Attorneys Serving the Community (ASC) announced that Academy Award nominee Viola Davis will be the keynote speaker for its 28th annual ASC luncheon on Friday, June 20 at noon at the Hilton Anatole Hotel, Chantilly Ballroom. Proceeds benefit the Foundation for the Education of Young Women (FEYW), a network of public schools that support single gender, college preparatory education in order to provide young women, many from economically disadvantaged situations, an opportunity to achieve academic and leadership success. Specifically, the funds will support an internship program at Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, the first FEYW network school in Dallas, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Viola Davis is best known for her Academy-Award nominated performances in “The Help” and “Doubt,” as well as her role opposite Julia Roberts in “Eat, Pray, Love.” Raised in abject poverty, Davis fell in love with theater early in high school as a form of escape. Her passion and acting talent enabled her to earn a full scholarship to the Young People’s School of the Performing Arts, after which she then attended the prestigious Juilliard School. Davis translated her hard work and dedication to success on Broadway, in television and film and was named one of TIME Magazine’s “most influential people of 2012.”
Kim J. Askew is the event’s honorary chair. She is a long-time leader in the American Bar Association, State Bar of Texas and Dallas Bar Association. She has received numerous awards in her profession and serves on the boards of local and national civic, charitable and professional organizations.
Lynn McBee, CEO of FEYW, added, “We thank Attorneys Serving the Community for selecting the Foundation for the Education of Young Women as the beneficiary of this luncheon. Since our founding, we have invested funds and resources with impressive results: 100% of our seniors graduate from high school and 100% are accepted to college. We are also excited to hear from Viola Davis whose story is similar to so many of our young women.”
Attorneys Serving the Community Chairs are Dena DeNooyer Stroh of Murchison Oil & Gas, Inc. and Kelli Hinson of Carrington Coleman.
Dena DeNooyer Stroh said, “Attorneys Serving the Community’s mission is to bring together women lawyers to combine their resources and talents in support of local nonprofit organizations whose programs benefit women, children and families. We cannot think of a more deserving organization to support through this luncheon than the Foundation for the Education of Young Women, whose goal is to develop academic and leadership skills in young women.”
Former WFAA news anchor Gloria Campos is the mistress of ceremonies for the luncheon and also serves on the FEYW board.
Tickets are available for $100 and sponsor levels start at $1,500. For more information on sponsorships and purchasing tickets, call 214-824-1400 or email Cindy Ryan at cryan@feyw.org.
Special thanks to the following sponsors:
Presenting ($25,000) – Murchison Oil & Gas, Inc.
Crystal ($10,000) – Baron & Budd, P.C.
Platinum ($5,000) – AlixPartners LLP, Kim J. Askew, Lisa Blue Baron, Carrington Coleman, Sidley Austin LLP, Locke Lord LLP, Pryor & Bruce
Gold ($3,000) – Baker Botts, Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, Gray Reed & McGraw, P.C., Greenberg Traurig, Haynes & Boone, Jackson Lewis P.C., Jackson Walker LLP, Jones Day, McKool Smith, Strasburger & Price LLP, Thompson & Knight Foundation, TXU Energy, Winstead PC
Media Sponsors – D CEO and Texas Lawyer
About the Foundation for the Education of Young Women:
FEYW’s mission is to partner with urban school districts to create a network of all-girls public schools across Texas to give young women the academic and leadership skills to achieve success in college and in life. All FEYW schools have received Exemplary or Recognized ratings from the state of Texas each year. Since the organization’s existence, FEYW has invested funds and resources with impressive results: 100% of seniors graduate from high school and 100% are accepted to college. FEYW first formed a partnership with the Dallas Independent School District and, in 2004, the Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School opened. Additional network schools are the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders in Austin; the Young Women’s Leadership Academy in San Antonio; the Talkington School for Young Women Leaders in Lubbock; the Young Women’s Leadership Academy in Fort Worth; the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy in Houston. In January 2014, the Foundation added a seventh school, the Young Women’s Leadership Academy (YWLA) at Bill Arnold Middle School in Grand Prairie. Combined, the schools’ graduating classes have received more than $17 million in scholarships. More information can be found at http://www.feyw.org/ or by calling 214.824.1400.
For immediate release
Media contacts:
Juliette Coulter, 214.394.5532, juliette@coultergroup.com
Rhonda Aghamalian, 972.824.1455, contact.rhonda.now@gmail.com
###
