A Letter from the Executive Director WEDI has had another epic year -- from the traumatic fire at the West Side Bazaar and the heartwarming outpouring of support from our local community and beyond, we and our client businesses have experienced the full gamut of emotions this year. Most recently and auspiciously, we were awarded the ATHENA Organizational Leadership Award: Non-Profit. It’s a climactic achievement for our strategic plan which made the professionalization of our staff and board a goal. The Bazaar fire sent our community, staff, supporters, and volunteers reeling, while simultaneously showing us how important and connected to the WNY community our businesses truly are. Donations, letters of support, and offers of in-kind assistance arrived from near and far. We have worked hard to bring this temporary location to life while we build our permanent home on Niagara Street -- and we hope you love it as much as we do -- it provides our businesses with a home, and a spot for customers clamoring for lunch and dinner downtown after work, before a show or just to satisfy a craving can find us again. Amazing things are also happening in our Economic Development and Education programs. Economic Development has worked with over 250 businesses and currently has 60 active loans in our microlending portfolio, nearly 60% are to women-owned businesses and 85% are to minority owned business owners. Education serves over 60 students this year and another 60 in the 2022 summer program. Students have increased their literacy and grade point averages and have also experienced a wide swath of enriching activities, from boatbuilding at Buffalo Maritime Center to digital art at Squeaky Wheel, to a road trip to the the Women’s Rights National Historic Park. WEDI was built by hundreds and hundreds of supporters like you who have brought their best thinking, energy, and financial support to WEDI’s vision: that all residents of Western New York can succeed and thrive in a culturally inclusive community. Thank you for joining us tonight. It lifts my heart when I walk into the Bazaar. See you here and there in 2023! Carolynn Welch Executive Director VISION WEDI’s vision is that all residents of Western New York can succeed and thrive in a culturally inclusive community. MISSION WEDI strengthens communities through a continuum of educational and financial resources, removing systemic barriers to economic equity for all Western New Yorkers. WEDI // 5
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