Mayor’s Column:
March is Women’s History Month. The 2022 theme, “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of women caregivers and frontline workers during the pandemic and a recognition of the thousands of ways women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history.
On March 8, 1911, the first International Women’s Day was celebrated in Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark, though the holiday was not widely celebrated in the United States until the United Nations began sponsoring it in 1975.
In 1977, to persuade school principals to comply with the recently passed Title IX, a task force in California created Women’s History Week to celebrate the accomplishments of women.
In March 1980, after celebrations had spread across the country, President Jimmy Carter declared that March 8 was officially the start of National Women’s History Week. That same year, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch and Maryland Representative Barbara Mikulski co-sponsored the first Joint Congressional Resolution declaring the week of March 8, 1981, National Women’s History Week.
By 1987, Congress declared the entire month of March Women’s History Month. Since then, every president has declared the month of March Women’s History Month. In 2021, President Biden called upon all Americans to observe this month and to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, 2021, with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. He also invited all Americans to visit WomensHistoryMonth.gov to learn more about the vital contribution of women to our nation’s history.
Our history is replete with examples of the unfailing bravery and grit of women in America, particularly in times of crisis and emergency. Women served our nation during World War II, led organizing and litigation efforts during the Civil Rights movement and represented the United States on the global stage in the fight for human rights, peace, and security. Far too often, their heroic efforts and stories have gone untold — especially the millions of black women, immigrant women and others from diverse communities who have strengthened America across every generation.
In the current pandemic, women continue to lead. From vaccine researchers to public health officials to the countless heroines on the frontlines, women are working tirelessly to defeat COVID-19.
Last year also marked a historic milestone of women’s leadership with the inauguration of America’s first woman Vice President, Kamala Harris. In our community, I am proud to serve on the Voorhees Township Committee with two women who are role models, Michelle Nocito and Jacklyn Kassab Fetbroyt. They will be sharing their thoughts in this column over the next two weeks.
** The Voorhees Breakfast Rotary Club’s Annual Voorhees Township Community Service Awards Dinner will be held on Thursday, March 8th at 6:00PM at Lucien’s Distinguished Catering in Berlin. The Club will honor the 2021 Businessperson of the Year, the Voorhees Citizens of the Year and the Voorhees Selfless Student of the Year. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit voorheesbreakfastrotary.org.
**The Spring Egg Hunt sponsored by the Voorhees Breakfast Rotary Club and the Voorhees Citizens Event Foundation will be held on April 9 at 11:00 a.m. at Lions Lake Park 101 Dutchtown Road in Voorhees (rain date April 16). Children from age 1 through fifth grade are invited and prizes will be given to all age groups. Please bring your own baskets. For more information visit voorheesbreakfastrotary.com.
