Jane Addams, the social reformer and founder of Chicago's Hull House, once said that "the very need and existence of charity denies us the consolation and freedom which democracy will at last give." Jane Addams understood the complexities of the concept of democracy and its connection to “charity.” She was an activist and a fundraiser and a special kind of philanthropist, always working toward social justice. Seven decades later, it was this perspective that inspired the women's funding movement.
Chicago Foundation for Women was founded with several goals in mind: to create a foundation that would raise awareness of women's issues, issues affecting all women in all aspects of their lives with a special focus on those with few resources; to raise funds to redistribute to women's organizations; and to bring about social change for women and girls.
Advocates are essential to social change. They help to recognize the conditions, laws, barriers and attitudes that prevent women from achieving equity. They are frequently working out of experience with direct service. They often name the issue and develop the strategies to bring it to public view. And, they organize others, forming coalitions and creating partnerships to pave the road to change. The issues are myriad--for example, advocating for changes in health care delivery to be more sensitive to the needs of women and girls; or workplace conditions that allow women to move up in careers; or in education to allow women and girls the freedom to reach their highest potential. Through legislation or litigation, institutional advocacy or public awareness campaigns, much of the change in the last 50 years that has helped improve opportunities for women and girls is the result of effective advocacy.
In the fall of 2005, Lynne Rosenthal of the Leo S. Guthman Foundation made a special grant to Chicago Foundation for Women for a Founders' Award and requested that Chicago Foundation for Women’s founders--Marjorie Craig Benton, Sunny Fischer, Iris Krieg and Lucia Woods Lindley--determine the goals of the award. Based on their belief in social justice and the need to recognize and encourage younger women leaders to carry on the work, the founders decided that the funds should be used to support a younger woman advocate. This is a fitting addition to current programs because of Chicago Foundation for Women’s renewed emphasis on advocacy in its 20th anniversary year. With Lynne’s concurrence and the enthusiastic endorsement of the Board of Directors, Chicago Foundation for Women is pleased to offer the Founders’ Award for Young Women Advocates.
The 2008 award recipient is Amber Smock, a youth organizer at Access Living, co-coordinator for Chicago ADAPT and co-founder of Feminist Response in Disability Activism (FRIDA). Herself a Deaf woman, Smock is a passionate advocate for changing systems, laws and attitudes that prevent people with disabilities from achieving their full potential and rightful place in society. With her award, Smock will continue to help build the feminist wing of the disability rights movement. She will be presented with her award at the 2008 Impact Awards on Thursday, June 5.
The 2007 award recipient was Silvia Rivera, general manager of Radio Arte in Chicago. In 1997, Rivera joined Radio Arte WRTE 90.5 FM in Chicago, a national award-winning youth initiative of the National Museum of Mexican Art. Rivera is committed to using media and the arts to empower youth and marginalized peoples. She has done so by producing news, public affairs and music programs, including: “Newsbeat,” “Youth Metro” and “Urban Sessions.” Her commentaries on issues ranging from youth involvement in American democracy to the role of Latinos in the military have aired nationally on shows such as NPR’s “Latino USA” and Pacifica’s “Democracy Now.” “Rising from the Ashes,” a commentary in reaction to the Sept. 11 attacks, was published in the San Francisco Chronicle. Rivera is an honors graduate of Columbia College in Chicago and holds a bachelor’s degree in media management. Recently, she was elected to serve on the board of directors of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. Rivera was recognized at the 2007 Impact Awards on June 13, 2007.
The 2006 (and first) award recipient was Alicia Aiken, a legal service attorney at Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago. Through research, courses at Northwestern School for Continuing Studies, and in-person investigations in 4 cities, she planned to develop, disseminate and implement a training model for “empowerment-courtroom” among attorneys in the domestic violence legal response system. The goal is to change the way that actors in the domestic violence legal system view their own institutional goals and structure their interactions with violence survivors. The result would be the court system will create agency and enforce safety in a way that actually has the power to stop abuse in individual lives.