2015 Power of the Purse Luncheon

Over 600 women gathered for the Power of the Purse Luncheon at the Gallo Center for the Arts on Wednesday September 23rd.

This amazing group of women want to make Modesto a better place to be, a place which includes students achieving their dreams and goals and graduate high school!

The United Way fundraiser raises money for the Graduation Coaches at our Modesto area schools, and not only invest in the students academically, but emotionally and mentally. Each year, the team picks 40 incoming seventh-graders to mentor at each school. While not every kid has a complete success story, the coaches can improve attendance, lessen the amount of discipline problems and help the students get higher grades. These coaches are making a difference in many student’s lives, finding and then tapping into the potential in their students.

But the luncheon wasn’t just about the coaches, although raising funds for them was the most important part. The speaker was Susan Mazza, a business coach and motivational speaker who works with leaders and their teams to transform their performance, relationships and work environment from acceptable to exceptional. Susan has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders by Trust Across America/Trust Around the World and been named among the Top 101 Leadership Speakers in Inc. magazine. She has co-authored two books and writes a highly acclaimed blog, RandomActsofLeadership.com. Her 30 minute presentation was perfectly aimed at women in all levels of leadership. We all left with tidbits of new information to try at home, at work, and in the community.

There were, of course, also purses. Nearly a dozen purses were donated, and raffle tickets were sold to fund the Graduation Coach program. This was my favorite, donated by Intrinsic Elements.