MCC celebrates Women’s History Month
Daily Herald report
Join McHenry County College as it celebrates Women’s History Month during March, featuring a variety of educational events and entertainment to showcase women and address the critical challenges they’re facing today.
This year’s program, “Honoring Women in 2011,” will address women’s achievements on a local and a global scale by offering a variety of fun and educational events to celebrate, including free lunch and learn lectures, a Woman’s Care Faire, a book discussion, a shoe ball, and the sixth-annual Women’s Film Festival.
“For decades, and in recent years, women’s accomplishments often have gone unnoticed or undocumented,” said Kate Midday, MCC English instructor and Women’s History Month chairwoman. “MCC will pay homage to the milestones women have made — and to the specific women each of us honor in our own lives.”
Women’s History Month, in partnership with the MCC Chapter of the American Association of Women in Community Colleges, will kick off with a concert reading at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 3, in the MCC Conference Center. The event will feature MCC’s Forensics Team members as they perform “The Wisdom of Serpents,” written by MCC employee Diane Baia, a finalist for the Jane Chambers Award as one of the top five feminist plays of 2009. Learn about a real woman who changed the lives of other women — in her time and our own.
The second annual Take a Walk in Her Shoes Ball is scheduled from 7:30 to 11 p.m. Friday, March 11, at the Holiday Inn in Crystal Lake. This event highlights the personal journeys women take and shoes are symbolic of the steps everyone takes in their lives. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the “Women in Transition” scholarship for a woman 24 years or older to attend MCC. To make reservations by March 4, visit www.supportmcc.org/shoes.
Women’s History Book of the Month Discussion at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, March 17, will feature open dialogue about “Half the Sky,” by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Kristoff, a New York Times columnist and his wife, WuDunn, a former Times reporter, write about investing in the health and autonomy of women worldwide.
The sixth annual Women’s History Month Film Festival from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 20, will feature two films by and about women, including “The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo” by Lisa F. Jackson, and “Africa Rising” by Paula Heredia.
The films will be shown in the MCC Conference Center. Admission is free for MCC students with student ID and $5 for general admission. Proceeds will benefit Women for Women International, a global organization providing aid to Congolese rape victims.
The third-annual Women’s Care Faire and interactive expo will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, in the MCC Commons Area in Building B featuring wellness checks, screenings, free demos, healthy snack samples, and interactive displays, self-defense tips, yoga techniques, and nutritional advice. For more details on the Women’s Care Faire, visit www.mchenry.edu/women.
A full calendar of dates and times for MCC’s Women’s History Month is available at www.mchenry.edu/women.
For information, call Kate Midday at (815) 455-8735 or e-mail kmidday@mchenry.edu.