North Georgia Dining for Women Group Dinner

Six Georgia chapters of Dining for Women (DFW), including Roswell, Marietta, Tucker, Atlanta, Athens and Augusta met Sunday night, December 8, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta. Over 70 women gathered to meet and honor Marsha Wallace, founder of the 10 year old international organization.

Dining for Women is a global giving circle dedicated to helping women and girls in the developing world achieve their potential, gain equality in their countries and cultures, and overcome economic limitations and social bias.

Members gather in each other’s homes once a month for a potluck dinner and the money that they would have spent eating in a restaurant is donated to a vetted charity. The collective donations reach impoverished women and girls in third world countries at the grassroots level to foster good health, education and economic self-sufficiency.  Over 8700 active members in more than 400 chapters have raised over $2.7 million and impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of women and girls.

The December program donations from DFW will go to support Smiles on Wings (SOW) in Thailand.  SOW provides dental health care and focuses on enabling long term health services by mentoring and educating young Karen refugee women in a remote Thai village. Young women study nursing, early childhood education and other vocations that will benefit the people in their villages.  After completing their degree, these young women are committed to returning to their families and villages.  They assume leadership roles within their villages, serve as role models to other young women, and provide essential healthcare and education.

DFW’s January recipient will be the Catalyst Foundation in Vietnam. They educate women about human trafficking, provide vocational training to promote self-sufficiency, and protect their daughters from trafficking.

For more information, go to www.diningforwomen.org.