A Letter from the Board President

I know the exact moment that I became impassioned about the economic vitality women in America. As a child in my native Milwaukee hometown, my young mother would stay at home to raise me and my sister until we reached school-age, while my father brought home the bacon. As a child, I thought this traditional arrangement was ideal for my family.

Then, when we started kindergarten my mother entered the workforce for the first time since she graduated high school. She held minimum wage and part-time jobs until my parents got divorced in the late eighties. She was 33 – and poorly prepared to deal with the economic rigors of being in world on her own.

With her spirits and bank account depleted, she lived in a women’s shelter where my sister and I would visit her room which was barely the size of my small home office. That’s when I first realized that women need a pathway and support to achieve economic independence.

My mother is one of millions of women in America - and thousands like her in Birmingham - with their own unique stories of sacrifice, transition, self-identity and empowerment.

The Central Alabama Women’s Business Center exists to provide women like my mother (and yours) with the access to information, capital and business contacts that can help them reach their goals faster and more effectively.

On March 27, we are inviting the Birmingham business community to help us tell the women in our lives ‘thank you’ for their tremendous courage, sacrifice and ability to make economic vitality a priority for themselves, their families and our communities. Our Alabama Roses Dinner event will be inspiring. You don’t want to miss it!

On behalf of my mother, I will encourage you to do your part to ensure that the women in your lives have the information they need to secure their own futures. I should mention that my mother has attained three college degrees since then and is doing just fine now.

On behalf of our Board of Directors, I offer a hearty thanks to all friends of the Central Alabama Women’s Business Center – especially our clients that inspire us all to take ownership for our economic futures.

We hope to see you on March 27!

Respectfully,

Ed Fields
President of the Board
2007-2008

For more information:
CAWBC
2 North 20th Street
Birmingham, AL 35203 US
Email: edith@cawbc.org
205-453-0249
866-252-5787
Fax: 205-453-0253