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Getting a boost

May 11, 2015 by  
Filed under Extra

In 2015, a fresh approach and major new element will define a beloved local event.

BY KIMBERLY BAILEY-TUREAUD

Sylvia Allen, Local President, NCBW

The Las Vegas chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women is making a meaningful addition to a popular annual gathering.

“Our upcoming Madame C.J. Walker luncheon will take on a different strategy this year,” Sylvia Allen, president of the Las Vegas chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women (NCBW), said about the upcoming 11th annual event, set for Saturday, May 30 at the Mirage Hotel’s event center. “We have changed our strategy for this year’s gala that will include a My Sisters’ Keeper Conference, that will start at 10 a.m. before the luncheon starts at 1:00 p.m. The My Sisters’ Keeper Conference will highlight various speakers that will address our organization’s cornerstone initiatives, including education and leadership, health advocacy and awareness, and economic development and empowerment.”

By its own definition, NCBW’s Las Vegas chapter is a non-profit organization that “promotes advocacy for African-American women. For over 11 years the Las Vegas chapter has advocated to promote leadership development and gender equality in health, education and

economic development in the lives of African American women in the Las Vegas, Clark County areas.” According to Allen, Las Vegas members of NCBW have expanded their outreach to collaborate with other organizations in the Las Vegas valley in order to better serve women in need.

Las Vegas Chapter, Coalition of 100 Black Women.

“We recently collaborated with the Safe Nest organization and donated, along with 11 other community organizations, personal health care products — particularly for African-American women, to the ladies of Safe Nest,” she said. “I am not sure if this has ever been done before in Clark County, and I am so pleased that we put the effort out there that received acknowledgment because of its community impact.”

As advocates for black women, Allen and other NCBW members also traveled to the state capital for the Nevada legislative session to address socioeconomic inequities that plague women of color.

“The good news is that we attended a lunch and dinner with members of the legislative body, and had the opportunity to express our concerns and our agenda for our organization and why we attend each year,” said Allen. “It is important that the legislators see our faces and understand what African-American women are focused on. There are a number of bills coming to the legislature that are important to us in terms of how money is allocated — because they will affect our educational system or impact voting. Each one of the legislators know we were there because we want to see positive changes. We know that those changes are going to take a lot of involvement.”

For additional information, visit www.ncbwlasvegas.com. For gala/conference tickets, call Glennie at (702) 204-0914 or Tricia at (702) 481-3963.

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