Welcome to our first WECS Newsletter!  We heard from you in our latest WE WINGS survey:  "We want to know even more about what is going on with WECS and our WINGS scholars!"  AS WECS works to continue to evolve and grow in ways that further our mission, our new level of partnership with WE is front and center. This year's WECS theme, "Engage, Inspire, Give Back", is a direct reflection of WE's theme and something we can all rally around. The WECS board hopes that this bi-annual newsletter will not only share the latest information but also Inspire you to be Engaged with WINGS in new ways and Give Back to our remarkable, unique and life-changing organization and the women we touch.

Thank you for being a part of WINGS. Please feel free to contact me or any of our WECS board members directly with any questions or ideas.  We look forward to your feedback and involvement in 2014 and years to come.

Cindy Quinlan
WECS Board Chair '13-'15

WECS News:
•   Donating online is now available!  Here is a quick and easy way to send your support to WINGS via our new website.

•   The new WECS gift acceptance policy is now online.  Did you know gifts of all sizes (monetary, stock, real estate, other) are graciously accepted and will help you leave a legacy with WINGS?

•   WECS added a new Board role this year, the Scholar Relations Chair. Monti Becker Kelly is working hard at building relationships with our scholars and graduates as she crafts this new role into an important source of feedback for our WECS board.

•   Survey results coming soon! Thank you to the 106 WE members who completed this fall's survey and provided WECS with valuable feedback. Look for more details in coming editions of this newsletter.

A Tribute to Anne Doss
Although it has been a few months since we lost Anne Doss, we still feel her in our midst, in particular when the WECS board meets and we talk about our mission in which Anne believed so deeply:  to lift up and support the extraordinary women who are our WINGS scholars.  At the Doss family's request, WINGS was designated as the organization to which the family wanted donations to be made in Anne's memory, and the outpouring has been incredible.  We are still receiving donations, and will work closely with the family in the upcoming months to find an appropriate scholarship or other vehicle in which to create a way to ensure that the WINGS mission continues long into the future.

Fall 2013 WINGS Scholar Event
The WINGS Mission in Action
A core component to the WINGS mission is helping our scholars to feel empowered not only in their educational pursuits but in their lives outside of the classroom.  The  WINGS mission was in full swing on the evening of October 3, 2013 when current scholars, graduates, mentors, WECS Board members and representatives from our partner organizations, Dress For Success, Get It Together and McLaughlin Young, met at the uptown campus of Northeastern University Charlotte for an event titled "Relationship Management: Leveraging Networking Tools to Enhance Your Relationships and Career."   The program was presented by Paulette Ashlin, owner of Ashlin Associates, LLC and a WE member and former WINGS Mentor.  She skillfully guided the group through training exercises and discussions about creating and seizing networking opportunities, how to work a room, and professional networking etiquette to enhance one's relationship management capabilities. These are several of the critical soft skills that our scholars and graduates don't necessarily receive through other scholarship programs.  The WINGS commitment to not only helping a deserving scholar pay for her education, but also to developing the vital skills necessary for success in today's competitive world, is a key distinction that makes our program such a success.
 
Spring 2014 WINGS Scholar Event
February 9, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Scholars Spoke, We Listened
We are always looking for ways to make the WINGS program more valuable for our scholars.  So when we learned during a recent scholar survey that our scholars wanted more chances for small-group interaction and opportunity to learn more about specific career areas, we knew we had found our program for the Spring 2014 scholar event.  The event will take the form of a Career Café, where scholars and graduates can meet in small groups with Women Executives who have expertise in fields of interest to those scholars.  The depth and breadth of experience within the WE membership is an extraordinarily valuable part of the WINGS program, and we look forward to connecting our scholars and graduates with WE members who have experience in areas of particular interest.  Stay tuned for more information about this exciting event.

How can you get involved with WECS/WINGS?

• Scholar Selection Panel Member - this is a one time role each spring to serve on a selection panel for new scholar selections.
• School Liaison/Administrator - each liaison is assigned one of our four schools that receive scholarships (UNCC, Queens, JCSU and CPCC), working with the school contact, developing a pool of candidates at the school, participating in the selection process at the school and hosting the school contact at the graduation luncheon.
• Mentor - makes herself available for their assigned WINGS scholar through periodic contact, leveraging other WE members to be a resource to the scholar and serving as a positive role model.
• WECS Special Project - the WECS Board has special projects from time to time and need additional resources to work on a team as part of events, campaigns, and other misc. projects.
• Support a WINGS scholar by holding practice interviews, reviewing her resume, sharing your career path or helping a scholar network into her future career.
• Join the WINGS' Linked In group
• Check out the WE website for dialog and WINGS postings to see where you can help.

Please contact any board member or Penni and Scottie with your interests.  Working with WINGS is a terrific way to give back, to be a part of something that feels great and impacts the lives of promising women and their families for generations to come.

Kelly Chopus
My story:
I have been a "mentor and more" to Angel since 2010. (I actually think this should be the title of the WINGS program, but that is another story.)
 
Mentoring does not come easily to me. I am a doer and a fixer and I have got a schedule to keep. I don't consider myself a teacher, nor do I think I am particularly patient, kind or understanding.  And yet! I rely heavily on all of these traits in my relationship with Angel. Funny how that works. The act of mentoring I have learned is a two-way street and mirrors the act of relationship building in all ways. She has taught me things I never would have learned without her and she has excelled in doing so. I am always amazed at our capacity to find common ground, to work hard at communicating and understanding each other and to find opportunities to congratulate each other on the big and little things in school and life.  We have had a rough go of it since May 2013 with job loss, home stability threatened and eventually loss, child care issues and drama, summer school, and financial obstacles and challenges. She has gained much wisdom in six short months and her life lessons were not the ones anyone wants to learn. What I have seen Angel address, manage and conquer has shaken me and changed me as an executive. I am so proud of her mental toughness and capacity for GOOD. She has shown me the value of our relationship and through her eyes I have become a better mentor, friend and confidante. Her future happiness and success reside firmly at the top of my mentoring priority list. SHE has set ME up for success in my professional and personal lives.
 
This isn't easy work by any stretch, but it can be for everyone and anyone who wants to take a chance on a young woman with a lot of potential for good in this world. This is dirty, messy, grinding day- to day partnership with the promise of the best outcome- a better life predicated on a quality education and degree. We start with that and keep on top of the rest.  That's all we can do, right? Every time, every day.

Women Initiating and Nurturing Growth through Scholarships (WINGS) is a non-profit program offered by WE and led by Women Executives for Community Service (WECS).   As the sole philanthropic initiative of WE, WINGS provides scholarship and mentoring support for female students, 25 years or older, who are pursuing higher education as a way to improve their lives.

What impact is WINGS making in the lives of women?
Since 1995, the WINGS Scholarship program has:

• Graduated 69 scholars, many earning the first college degree in their families
• Provided over $328,000 in scholarships
• Donated over 13,000 hours in Women Executives member support
• Maintained a strong network of post graduate scholars by offering programs focused on career and life skills