Local Companies Prepare for The Women's Center 2010 Benefit

VIENNA, Va., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Women's Center 2010 benefit gala, 'Inspiring Women,' will take place Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at the Gannett Corporate Headquarters in McLean, Va.

Representatives from local corporations will come together to celebrate Inspiring Women in history and secure additional resources that will allow The Center to continue serving the community.

Since 1974, The Women's Center has paved the way for women, children and their families on their journey to insight, education and independence. Honorary Chair Karen Williams, Northrop Grumman Corporation, and Vice Chairs Leslie Steele, InterImage, and Andrea McCarthy, Vangent are leading the planning committee.

"The Women's Center provides a critical safety net for our families and communities, and this steadfast commitment becomes even more important during today's times of economic uncertainty, which can take a toll on mental health," said Karen Williams, honorary chair of the gala and vice president of Air and Missile Defense Systems for Northrop Grumman. "During the last 36 years, The Center has helped equip thousands of women and families with the resources to meet life's challenges. It is an honor to be leading the committee in the effort to see that The Center is able to continue its mission and truly impact the daily lives of our family, friends, employees and co-workers."  

The challenges related to mental health problems extend beyond the individual and can adversely impact the productivity of the enterprise. In fact, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) estimates that the workplace costs of depression are more than $34 billion per year in direct and indirect costs, resulting from loss productivity, absenteeism and more annual sick days than other chronic diseases. According to the American Psychiatric Association, the indirect costs of mental illnesses, such as lost employment, reduced productivity, criminal activity, vehicular accidents and social welfare programs increase the total cost of mental and substance abuse disorders to more than $273 billion a year.

"Organizations are increasingly realizing the business benefit of investing in the mental health of their employees, especially in this time of compounded stress," said Vicki Kirkbride, executive director, The Women's Center. "We need the support of these corporations to continue to provide crucial mental health services to our community. In 2009, The Women's Center provided 34,000 hours of direct client service. Of the total service hours, 30 percent (9,908 hours) were provided to 1,418 clients at a reduced-fee or at no cost. Just last year, The Center's domestic violence advocacy program received 1,669 calls. It's the support of individuals and corporations that allow us to provide our community with essential services."

The Women's Center would like to thank the corporate sponsors who are underwriting the benefit gala. Sponsor dollars will provide reduced fee counseling for clients coping with issues related to separation, divorce, child custody, domestic violence and to offer support group meetings, financial education counseling and assessments for children with learning disabilities.    

The Women's Center 2010 Benefit Sponsors:

• Florence Nightingale Sponsor ($35,000): Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Susan B. Anthony Sponsor ($20,000): Microsoft and Wachovia Bank, A Wells Fargo Company
• Emily Dickinson Sponsor ($5,000): Accenture; AOL, LLC; CGI Federal, Inc.; Dewberry; North Highland; Rolls Royce; Verizon
• Sojourner Truth Sponsor ($2,500): CA; ENC Marketing & Communications, Inc.; IBM; InterImage, Inc.; Vangent, Inc.

• Molly Pitcher Sponsor ($1,000): Accela Consulting; Attain, LLC; John W. Kirkbride; Meltzer Company; Raytheon Technical Services; Sally Turner and Jerry Bridges
• Jane Austen Friend of the Gala ($500): Net New Growth, LLC

For more information on the 2010 Anniversary Benefit event, to sign on as a benefit sponsor, or to purchase an individual ticket, visit www.thewomenscenter.org.

The Women's Center

The mission of The Women's Center is to improve significantly the psychological, career, financial and legal well-being of women and families. Our staff includes 75 clinical mental health therapists and career counselors who provide more than 37,000 hours of individual and group counseling each year and a domestic violence advocacy unit to assist victims of domestic violence.   Additional staff offer financial education programs; legal referral program and education programs offered throughout the year. For more than 35 years, we have grown along with the community we serve. The Women's Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by Joan Parks and Peggy Lockhart in 1974. Initially, the Center's services focused mainly on career counseling and divorce and separation seminars. However, as social change continued to impact all aspects of women's lives and our community as a whole, the Center developed and expanded its services to meet those challenges. The Center has developed into a large, widely respected counseling and resource Center for women's and families' financial, career, legal and psychological needs. Today, under the leadership of Vicki Kirkbride, Executive Director, the Center continues to deliver quality mental health counseling, career services, assistance to victims of domestic violence and educational programs. 

SOURCE The Women's Center