Vision, Planning and WINGS' Future

Dear Fellow WE Members,

2014 has been a year of visioning, planning and hard work for WECS.  The WECS board has been working diligently to finish our WINGS 5-year strategic plan, started in January, with expectations that we will have it completed, approved and ready to share by the beginning of the year. A BIG thank you to Lori Vaccaro, WECS Board member at-large, for leading our planning efforts for the past 12 months. Along with our strategic planning, Deb McWilliams has been leading the charge on evolving our development efforts, researching and gathering input from many WE members to build a more cohesive way for you, our supporters, to contribute to the WINGS scholarship financially.

In August, 17 of current scholars were very happy to be a part of our first "WINGS 1st" technology initiative, led by the efforts of WECS board member Frances Queen and our new WINGS Champion, CommunityOne Foundation. (See story below.)  Lindsay Daniel, WECS Mentor Chair, connected us to "Bridges Out of Poverty", a six-hour training session attended by many of our mentors and board members that gave us insight into a distinctive mind-set, enabling opportunities to think differently as we approach our mentoring relationships and program development for WINGS.  

All of this great effort is building momentum towards our WINGS 20th Anniversary year in 2015.  Planning is underway as we develop ways to celebrate WINGS' history and impact over the last 20 years.  Stay tuned for details in the coming months.  We are so proud of Women Executives' efforts behind WINGS, the vision of our WINGS Founders, our 76 graduates and the impact that our organization continues to have in the future.  

The WECS board has been doing terrific work.  We look for your input and involvement as we begin the next 20 years of WINGS.  If you have any ideas, questions or just want to say, "I want to be involved!" please don't hesitate to reach out to me or any of our WECS board members.

Like this past year, 2015 promises to be another exciting year full of growth for WINGS!

Cindy Quinlan
WECS Board President 2013-2015
cindycquinlan@gmail.com
704-907-8958

The WINGS Impact

WINGS is making a tremendous impact in the lives of our scholars.  Here are a few facts we thought that you'd be pleased to know:

·      Since its inception in 1995, WINGS has graduated 76 scholars.

·      Through your generous support, we have provided over $475,000 in scholarships.

·      Women Executives members have donated over 15,000 volunteer hours to help our scholars be successful.

·      In the general population, the graduation rate for 4-year colleges is approximately 52% and in community colleges, even lower.  Among our WINGS scholars, our graduation rate is a strong 77%!

"I see my WINGS scholarship as a token of love from women who saw in me something bigger than I saw for myself."
                                    Mary Davis, 2013 WINGS Graduate

Your annual gifts to the WINGS scholarship program truly do change lives.  As you make your year-end charitable contributions, please consider a gift to WE's sole philanthropic initiative, the WINGS scholarship program.  Simply visit our website to make your gift today. If you would like to talk to someone about some of the finer points of making a leadership gift or leaving a legacy donation, please contact Deb McWilliams, WECS Development and Planned Giving Chair, debmcwilliams1@gmail.com.

We're pleased to announce....
 
WINGS
named
 

 

We couldn't be more excited to announce that Charlotte Magazine just named WINGS a 2014 Charlottean of the Year! We're featured in the December 2014 issue in an article called "Six Charities Worth Your Dollar" for our philanthropic work supporting women pursuing their dreams of a college education.

Read the full article in Charlotte Magazine here. 

Help celebrate Your WINGS and attend the Charlottean of the Year award ceremony at The Omni Hotel on December 12, 11:30am - 1:30pm. Click here for details. We hope to see you there!

Spotlight on a WINGS Graduate
It's not hard to feel proud of what WINGS graduate Erin Walsh Mandrell has accomplished in her life. We recently spoke to Erin on the phone and wanted to share her story with you.

Erin Walsh Mandrell, WINGS Queens University, BA Organizational Communication '01, was a struggling student having only one semester left to graduate at Queens. She was going through tremendous personal life-crisis, along with all the pressures of being a student.  With no money for books, ready to drop-out, at the end of what would be  an 11-year journey through 4 colleges to earn her degree, Queen's financial aid office told her about WINGS.  She was selected to be a WINGS scholar, paired up with WE mentor Linda Farthing and well, the rest is history.

Erin, VP of Business Continuity at one of Charlotte's major banks, has tripled her income since graduating and attributes her professional success to WINGS.  "I look back on where I was when I started with WINGS and want to help the program continue," she says. "I now watch for others that reach out for help, that need a listening ear, or some expertise that I may be able to share to help them successfully navigate their career".  Erin, who has overcome some unbelievable personal challenges in addition to her professional success, recognizes all that WINGS gave her. "It is an incredible gift to be surrounded by successful people that constantly bring you up....It's about people and the support, even years later. It's such a positive thing. WINGS is a nice long-term investment."

 "I want to tell the new scholars to take advantage of all that WINGS has to offer.  WINGS is really a blessing in so many ways.... (Women Executives) is a good group of women.  I have never felt anything but acceptance."  Erin says, "You can't teach people to be human. I have never felt so embraced by people who don't even know me, but have so much faith in me."