For 30 years, the WCP has held one enormous Twilight Gathering in one location: Milford. On July 8, 2010, a new tradition began. The gathering of friends to support WCP took place simultaneously in five locations across the state: Detroit, Lansing, Battle Creek, Jackson and Traverse City. Here are the observations from the Jackson hostess, Nancy Willyard.
I had the honor of hosting one of the first WCP regional events at the Jackson Twilight Gathering last week. I'd attended the big Twilight Gathering in Milford every July for many years and always had a good time meeting new women in that gorgeous setting on Carol's sprawling lawn. I applauded the mission of the Women's Caring Program, too.
I spent 42 years of my life as an early childhood educator. Seven of those years I was working in Lansing as the Governor's Director of Head Start Collaboration where I worked on numerous committees to make sure we had quality childcare available in Michigan. When I left Lansing and returned to my hometown of Jackson, I discovered that many college students couldn't afford quality childcare and had to drop out of college instead of continuing to work toward a degree. I decided that I needed to get involved in Jackson so these students would know about WCP's early education and childcare assistance. I also wanted my local friends and colleagues to know more about WCP.
I was excited to co-host the event with Jennifer Kelly, a Jackson attorney and cousin of Carol Walters. The site chosen site for holding the event was the Ella Sharp Park Museum because it was centrally located in Jackson County. We were planning to have it in the courtyard of the Museum, but due to the stormy weather, we stayed indoors at the Granary restaurant on the Museum grounds.
The Granary chef put together a lovely display of assorted appetizers and wines, which the guests enjoyed while watching the Women's Caring Program DVD and networking. Since our event took place after museum hours, it gave me a feeling of being at a "Night at the Museum."
We were delighted that many mothers and daughters, grandparents and early childhood professionals attended and I think we'll continue to promote that in the future. It was nice to see the younger women under 35 in attendance, who not only were supportive of the program but eagerly wanted to get involved as well.
This first gathering was a good size to begin the awareness of WCP in Jackson and I felt that everyone walked away with a better understanding of the organization and how we could promote further events in our county for this statewide program. Almost everyone who came stayed until the very end, thanked us for a lovely evening, and expressed an interest in coming next year and bringing others. We also had two gentlemen who attended, and several women said that they wished they had brought their husbands as well!
My friend, Shelly Hendrick, who is the new CEO for the Women's Caring Program, told me that she thought one of the amazing parts of our event was the terrific response from potential volunteers, and how many new friends she made. She noted that the support for children and families in Jackson County was impressive.
All in all, we had a great cross-section of ladies and gentlemen from the business and education communities, and agreed that this was the first of many Twilight Gatherings to take place in Jackson.
Nancy Willyard
