Women Empowering Families was founded in 2007 by two Anawim Housing board members, Cecelia Kent and Dotty Thurston. Their vision was to empower Anawim Housing to provide safe, affordable homes for women and families in need. Money raised through WEF go towards Anawim Housing's Supportive Services Department. These programs offer Anawim families everything from educational programming, to rental relief in the event of a life crisis. At Anawim Housing, we don't just place people in affordable housing, we empower them to succeed.
For more information on how to get involved with Women Empowering Families, contact Tiffany King at tking@anawimhousing.org
Women Empowering Families ThanksGIVING Event
This year's ThanksGIVING event was held on Thursday, November 2nd at our new Anawim Housing office! A huge thank you to all who were able to join us and generously donated household items to be given to Anawim Housing families in need throughout the year. We had 70 women attend which was a great success! This year we auctioned off a beautiful handmade dollhouse, with proceeds directly supporting Anawim programs and services. The house was a sweet reminder of our moto "Home Is Everything". A huge thank you to our fantastic WEF committe: Marilyn Carroll, Betsy Happe, Kate Massop, Cecelia Kent, Laura Jacobsen, Jaonie Houston, Liz Goodman, Diane Hernandez, Claudette McDonald, Patricia Shoff, Pam Douglas, Kate Raun, Susan Heun, Denise Horner, Sheila Rayburn, and Sue Kenny! Food provided by Trellis Catering. Photography by Austin Hyler Day
View photos from this year's ThanksGIVING Event on the Anawim Facebook page!
Women Empowering Families Basic Party
WEF hosted the second annual Basic Party on May 2nd at the Riverwalk Hubspot! We had a record turnout of over 70 women! Thank you to all who attended and donated household items to be given to Anawim families in need. A huge thank you to our committee who helped plan the event and address invitations.
View photos from this year's Basic Party on the Anawim Facebook page!
Women Empowering Families ThanksGIVING Event
This year's ThanksGIVING event was held on Thursday, November 17th at the Hotel Kirkwood in Des Moines, and had a record turnout! A huge thank you to all who were able to join us and generously dontated household items to be given to Anawim Housing families in need throughout the year. The success of this event could not have been made possible without the help of our fantastic WEF committe: Liz Goodman, Marilyn Carroll, Patricia Shoff, Cecelia Kent, Sue Kenny, Kate Massop, Sheila Rayburn, Kate Raun, Joanie Houston, Claudette McDonald, and Denise Horner. Event catering by Vivian's Diner. Photography by Austin Hyler Day
View photos from the event on Anawim's Facebook page!
Women Empowering Families Basic Party!
Thank you to all who joined us for the Basic Party, held on April 28th at The Riverwalk Hub. This party directly benefited the many Anawim Housing tenants that come to us with very little- often in need of the very basic essentials. The generous supply of donations we received will help a wide number of new and current tenants. View photos from the night's event on Anawim's Facebook page!
Women Empowering Families ThanksGIVING event 2015!
Thank-you to all who joined us for the annual ThanksGIVING event on Thursday, November 12th at The Des Moines Social Club. The large supply of household donations we received will greatly serve the families of Anawim throughout the upcoming year. View photos from the night's event on Anawim's Facebook page!
Thank you to our 2015 WEF Committee members for helping make this beautiful event possible! Our 2015 committee members were:
Liz Goodman
Marilyn Carroll
Sheila Rayburn
Patricia Shoff
Cecelia Kent
Sue Kenny
Susan Heun
Spring Gathering and Home Tour
Thank you to all of the Women Empowering Family members who joined us on Friday, May 15 for our home tour. Touring Anawim homes is a great way to truly see the impact Anawim Housing has on the community.
For pictures from the Women Empowering Families thanksGIVING 2014 event, check out the album on Anawim Housing's Facebook page!
Thank you to our 2014 WEF Committee members for putting in the time and effort to make the November event possible. Our 2014 committee members were:
Sarah Bacehowski
Diane Todd Brown
Marilyn Carroll
LaNae Ceryanec
Christy Cownie
Sara Gaskell
Liz Goodman
Caroline Fitzgerald
Sheila Rayburn
$100 Nurturer
$250 Advocate
$500 Founder
$2500 Leader
Anonymous
Nancy Andrainse
Marcia Baumhover
Jan Berg
Susan Bowland
Barbara Braak
Kathy Brooks
Eileen Burtle
Phyllis A. Cacciatore
Marilyn Carroll
Christine Comito
Jeanne Cunningham
Sue Damos
Pam Douglas
Celeste Egger
Mary Fanter
Allison Fleming
Mell Frazier
Fred & Charlotte Hubbell Charitable Foundation
Liz Goodman
Barbara Graham
Jeanne Graves
Georgiana Hoerster
Joanie Houston
Laura Jacobsen
Martha James
Karen Jeske
Theresa Liewer
Diane Loffredo
Diane Loffredo
Sue Kenny
Cecelia Kent
Marcia Kirk
Loral Kirke
Linda Kirkman
Kathleen Lillis
Sharon Marlow
Janet Mashek
Dr. Kate Massop
Claudette McDonald
Jeane O'Halloran
Dr. Nancy Peters
Emily Porter
Sandra Rasmussen
Kate Raun
Sheila Rayburn
Donna Richard-Langer
Jeannine Rolfes
Karen Safris
Sister Jeanine Salak, RSM
Ginny Satterstrom
Rose Mary Schira
Anita Shodeen
Patricia Shoff
Dr. Janet Hunter
Sue Simons
Sheila Spellman
Deb Tharnish
Dotty Thurston
Jo Ellen VandeLune
Teri Wahlig-Feldmann
Cynthia Wanamaker
Rebecca Westberg
Donna Zahn
Kathi Zimpleman