Geena Davis To Speak at Phoenix Fundraiser

Geena Davis is coming to Phoenix.
The Academy Award winner best known for her roles in “Thelma and Louise” and “A League of Their Own” will speak at a luncheon presented by the Women’s Leadership Council of the Valley of the Sun United Way.
The April 28 event at the Phoenician Resort will raise funds for the Valley of the Sun United Way’s Breakfast in the Classroom program. Honorary Chairwoman of the event will be Angela Ducey, Arizona’s First Lady.
Davis is also well known for her long-time advocacy on behalf of women. She was appointed Special Envoy for Women and Girls in information and communications technologies for the United Nation’s International Telecommunication Union. She is also an official partner of UN Women, working toward their goal of promoting gender equality and empowering women worldwide, as well as the chair of the California Commission on the Status of Women.
Davis recently launched the successful Bentonville Film Festival, an unprecedented initiative in support of women and diversity and serves as its co-founder and chair.
All proceeds from this luncheon directly benefit the Valley of the Sun United Way Breakfast in the Classroom program. When children have access to a healthy breakfast, they are more likely to be focused on learning the rest of the day and succeed in their studies. Valley of the Sun United Way is on a mission to provide Breakfast in the Classroom to 130 schools and more than 74,000 children in need throughout Maricopa County. This is part of their effort to End Hunger in the Classroom by working with schools to provide meals to children and reduce chronic hunger.
“Every day, children in our community go to school hungry, and many haven’t eaten since their lunch at school the day before,” said Merl Waschler, CEO of Valley of the Sun United Way. “This makes it far more difficult for them to focus and learn in class, and can have a detrimental effect on their academic career and chances for success.  Together with our Women’s Leadership Council, with our community and with the tremendous support of Geena Davis, we can change this.”
Last year’s event was a huge step forward for the program, raising more than $150,000 — which helped United Way increase the number of schools receiving Breakfast in the Classroom from 19 to now 65 schools and 37,000 children. A one-time investment of $4,000 will fund each school for this program. These funds are used for capital expenses and technical assistance to properly launch their Breakfast in the Classroom. Once the school is provided with infrastructure, federal funds help provide for the ongoing operations of the program. United Way is hoping to fund an additional 65 schools through the 2017 event.
Breakfast, as the old adage goes, is the most important meal of the day. Children who eat school breakfast are more likely to, according to research, reach higher levels of achievement in reading and math, concentrate better, be more alert, retain more of what they learn and participate in class.
Programs like Breakfast in the Classroom also address a factor holding back participation in other before school breakfast programs. Many students who are eligible for free or reduced-price school breakfast do not participate because of the stigma of going to the cafeteria for breakfast before school. By offering breakfast to all students, in the classroom, the stigma of eating school breakfast is eliminated. Research shows that a Breakfast in the Classroom model is the single best way to increase participation and achieve the widespread gains in academic success linked to school breakfast consumption.
For information on the event, visit www.vsuw.org/wlclunch.