DID YOU KNOW?
You can now donate to SWE-Detroit through Facebook! We've had two members recently host Facebook Birthday Fundraisers that raised over $300 for SWE-Detroit Scholarships and Torch Award Endowment. SWE-Detroit receives the full donation amount without any processing fees taken out. Please consider SWE-Detroit if you're hosting a Facebook Birthday Fundraiser. *Make sure to check that the charity is SWE Detroit. National SWE is also available as a Facebook fundraiser.*

Join SWE-Detroit on Wednesday, November 17th at 8pm via Zoom for our Annual Fundraising Training! Learn how to raise money for all our great activities for the year including PDC, GEE, Scholarships and much more!

Please contact Kelly Harbison at swedetroittreasurer@gmail.com if interested in attending. 

Thank you to Kelly Harbinson for setting up our Torch Award Fundraiser this year and to all of those who participated. We do still need help in meeting our goals, so if you are able to donate please do so by visiting http://www.swedetroit.org, scroll to the bottom left and click the yellow Donate button.  ​

Lastly, as we get closer to reaching our goal, we need assistance in finalizing the Award Nomination Packet. If you are interested in helping, please reach out to Jessica Swan at jlengwis@gmail.com. 

Thank you for your continued support!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the #ChoosetoChallenge Virtual Mission Fundraiser! 

Congratulations to our two winners: 

• Erika Poli - Distance Winner
• Amanda Mohan - Donation Winner

We met our fundraiser goal of $1000!

Thank you to everyone who has donated to the Torch Award this fiscal year so far. 

We have raised $23,800 towards our goal of $27,500 to fully fund the Torch Award!  

Help us light the torch and support our teachers.  Any amount helps.

To donate via credit card or paypal, please visit http://www.swedetroit.org, scroll to the bottom left and click the yellow Donate button.  Under the optional drop down menu, please select “Scholarship - Torch Award”.  To donate via check, please add “Torch Award” in the memo and mail to SWE Detroit, PO Box 2978, Southfield, MI 48037-2978.

​Thank you to everyone who has participated in the My Virtual Mission #ChooseToChallenge Fundraiser so far!

We still have about one week left in the competition. Congratulations to Erika Poli on winning the distance challenge, but the donation challenge is still up for grabs! The current lead donation amount is $105. The distance and donation winner will receive a Michigan Goodies Basket. 

We're currently $172 short of our #ChoosetoChallenge fundraiser goal and $3,870 short of fully fundraising the Torch Award!

We #ChooseToChallenge you to help us meet our fundraiser goal!

Victory is within grasp!

• What: Join SWE Detroit's, We Choose to Challenge to Pass the Torch fundraising event.
  
  • This virtual race is in support of our SWE-Detroit Torch Award, an endowment to annually provide two outstanding teachers with engineering kits to continue their mentorship and "passing of the torch" to young women in STEM. To learn more about the Torch Award, see past SWE Detroit Blog posts: Torch Award update and historic upcoming events

• Where: Virtually, at your leisure
• When: March 8th through April 8th, starting on International Women's Day;​ You are welcome to join any time from now until the competition end date of April 8th.
• How: Sign up here or download My Virtual Mission App and search for the "Dreaming of Summer in Northern Michigan" Mission and join the mission! 
  • Minimum entry price is $25 with the event goal to raise $1,000 in donations. Remember to attach hashtag #choosetochallenge to align with the International Women's Day theme
• Winner: Two winners, one for distance and one for monetary amount raised.  Each will receive a unique Michigan Goodies Basket and a Pass the Torch Badge eBadge. 
  
• Questions: Email Jessica (jlengwis@gmail.com) or Kelly (swedetroittreasurer@gmail.com) 

COVID has thrown quite the wrench on everyone's plans for 2020 - but one thing has not changed - SWE Detroit’s commitment to STEM, especially our Teachers!  On this Giving Tuesday, please support us in raising funds for our Rewald/Perazza Torch Award.

This award was created to honor two SWE Detroit members who we lost in 2016 - Josie Rewald and Lisa Perazza - who had a passion for mentoring and supporting women in technology.

The Torch Award is symbolic in allowing us to continue Lisa and Josie’s love of “passing the torch” to future generations.  After one year of interest, the endowment would provide $1,000 (annually) to fund the recognition program, which would be split amongst two teachers who are focused on mentoring young women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). The recognition would enable continued support of their mission in the form of engineering kits for the awarded teachers, who might not otherwise be able to obtain such resources.  

Help us light the torch and support our teachers.  Any amount helps.​

To donate via credit card or paypal, please visit http://www.swedetroit.org, scroll to the bottom left and click the yellow Donate button.  Under the optional drop down menu, please select “Scholarship - Torch Award”.  To donate via check, please add “Torch Award” in the memo and mail to SWE Detroit, PO Box 2978, Southfield, MI 48037-2978. 

​SWE 4 Life Fiscal Year 2020 Status: $2000 out of $2500 goal
Still need: ~$3,000 to meet final program goal of $25,000 for endowed scholarship.
#SWE4Life
CLICK HERE to DONATE NOW! Enter in “SWE 4 Life” in the “Instructions to Seller” or comments box, go to www.swedetroit.org and Click on the PayPal Donate Button, or mail a check to Society of Women Engineers – Detroit, PO Box 2978, Southfield, MI 48037.
 
Happy New Year! We had a wonderful response so far in FY20. Many thanks again to our wonderful Life Members in Detroit! We are now $500 away from getting the full match and reaching our goal for establishing the Detroit Section’s SWE 4 Life Endowed Scholarship. Please consider one of our endowed programs when thinking about your next donation. Our program is a great candidate for any extra funds you may receive from tax returns or bonuses. We are $500 away from a lifetime of supporting the engineering pipeline and diversity in the workforce. In the shorter term, this means providing $1000 to a STEMinst at the Detroit Section’s 69th section anniversary instead of our 70th!
 
As usual, if you know any of the SWE Detroit Life Members, please help us communicate to them.
 
Not a Life Member? No problem, anyone can donate to the fund (some have already). Every little bit helps, so we encourage you to donate if you can. Your donation is tax deductible.
 
The program will be tracked separately from the Member Solicitation Program and have its own levels:
                        Diamond            $1000 +                                   
                        Sapphire            $ 500 to $ 999
                        Emerald             $ 250 to $ 499
                        Quartz                $  50 to $249                          
 
Contributions will be tracked yearly and the level will be determined based on accumulated contributions received by SWE Detroit.
 
To donate online to any of our programs, go to www.swedetroit.org and look for the Donate Button on the site for Paypal.  After you submit your information and input your donation amount, you will have the opportunity to designate your donation. Please input in the text field to allow it to be allocated appropriately: “SWE 4 Life Endowed Scholarship or Life Members Endowed Scholarship”, “Josie E. Rewald Memorial Scholarship”, “Torch Award”, “Past Presidents Scholarship”, specify another program, or the general fund.
 
HUGE THANK YOU to our supporters who have donated so far to our programs (updated as of 1/23/20):
SWE 4 Life Scholarship (Goal: $25,000)
Diamond
Jessica Mattis
Laurie Ramsay
Dawn Tilbury
 
Sapphire Level
Brooke Voto
Ally (company match in honor of Brooke Voto)
Tina Poquette
Birgit Sorgenfrei
Jenny & Robert Morikawa (in honor of Josie Rewald, gifted $100 in honor of friend Cheryl Williams)
 
Emerald Level
Lisa & Christopher Rewald (in honor of Josie Rewald)
Michele Marion
Susan Cischke
Lisa Henn
Kristine Lott
Terri Shipp
Jessica Swan
 
Quartz Level
Miriam Breslauer
Katie Amelio
Lisa Purvis
Cathi Kohn
Barabara Ferry (in honor of Josie Rewald)
Katherine Hillberg (in honor of Josie Rewald)
Kristine Barnes
Rosa Abani
 
If you have any questions, are interested in supporting the SWE Detroit SWE 4 Life Program, or creating your own endowed program to build a pipeline or legacy to benefit SWE Detroit Programs, please contact Lisa Purvis, Michelle Pascual, Anne Kamenju, Jessica Swan, or Jennifer Morikawa at swe_detroit@swe.org.