Branch Dinner

“Focus on the Future of Girls & Women in the Greater Rochester Area”

This month’s branch dinner meeting on Tuesday evening November 12th, gives us another opportunity to explore our theme of “Focus on the Future of Girls and Women in the Greater Rochester Area.” We will be hosting two individuals who have intimate knowledge of the direction our Rochester City government is likely to take after this election and in the coming year:

  • Gaynelle Wethers, one of our own GRAB members, has been tirelessly working as the campaign manager for the 2013 mayoral candidate Lovely Warren. When she’s not on the campaign trail, Gaynelle Wethers is a professor at Nazareth College and serves on the Board of The Anthony L. Jordan Health Center, a community health center in Rochester. She will share some of her experiences running the mayoral campaign and inside knowledge of how the Rochester political scene works.
  • Georgia DeGregorio, president of our local League of Women Voters in Rochester will also be joining us. The League of Women Voters is strictly nonpartisan and neither supports nor opposes candidates for office at any level of government. We will hear her perspective on the many issues facing our community.

November is the month we will be electing a new mayor and many other officials in the City of Rochester. Our newly elected officials will need to focus on many troubling issues that face our home town including education of our children, economic development and public safety considerations. Here are some startling statistics that may surprise and concern you:

  • The city of Rochester is home to the 7th highest child poverty rate in the nation, with 54% of our children living below the poverty line.
  • Rochester has an unemployment rate of 9.8%, with over 75% unemployed in some city neighorhoods.
  • Only 5% of Rochester City School District students are proficient, the lowest in the state, with a graduation rate of 46% and at the bottom of the nation for outcomes for black and Hispanic boys.
  • The city of Rochester has the highest infant mortality rate in NYS, nearly triple that of New York City.

Please join us at the meeting on November 12th at 5:00 pm for social hour, 6:00 pm dinner followed by our presentation and discussion at 7:00 pm. See you there for a very interesting discussion.