The Evening Branch of the Women’s Alliance’s (EBWA’s) program for October is “No More Monsters,” presented by Rayn Boncie, CEO/Founder of Things of My Very Own, on Thursday October 24th, 6:30-9pm in the UUSS dining room.

All who identify as women are invited to come hear about Things of My Very Own, a non-profit organization which provides crisis intervention services and programs to children and non-abusive parents and works to keep children with family members and out of foster care when possible. The new program, No More Monsters, is designed to help children who have endured abuse in their homes to escape from post-traumatic episodes, re-establish their safe spaces and sleep peacefully, through intensive support services and by providing a new bed, mattress, comforter, sheets, and pillow. Having experienced foster care herself, Rayn Boncie recognized the need for children in foster care to have the things they need from the beginning of the experience. In 2008 she started the nonprofit organization from her home. It has grown and is now housed in a crisis intervention center in Schenectady’s Stockade District where around 4,000 children in crisis in an 11-county area are served each year.

We will serve coffee, tea, and dessert before the program.  We urge you to arrive by 6:30 pm for 
time to socialize before the program begins. Use the back door to the church, off the parking lot. 
We want everyone to have time to greet each other and settle in before Rayn’s talk begins shortly 
after 7 pm.  Following the presentation, there will be time for questions. Networking (when each 
person may share something of interest with the group) will begin around 8:15, and the meeting
 will end no later than 9 pm.
While reservations are not required, in order to have some idea of how many people to expect, it
 would be helpful if you would email Gabrielle Reals at ellegr3@gmail.com  by Tuesday,
 October 22, to let her know you are coming.  (If you forget to do this, we urge you to come 
anyway!)  As a reminder, in order for us to be able to pay our speakers an honorarium, we need
 your help.  Please consider subscribing by bringing a $30 check made out to EBWA to the
 upcoming meeting (or contact Carol Furman at cfurm13@gmail.com to learn where to send 
your check).  Those who have subscribed may attend the in-person meetings for free.  All others
 will be asked to contribute $5 toward our costs, at the door.

To see the full calendar of EBWA programs for 2024-2025, click here.

Looking ahead: Our November 21st program will feature Lois Porter, member of UUSS, who will speak to us about “All You Never Knew You Wanted to Know About Tarot Readings.”