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Women's Endowment Fund to host annual "For Women, Forever" celebration on March 20, 2025

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The Women's Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation invites community members and leaders to save the date for its annual "For Women, Forever" celebration on Thursday, March 20, 2025, at House Three Thirty. The event will be hosted by emcee Sara Shookman, a career journalist and founder of Storyglow Studio.

Valerie Mayén
Valerie Mayén

Valerie Mayén, the founder of the socially conscious fashion brand Yellowcake, will deliver the keynote address. As a Cleveland-based Latinx entrepreneur, Valerie leads a diverse team focused on creating high-quality, handmade garments designed for everyone. Beyond fashion, Valerie's work promotes environmental responsibility and emboldens individuals to express their authentic selves. Her dedication has earned her acclaim and positions her as a sought-after speaker who inspires diverse audiences with her engaging presentations.

During the event, the Women's Endowment Fund will honor community volunteer and philanthropist Katie Smucker with the 2025 Judith A. Read Tribute Award for Service & Advocacy for Women. Katie has called Akron home since 2002, after living and working in numerous locales from Colorado to Brazil to Canada. As a dedicated community volunteer, Katie has served on the boards and committees of many local nonprofit organizations, including the Women's Endowment Fund, Akron Community Foundation, Love Akron, the Akron Art Museum, and Junior Leadership Akron. During her tenure on the Women's Endowment Fund Advisory Board, Katie chaired the fund's signature "For Women, Forever" event and its biennial Forum on Women and Girls. Prior to moving to Akron, Katie worked in various marketing and operations roles in Latin America. She is a graduate of Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, and Catholic University Quito Ecuador.

Katie Smucker, 2025 JARTA recipient
Katie Smucker

Named for one of Greater Akron's most influential philanthropic leaders, the Judith A. Read Tribute Award for Service & Advocacy for Women was created in 2016 to honor Judy Read's lifetime of service and extraordinary commitment to empowering women and girls. It is presented annually to the individual or couple who best exemplifies Judy's service, advocacy, leadership and passion in the community. Smucker was selected as the 10th recipient of the award by a committee of current and former Women's Endowment Fund Advisory Board members and past award honorees. She will join an esteemed group of past recipients, including Judith A. Read (2016) and Barb Greene (2024).

"This event is a celebration of women as philanthropists and the amazing projects that our grantees are doing in the community. Sponsors of the event are not only supporting the Women's Endowment Fund, they're also supporting the 30-plus nonprofits that we award grants to each year and the women and girls that those organizations serve," said event chair Kimberly Huff, a Women's Endowment Fund board member and community relations representative at Synthomer Foundation.

Corporate and individual sponsorship opportunities for the Women's Endowment Fund's "For Women, Forever" event range from $2,500 to $25,000. For more information about becoming a sponsor, visit akroncf.org/ForWomenForever-Sponsorship or contact Affiliate Fund Event & Volunteer Coordinator Malia Rivera-Speer at 330-436-5649 or mrivera@akroncf.org.

Tickets to the event will go on sale in January 2025. To be one of the first to receive an invitation, register for the Women's Endowment Fund's e-newsletter at akroncf.org/WEFNews. More information about the event is available at forwomenforever.org.

About the Women's Endowment Fund
The Women's Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation was established in 1993 as a permanent endowment committed to encouraging the advancement of women and girls in Summit County. To date, it has grown to more than $5 million and awarded nearly $2.3 million in grants. Contributions of any amount are welcome and can be made online at akroncf.org/give/WEF or mailed to the Women's Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation, 345 W. Cedar St., Akron, OH 44307. For more information, call 330-376-8522 or visit womensendowmentfund.org.

About Akron Community Foundation
For 69 years, Akron Community Foundation has been our community's champion and generator of enduring philanthropy. In 1955, a $1 million bequest from the estate of Edwin Shaw established the community foundation. It is a philanthropic endowment of more than $305 million with a growing family of more than 880 funds established by charitable people and organizations from all walks of life. The community foundation and its funds welcome gifts of all kinds, including cash, bequests, stock, real estate, life insurance and retirement assets, just to name a few. To date, the community foundation's funds have awarded nearly $250 million in grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. For more information about Akron Community Foundation or to learn more about creating your own charitable fund, call 330-376-8522 or visit akroncf.org.

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