Member Lani Stringer with guest Leta Emmanuel The Women in Philanthropy (WIP) held a networking event July 19 at the home of Jane Esenwein Suber. This was the group’s first networking event to be held in Lexington. It was a large turnout with many prospective members for Women in Philanthropy.

Women in Philanthropy (WIP) is part of a larger national movement in which women move from the mindset of charity to the activist role of philanthropy. WIP was founded in 2002 by a group of 16 businesswomen and community activists in the Columbia area. Women In Philanthropy promotes the idea that every woman can and must be a philanthropist if the challenges facing women and children are going to be addressed. In the women’s philanthropic movement, everyone brings something to the table: ideas, community knowledge, skills, money, personal contacts, time, and talent.

Members Kelly Ruddock and Keely Saye with guest Jeannie Skinner The combined forces of long–range thinking and pooled resources is evidence of women’s resourcefulness and creativity and is leading to real change throughout the US.

Members Elizabeth Gressette and Susan Shaw with guest Sarah Watkins Members Bunnie Lempesis, Kathy Olson, and Joan Eison WIP co–chairs Joan Eison and Pam Hyland with Jane Esenwein Stuber, hostess. Photos by Kelly Davis