NATIONAL FEDERATION OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CLUBS DONATES HIJABS AND CLOTHES TO AFGHAN WOMEN

The National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs (NFBPWC) collected funds and goods vital to the incoming displaced Afghans, notably the women. NFBPWC has been able to provide new undergarments, gently used clothing, bolts of new material and sewing supplies, as well as some 12,000 new hijab hair bonnets. The bolts of material and the hair bonnets were donated through Material for the Arts (MFTA) in NYC. Some of the goods were forwarded to military bases in the Midwest, while a large shipment was delivered to a military base in New Jersey by members of the Special Project for Afghan Women out of the New York City NFBPWC Affiliate Chapter. NFBPWC has learned that strollers, baby clothes, winter coats and winter shoes are also needed. Donations of these materials can be made through Team Rubicon, a Non-Governmental Organization that responds to disasters, health crises, and humanitarian emergencies.

NFBPWC plans to continue focus on the business and professional women, as well as young women, who will be leaving the bases as residents to start new lives in America. The response from both Team Rubicon and the Department of Homeland Security’s coordinators to our initial donations has been extremely positive. They see us as truly welcoming of these new guests of America – individuals who have placed their lives at risk for our troops and those working in Afghanistan over the past two decades. We are honored and humbled to be able to continue our core mission of advocating for business and professional women in the US, to include the Afghan women refugees. We are preparing to share with these women a series of advocacy programs, diversity and inclusion training efforts, and mentoring programs. These efforts are in collaboration with partners ready to provide employment and support for a positive integration into American cultural norms and customs. Individuals are encouraged to join NFBPWC organization via local Clubs and to participate in the highly respected cultural awareness training, mentoring programs and other advocacy efforts.

The NFBPWC was founded in 1919. In 1930 Dr. Lena Madesin Phillips, a co-founder of the NFBPWC, founded the International Federation of Business and Professional Women. NFBPWC is a national network of Business and Professional Women with the objectives of developing professional, business and leadership potential for all women. We advocate for the equal participation of women and men in power and decision-making roles. Former NFBPWC members are pioneers of the women’s equality movement and include four first ladies of the United States, a US Supreme Court Justice, authors and esteemed business leaders. For more information about NFBPWC or NFBPWC Clubs in California, please visit nfbpwc.org or bpwcal.org.