Women get the job done – especially with a network of other powerful women behind them.
The New England Patriots Foundation and CVS Health wanted to help establish that network for women working to make communities better across New England. The organizations teamed up Friday to host the first Female-Led Nonprofit Summit at Gillette Stadium.
"With our great friends at CVS, we have adopted women and girls empowerment (as a cause to get behind), and that's what led to this idea today," Josh Kraft, president of the Patriots Foundation, said about their cornerstone partner initiative with CVS Health.
"One of the visions of the Patriots Foundation is to always, no matter what, provide access to opportunity to anyone and everyone, especially groups that are sometimes overlooked, intentionally or unintentionally."
The event began with a welcome address from Kraft, followed by a Powerful Females Panel with a session for audience questions.
Those panel speakers included Tamara Brown, the Patriots team reporter who moderated the conversation, Jen Ferron, the chief marketing officer of Kraft Sports & Entertainment, Robyn Glaser, the senior vice president of business affairs for The Kraft Group and co-founder of Put Me In, Robin Vann Ricca, chief people & equity officer and executive vice president of the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, and Catherine Anne Wilson, founder of "Stop Trafficking Us" and one of the 2022 Myra Kraft Community MVP award winners.
Attendees also had the chance to converse among a more intimate group after the panel. The breakout sessions touched on branding and communication, recruitment and retention, social and digital media, and finance and legal -- all led by executives across various employees of The Kraft Group.
Founders, presidents, and representation across five female led non-profits were represented Friday, including Stephanie Brown of Casa Myrna, Lynn Margherio of Cradles to Crayons, Vanessa Calderón-Rosado of Inquilinos Boricuas En Accion, Denise Brack of Hope Floats Healing and Wellness Center, and the New Hope organization.
Along with opportunities for networking and inspiration, the nonprofits were each surprised with a $5,000 check to help continue their efforts across the region.
"We're really excited about this program and looking forward to as many lessons as we can bring to it," said Ferron.
"It's more about how we can continue to help each and every one of you tell your stories. .. I think we're going to try to find some of those parallels today."
