, passionately and skillfully each year to ensure the success of our special events, thus securing and safeguarding the future of the

Women’s Center of Montgomery County.

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DATED MATERIAL

Womenews Newsletter Copyright WCMC 2016. Produced by the staff and volunteers of the Women's Center of Montgomery County.

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Women's Center of Montgomery County8080 Old York Road, Suite 200Elkins Park, PA 19027

Women's Center of Montgomery County

Elkins Park Offi ce

215-635-7344

FAX: 215-635-7347

Thrift Shop: 215-885-0651

Norristown Offi ce

610-279-1548

FAX: 610-279-7740

Pottstown Offi ce

610-970-7363

FAX: 610-970-0705

Bryn Mawr Offi ce

610-525-1427

FAX: 610-525-1429

Colmar Offi ce

215-996-0721

FAX: 215-996-0725

www.wcmontco.org

1-800-773-2424

201 Leedom Street, Jenkintown, PA 19046

215-885-0651

Monday - Friday10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Saturday10:00 am to 4:00pm

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