Dear Kid,
Did you know that Cincinnati is second in the nation in childhood poverty? And that two out of every three kids in poverty in Greater Cincinnati live in single female headed households?
These are just some of the facts I learned Tuesday night from Cincinnati Women’s Fund. (Feel free to check out all the amazingly good work they’re doing.)
I also learned about the Cliff Effect. (Short version: Woman being offered a raise which she can’t accept because it will put her over the threshold for nutrition and childcare assistance. In effect, a raise of say $2,000 a year could cost her $14,000 in assistance. So she can’t accept the raise, which means she won’t be prepared for the next advancement. Rinse and repeat.)
Seven hundred of my best friends and I were at the Women’s Fund annual event “A Conversation with…” and this year’s keynote was Cokie Roberts.
Cokie Roberts (Ms. Roberts to you) is a well-known political commentator for ABC News and NPR. She told great stories about women who made a huge difference in our country and who’ve been more or less ignored by (male) historians. She also talked about some of her political coverage (like the time there was an election for Pope and the journalists had to figure out how to fill air time even though they really knew nothing).
Cokie (still Ms. Roberts to you) is smart, funny, and gracious. And spunky. I want to invite her out for a cup of coffee and listen to her stories for hours.
No, I don’t want to invite everyone out for a cup of coffee. Most of the time I prefer to take the coffee and leave the people out.
It was a great event. The Women’s Fund (as always) did an outstanding job just as they do outstanding work every day.
Love, Mom
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