Tuesday, September 25, 2001

WILMINGTON, NC – For 50 years, a Wilmington organization now headquartered on Castle Street has been working to empower girls and to achieve an equitable society. To mark that golden anniversary, Girls Incorporated of Wilmington will celebrate Oct. 30 with a fund-raising luncheon from noon to 2 p.m. at the Warwick Center ballroom on the campus of UNC Wilmington.

Local WECT-TV anchor, Frances Weller, will emcee a program that will feature Joyce Roché, a former Avon executive who early this year became president and CEO of national Girls Incorporated. She will speak about the issues facing girls in the 21st century and how the organization’s research-based programs address those issues.

Before joining Girls Inc., Roché served as president and chief operating officer of Carson Products Company, and vice president of global marketing at Avon Products, Inc. During her tenure at Carson, an African-American personal care company, sales increased over 130 percent. While at Avon, Roché broke new ground, becoming Avon’s first African-American female vice president, the first African American vice president of marketing, and the company’s first vice president of global marketing.

Roché has received wide spread acclaim for numerous achievements in the business world. Among her many accolades, in 1998 Business Week selected her as one of the “Top Managers to Watch,” and in 1997 she was featured on the cover of Fortune magazine. In 1991 and 1994 respectively, Black Enterprise magazine named Roché one of the “21 Women of Power and Influence in Corporate America” and one of the “40 Most Powerful Black Executives.”

Actress Linda Lavin will preside over another highlight of the event. She will present the stories of some of the Girls Club and Girls Incorporated participants. The celebration will serve as a “homecoming” for many women who were members of the Girls Club in their youth, as well as former staff and board members. However, there is only a partial record of the adult leadership of the organization and virtually no record of the thousands of girls who were served.

Girls Incorporated asks the media to help notify the public that it hopes to make the Celebration Luncheon a reunion for many who have been part of the 50-year history of the organization. It is especially interested in making contact with women who were members during their childhood, to find out how that experience may have influenced their lives.

Former Girls Club and Girls Incorporated participants and leaders are asked to call Karen Williams at (910) 763-6674 to make an appointment for a brief interview.

All people interested in attending the luncheon should call the above number to make reservations. Tickets are being sold for $50 (a dollar for every year of service to girls). The proceeds of the luncheon will go toward much needed repairs of the Castle Street building.

The organization will also welcome additional “sponsors” and “supporters” who are paying $2,000 and $1,000 respectively for a table of eight. Karen Williams can provide information on purchasing tables and tickets.

Girls Incorporated of Wilmington is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization that provides informal education after school and in summer camps to more than 650 girls aged four to 18, many from low-income families. Its motto is “Inspiring all girls to be Strong, Smart, & Bold.”

Nationally, Girls Incorporated has 1,000 program sites located in more than 134 cities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. There are seven Girls Incorporated affiliates in North Carolina.

NOTE: Biography on Joyce Roché can be found at http://www.girlsinc.org/ic/page.php?id=2.2.4.