Near & Dear: WGirls

I don't know why I didn't do an entry prior to this about a group very near and dear to my heart- the WGirls. But, having realized their big event, the bachelor/bachelorette auction is coming up next week, I thought this was an appropriate time.

Back in 2004 I was only working part-time in a tanning salon having been laid off by my job working for an indoor tanning lotion company. One day in September I was reading Craigslist and saw an ad from Amy Heller looking for other professional women in the NYC area who really wanted to make friends, go out and do fun stuff, and who knows....I figured it couldn't hurt to go meet her- I had lots of time on my hands to go into the city, I didn't live far away, and I thought her ad sounded great. I didn't have a lot of single friends to go out with and I hadn't really experienced going out much in the city since I'd moved back to north Jersey from central Jersey in 2001.

I showed up to meet Amy and so did about 10 other women. It was really cool. I worked on Tuesday & Thursday nights and the general consensus was that Wednesday was the best night for everyone to meet. We decided to call ourselves the Wednesday Girls, which got shortened to the "WGirls" eventually. At first we didn't really have an objective except for making friendships and going out. So we did and we had a lot of fun. I got to know and love Amy. From the minute I met her I should have known she was destined for greatness and that even if she didn't know it consciously, somewhere in her she knew what she was doing....

We met in September '04 and we decided to throw a holiday party, just for fun, at Bogarts in mid-town. We had no idea who would or wouldn't show, we just made an Evite and we all just invited everyone we knew. The place was PACKED. We couldn't believe that just on our little Evite & word of mouth we were able to throw a successful event. The wheels started turning as to what we could do with this.  Then, on December 26, 2004 the earthquake & tsunami in the Indian Ocean occurred.  By the time this happened, we'd lost some members of our little group to boyfriends or disinterest and gained some- a few of them related to Amy. Some of them knew people who might be in the affected areas at the time of the tsunami so it became kind of personal to want to do something for those living in the aftermath of that horror. 

We had a solid little group of about 10 members and we were motivated to action quickly. Admittedly, I also wanted to meet boys so I suggested we do a bachelor/bachelorette auction, where I also would be auctioned off. Amy was our unofficial president and she got the ball rolling, did the organizing, and then some. Like I said, we had a really great group and everyone had something to offer. I know a lot of people and so does Amy. We were able to secure bachelors and bachelorettes in a snap, got a place (Ruby Falls, no long in existence- at least under that name) big enough to hold 500 people, sat around making bid paddles in Amy's apartment till all hours of the night. For me, as late as the NJ Transit bus would still take me home to NJ. I fell down the stairs in Amy's apartment building and broke three fingernails for this cause. But we did a lot of laughing, a lot of gluing numbers to wood, and had the bags under our eyes to prove it.

A LOT of work went into that first auction. A LOT of people put in TONS of time and effort. And it was so successful. I believe we raised over 20k for Save the Children and another organization that is escaping me. Maybe Amy will comment here and remind me. We learned SO much about putting on a large scale event like that. Amy found her calling.

Since then, The WGIRLS organization was incorporated in 2007 and granted not-for-profit status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) retroactive to 2007 in August 2009. Many events have been had, much money has been donated to amazing causes, and lifelong friendships have been made. We've all cheered for engagements, danced at each other's weddings, celebrated new babies, & been there for each other through good, bad and loss. When my mom died unexpectedly in October of 2009, even though I'm out in the 'burbs and my girls are all spread out over the city, they trekked out here for a hug and support. It's sort of like a big sorority. I'm one of the founding members, older now, married with a kid and doing my thing, but my affection for the group remains as strong as it was in 2004. I have great, hysterical, fun, funny memories of nights out, events, preparations, late night talks, and more that I'll cherish forever. I love that I met Amy and the girls right after I turned 30, I'm now 37, there are girls joining left and right from their early 20's on, and it's just getting bigger and bigger. It's a place for anyone looking to meet people while doing good for those less fortunate around them.

The WGirls are pretty well-known throughout the city and it's spawned at least 15 chapters (probably more as I type) in and OUTSIDE the US. There are events all throughout the year benefiting women and children in need in numerous charity organizations. But, the biggest event that raises the most money and takes the most amount of planning and hard work is the auction.

So, my advice is either join, donate, or GO to this year's auction. It's Thursday, September 22nd at Highline Ballroom in NYC. Info is here- http://wgirls.org/new-york-city/events/dateauction. It's such a fun event this time benefiting Donors Choose- http://www.donorschoose.org/

For more info on the WGirls or to find/start a chapter in your area: http://wgirls.org/