THIRD ANNUAL HOLIDAY GIVING TREE FOR FRAUEN HELFEN FRAUEN

Photo courtesy of www.123rf.comKeeping up with tradition, the IWCS is once again supporting the women of Frauen helfen Frauen e.V. by creating a virtual Holiday Gift Tree!
In this joint project with The English Playgroup of Stuttgart e. V. , IWCS members are in charge of getting presents for all of the women in the shelter, while playgroup members will be tasked with getting gifts for each of the children.
If you would like to help, please contact the organizer, Sandra Bartsch, using the contact form below. Once we are given more information about how many presents we need, she will contact you to give you the go ahead to start shopping!
Thank you to all of our members and those of the EPG Stuttgart for their wholehearted support for this project!!
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DONATIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR ANNUAL CHARITY EVENT 2015

Dear Members,
We are very excited to be organising our Annual Charity Event, which will take place on the 25th of April 2015. This year we are planning a 1920’s themed cocktail party with a buffet, drinks, DJ and a raffle. Costume is not required, but certainly encouraged!
As the purpose of this event is fundraising we would like to ask for your help to raise donations for our designated charity Frauen helfen Frauen, a local women’s shelter. For 30 years they have been advising, protecting and counselling women, and their children, who have been suffering physical or psychological violence. They strive to empower these women to create a better life.
We offer heartfelt thanks for the generous support of last year’s sponsors, members and guests as we were able to raise a total of 5000 EUR. We would be delighted to reach this amount again and with your help we can raise even more.
The ticket price of 50 EUR will cover event expenses only. A little revenue will be collected from the raffle but you can help us to raise far more by any of the following:

  • Cash donations, from you or your family’s small business,
  • Sponsorship of one of the event’s various expenses (e.g. the printed materials, food, drinks, DJ, decorations), or
  • Donation of a product or service for the raffle (vouchers, service packages, handmade items)

All cash donations will receive tax receipts if desired.
For any further questions please contact the Annual Charity Event 2015 Donations Coordinator, Josephine Leibrandt, using the contact form below.
Thank you for helping us make the 2015 ACE our best yet!
Vaida Kovalick
ACE 2015 General Coordinator
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SAVE THE DATE: IWCS ANNUAL CHARITY EVENT SCHEDULED FOR 25 APRIL 2015

Pink Flapper courtesy of freevintagedigistamps.blogspot.dePlanning has begun for our next charity event to be held in the spring of 2015!
Here’s what will be staying the same for #ACE2015:

  • Once again held at the WAC in Stuttgart
  • Music and dancing from Mr Mac’s Party Team
  • Delicious buffet and wine choices
  • Raffle with great prizes
  • Homemade dessert table
  • Ticket prices staying steady at €50 per person
  • All proceeds to benefit Frauen helfen Frauen e.V.

And some of the changes/highlights that will make this year’s event special include:

  • To be held in the spring instead of late autumn
  • We have chosen a new theme for this year’s event: The elegant and glamorous roaring twenties (think The Great Gatsby movie)

We also welcome a new Charity Event coordinator, Vaida Kovalick!
If you would like to help with the planning of this event or even RSVP via Facebook, please see the event on the IWCS fan page.
Looking forward to 2015!
Your ACE 2015 Planning Committee
Vaida, Dorothee, Jo, Sandra, Gail, Ana, Anuradha, Margaret and Emily

Thank You from Frauen helfen Frauen

We received this lovely card from the ladies of Frauen helfen Frauen this past week. It’s just a small reminder of why we do what we do and how wonderful it feels to do a little something to change someone else’s world. Thank you to all of our members and friends who attend our annual Charity Event and otherwise help us support this wonderful organization!!!
FHF Thank you card May 2014

Oh What A Night! The 2013 Annual Charity Event in Review

We had a fantastic time on November 9th at our annual fundraiser for Frauen helfen Frauen. Every year the event gets bigger and better, this time raising over €5,000 in donations for our cause!
We started out the evening with a complimentary glass of bubbly from Kessler Sekt and moved from there straight into mingling, eating, drinking and winning prizes. Guests were pleased with the extra food provided by the WAC this year and with the new “Chill Lounge” just off the main room where they could sit and chat in a quieter setting.
Later in the evening, our DJ from Mr Mac’s Party team turned up the volume and had us boogieing until the wee hours of the morning. Feedback from guests was overwhelmingly positive and we are happy that everyone had a good time.

The 2013 Charity Committee
The 2013 Charity Committee

View more photos from the 2013 ACE here

In addition to entrance fees, the bulk of the donations raised was through the sale of raffle tickets for fantastic prizes donated by local businesses and gathered by hard-working committee member Sibylle Seib. This year we were also very fortunate to have an amazing door prize; a Yoga 11s computer donated by Lenovo.
We thank all of our guests and sponsors for a wonderful evening and we are already looking forward to our next successful event!!!

FAQ – Annual Charity Event 2013

As with every activity or event, there are always questions so please keep them coming by submitting yours in the form at the bottom of this page and we will answer them as quickly as possible. Some questions we have recently had are answered below:

Is this a fundraiser? Who does it benefit?
Every year since the club was founded in 2005, we have held a fundraiser to benefit a local women’s shelter, Frauen helfen Frauen. Corporate sponsorship, a raffle, and a portion of your entrance fee will make up the bulk of our fundraising efforts.
Those members who cannot attend the event are welcome to make a cash donation on behalf of the Frauenhaus.

Who is invited? Only members/women/couples?
Absolutely not! Everyone is welcome. In fact, we would love to meet your partners and encourage you to bring your friends, both male and female, to make it a fun, sociable occasion. Please do not hesitate to come by yourself – many of our members come solo and always have a wonderful time.

What will the evening be like?
This elegant and fun event will be very similar to last year, with delicious drinks and snacks (both warm and cold) served throughout the evening and dinner music during the first half of the evening. Later on, we’ll kick things up a notch and dance the night away to music from Mr. Mac’s Party Team. Other planned activities include a raffle for fantastic prizes and a homemade desserts bar in the 1950s-style lounge.

Included in the entrance fee are a welcome glass of bubbly, a seasonal buffet of finger foods, and vouchers that can be exchanged for either alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks or dessert. Additional vouchers will be available for purchase during the evening.

The event will take place in a large hall at the Württembergische Automobilclub in central Stuttgart and we also have access to a large foyer for socializing and mingling as well as a cozy lounge area for quieter conversation.

There is an outside space for our guests who would like to smoke.

How can we buy tickets?
You will not need a paper ticket to enter the event, but must pay the entrance fee in advance to be on the guest list.

If you would like to pay your entrance fee online, please RSVP using the form at the bottom of the event invitation and you will sent an email with our bank information. The deadline for transferring your entrance fee is November 2nd.

If you would like to pay in advance with cash, please speak with Dorothee Klein or any of the charity committee members at most club events leading up to the November 9th.

How can I invite other people?
Friends, family members and the general public are all welcome to attend this event! Please feel free to share the event invitation link or our Facebook event.

What should I wear?
This is a very good opportunity to dress up a little and take your best party outfit for a spin on the dance floor. Anything from a cocktail length dress to dressy pants with a sparkly top works! While the event is an excellent opportunity to go shopping, don’t worry if you can’t or don’t want to. Just pretty yourself up a little and you will be fine!

What is the venue like? Is it part of a museum?
The venue is the main hall of the Württembergische Automobilclub e.V. in central Stuttgart, go to www.wac1899.com for more information. The club was founded over one hundred years ago by Daimler, Maybach and Bosch.
It is not connected in any way to the Mercedes Museum and in a different part of the city altogether.

Where can I park on the evening of the event?
The WAC 1899 recommends that you park on Mörikestrasse, Humboldtstrasse, Hohenstauffenstrasse or Hohenzollernstrasse. All are in the immediate area surrounding the club. You can also take public transportation to Marienplatz and either walk up the stairs (a nine-minute walk) or take Bus #41 from Marienplatz to the next stop of Mörikestrasse (making it a five-minute walk but less uphill – please note that this bus will not be running later in the evening when the event is over).

Are the entrance fees tax deductible?
Unfortunately, we will be unable to issue tax receipts for that portion of your entrance fee over and above the costs of the event, although receipts for additional cash and bank transfer donations will be available.

Any other questions? Please contact us using the form below. See you in November!

2012 Annual Charity Event Wrap Up and Thank You

By Dorothee Klein

After months of preparation, we hosted our Fifth Annual Charity Event at the Württembergische Automobilclub e.V. on 10 November 2012. This year’s “Do Good & Dance” was a huge success, put together by our lovely charity team and attended by many members, their partners and friends.

The evening was kicked off by a welcome drink kindly donated by Kessler Sektkellerei and jazzy piano music by Bea Michalski, followed by delicious local specialties served up by the WAC team and party music spun by DJ Blue Wave from Mr Mac’s Party Team.

All throughout the evening, Ryoko Ichihashi and Laura Lenz’s husband, Michael, were busy selling raffle tickets for the prizes donated by BOSCH, Friedrichsbad and Rathausglöckle in Baden-Baden as well as our artist-in-residence Judy Krauss and members Maggie Bangston and Barbara Zuk, giving us record raffle takings!

The culinary highlight of the evening was our International Dessert table with yummy goodies baked by our members (thanks to Maggie Bangston, Laura Lenz, Sandra Bartsch, Ryoko Schels-Ichihashi, Christy Miller, Jamie Mueller, Karen Diguc, Ursula Fast, Salome Tan, and Tracey Stevenson) followed by the auctioning of our main prize, a sightseeing flight with the evening’s Master of Ceremony and long-standing pilot Alex Klein.

The success of this evening was not only underpinned by the generosity of local companies such as KPMG, RMS Marketing Solutions, Oest Group, Wilke Consulting and WESSELY Marketing Services who raised funds to further the work of Frauen helfen Frauen e.V. We were also very happy to see an increasing number of members who donated anonymously. We are working on the final financial statement for this event, which we will share with you as soon as it is finished.

So with this event behind us, it is time for me as your Vice President to say thank you to my team:

  • Maggie Bangston and Laura Lenz for their planning and XLS skills
  • Christy Miller and Barbara Zuk for putting together the International Dessert table and keeping the momentum going
  • Sandra Bartsch for her time keeping and staging of the location, and
  • Karen Diguc for her logistical support

It was a great experience to put this event together with you, each using our different talents to contribute to something positive!

A very special thank you also goes to Ulrike Stegmaier and Billie Schöler for their help with fundraising!

And since “after the party is before the party”, we are of course already putting our team together next year’s event. If you would like to help out in any way, just contact me using the form below and watch your newsletter for announcements!

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2012 Giving Tree for Residents of the Frauenhaus

Photo courtesy of www.123rf.com

**UPDATE AS OF DECEMBER 4, 2012**
We are pleased to announce that we will be closing the giving tree early, as members and friends have already pledged the needed amount of gifts for this year – thank you to all!!!

Every year we get inquiries from members who would like to buy holiday gifts for the women and children at the Frauenhaus. This year our charity liaison, Tracy Stevenson, has organized a virtual giving tree to do exactly that.

If you would like to participate, please use the form below to make a request. You will be given information about either a child or adult to buy a gift for, and Tracey will arrange a way to get the present from you. We are suggesting 10-15 euros for the approximate value of your gift.

Tracey will be at the December club meeting on the 5th, so for those of you attending, this is an easy way to do some charitable giving this season. All gifts need to be given to Tracey before the FHF Christmas party on the 17th.

Happy Holidays!!

IWCS December 2012 Club Meeting and International Brunch

Copyright (c) <a href='http://www.123rf.com'>123RF Stock Photos</a>Wednesday, December 5, 2012 at 10:00
Location: Cafe Merlin,  Augustenstrasse 72, 70178 Stuttgart-West
Prospective members welcome!

Every year at our December club meeting, we host a morning of food and love.

Participants are asked  to bring a dish to share from their home country  for our International Brunch buffet table and members will have the opportunity to bring a gift chosen from a giving tree for the children at the Frauenhaus.

Here is some information about the giving tree program which includes a way to contact the coordinator, Tracey Stevenson if you would like to participate:
Giving Tree Program for Children of the Frauenhaus.
You do not need to participate in the giving tree program to attend the monthly meeting.

There will be a babysitter available for those of you with toddlers at no extra charge.

For more information about our morning club meetings, please see this blog post.

If you have any questions about the meeting or the brunch, please contact Emily using the form below or via the Facebook Event page.

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Introducing the new IWCS Volunteer Coordinator

On September 21st, members of the IWCS and staff from Frauen helfen Frauen (FhF) had an extremely worthwhile brainstorming session to assess how our club might best support the Frauenhaus.

As a result of that meeting, member Tracey Stevenson is the new IWCS Volunteer Coordinator. Congratulations, Tracey, on your new position!

She will be organizing volunteers from within the club for joint events with FHF outside of the annual charity event – exactly what some of our members have been asking for.

How can you help? Here are some ideas from Tracey. If you are ready to make a difference in the lives of the women and children living at the Frauenhaus, message Tracey using the form at the bottom of this post.

Financial Donations:  FhF are in desperate need of additional funding.  Members are encouraged to make personal donations to FhF and to lobby other interest groups/employers for donations.

‘Adopt a Family for Christmas’: Giving a small Christmas gift for every person in the House at Christmas.

Non-Perishable Donations: The provision of non-perishable items for a ‘welcome pack’ when families arrive in the House.

Household Items/Furniture: The provision of any second hand furniture/ household items for when the families leave the House and move into personal accommodation.

Administration Tasks: Volunteers required to help with basic administration tasks.

Joint Fundraising: Liasing with FhF to combine fundraising efforts.

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