The Grand Avenue Club community celebrates many holidays throughout the year. On Tuesday, March 9th, we celebrated a holiday that has become important to us: International Women's Day. This holiday is rooted in "National Woman's Day," which was celebrated in 1909 in New York City. Two years later, on March 19, 1911, the first International Women's Day was celebrated in several countries, with women demanding the right to vote and to hold public office.
The day has become a day celebrating women's activism on their own behalf. Women are still calling for equal pay, economic opportunity, equal rights, subsidized child care and the prevention of violence against women. We have come a long way, but there is more to do.
In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim a yearly observance of women's rights...and now it is celebrated in at least 27 U.N. countries.
Here in Milwaukee GAC has been celebrating International Women's Day for several years. In the past we have had many guests--supporters, employers, family members. This year's celebration was small--mainly GAC members and staff. After a two year pandemic hiatus, it felt good to be together and unmasked in a festive atmosphere
Keeping with the traditional International Women's Day theme of "Bread & Roses, the Culinary Unit prepared our traditional buffet of all kinds of breads, which included Irish soda bread, challah, pita, naan, cornbread muffins and honey butter, and this year's innovation--Kayla Bockhop's own recipe of ice cream bread! We all spoke of the women who inspired us and wrote their names on a blackboard so as to share their names. At the end of our workday Ricardo Hernandez distributed roses to all the women.
Our celebration of this holiday is rooted in our awareness of GAC as part of an international network of Clubhouses throughout the U.S. and in many other countries.
We are strengthened by the knowledge that these Clubhouses are also embracing Clubhouse culture and implementing the International Standards for Clubhouse Programs of Clubhouse International.
Here are some photos of GAC colleagues celebrating a wonderful holiday, one that enables us to salute the women who have inspired us (including many of our colleagues) while simultaneously continuing to inspire each other to create justice throughout the world.
