The first Athena Program project will kick off at the October Board meeting in Geneva. I will be asking President Carlin for a scheduled time slot to meet with interested parties to find out exactly what New York State Women can do for our women veterans.

I have been meeting with various veteran’s groups (some not just for women), and after a meeting with the Buffalo V.A. Women’s Center I saw a need for brand new/tags on bras. New York State Women Inc. Chapters can participate in the Athena Bra Project by bringing donated new bras to the October Board meeting in Geneva for donation to the Buffalo V.A. Women’s Center. Future state meeting projects will benefit other centers in NYS, once we establish their needs for workshops (the current offering) and/or other ways (donations of toiletries, tote bags, lip balm, afghans/throws etc.) that our organization can provide.

The face-to-face meeting will address some of the issues below and seek input on the Athena Society Program. Please send me information prior to the meeting on the history behind the program name “Athena Society”, projects/events that your Chapter, Region, or individuals have presented, as well as any comments/suggestions you may have. Email your input to [email protected].

• There are ten Women's Centers at V.A. facilities in New York State. It's time for New York State Women Inc. to make the Athena workshops available to each one and find out if those workshops still meet their needs. If they don’t, then we need to find out what else they may need. 
• After making contact with each V.A. Women’s Center, I will bring their responses to the Oct. meeting and based on the responses, we can match Chapters, Regions, and individual members who are willing to address those needs. 
• V.A. facilities are not allowed to ask for donations, so it is up to us find out their needs whether it is the Athena Society program workshops or any other needs they may have.   
• NYS women veterans come home with physical/mental conditions, financial and life skills needs. Many know the pain of homelessness. Let’s stand up for our women veterans and continue our tradition of women helping women.

Sue Mager
2017 - 2018 Chair