Release Date: March 9, 2010
Office of Mayor Julian Castro: 207-7083
Mayor's Commission celebrates International Women's Day with launch of scholarship initiative
The Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women hosted its fourth annual celebration of International Women's Day today featuring the launch of the Commission's "Pathways to Leadership Scholarship." With major underwriting from USAA, plus donations from individuals and businesses throughout the community, the Mayor’s Commission was able to raise more than $25,000.
The scholarship was announced by Mayor Julian Castro, Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women Chairwoman Sonia Rodriguez and USAA Foundation President Barbara Gentry.
"I applaud the Commission for its leadership in creating a great opportunity for young women in San Antonio," Mayor Julian Castro said. "I'm pleased that as a community we're finding ways to expand access to college."
Tuesday's celebration involved more than 300 women from nonprofit, business and civic groups, who participated in a series of discussions and a luncheon featuring National Public Radio's Latino USA Managing Editor Maria Hinojosa as the luncheon keynote speaker.
"Each year, the Commission has found a way to create greater dialogue for the women of our community, and the scholarship was a natural product of the years we have spent cultivating relationships and gathering information," Rodriguez said. "Last year we announced results from the city’s first ever study on the status of women, which found many great opportunities but also underscored that poverty was a key trigger of teen pregnancy, low income, poor education and poor healthcare. The key to combating poverty is education."
Armed with the study results, the Commission embarked on a citywide effort to raise private dollars toward funding the Pathways to Leadership Scholarship.
"We found it imperative to not only create a scholarship but to use it to help young women with leadership potential who would otherwise not be able to attend college," Rodriguez said.
Sponsors for Tuesday's event and scholarship also included HEB, Valero, SAWS, CPS, Rackspace, IBC Bank, University Health System, NuStar, San Antonio Area Foundation, United Way, the Hispanic and Asian American Chambers of Commerce, St. Mary's University, and the City of San Antonio.
In addition to the scholarship, more than 100 women spent the morning networking and sharing ideas and solutions to challenges in healthcare, childcare, business, safety and overall quality of life. The morning discussions culminated with a luncheon featuring Hinojosa.
Hinojosa is currently a senior correspondent for the acclaimed NOW series on PBS, which has won the Cronkite Award for best political reporting. She has served as a news correspondent for NPR in New York and urban affairs correspondent for CNN.
Hinojosa has won two Emmys, one for a story on Taxing the Poor, and she received the Edward R. Murrow Award for her groundbreaking piece Child Brides: Stolen Lives, which also garnered her the National Association of Hispanic Journalist's Best TV documentary award and the organization's Leadership Award.
She has also authored the critically acclaimed memoir Raising Raul: Adventures Raising Myself and My Son, and the book Crews: Gang Members Talk with Maria Hinojosa, based on her NPR report showing how jails become a rite of passage for young men. She has been named three times to Hispanic Business magazine’s 100 most influential Latinos in the United States.
The Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women was established May 7, 1970 to "serve in an advisory capacity to the City Council of the City of San Antonio to advise on matters affecting the employment opportunities, education, social, civic and political participation by women in the American way of life." The Commission is comprised of one commissioner and two associate commissioners from each city council district. Eleven women currently serve on the commission.