Dining for Women is an international organization that raises money to positively impact the lives of women and girls throughout the world. Like other chapters, the Ahwatukee group consists of women that plan to meet once a week for a home-cooked dinner, and donate the money they would have spent at a restaurant to help others in need. Great food, good conversation and lots of laughter fill the weekly DFW meetings and at the end of the night members give whatever they can to raise money for the chosen organization of that month.
There are over 400 chapters of DFW and collectively they have raised enough money to help hundreds of thousands of women and girls in need. Money raised is used to provide education, health care, micro-credit loans, vocational training and economic development projects in 30 countries.
The Ahwatukee chapter of DFW is co-chaired by Norma Hubele, a retired Arizona State University professor of statistics and industrial engineering, and Toffler Niemuth, an entrepreneur who previously resided in China, Hong Kong and South Asia. Niemuth, the youngest member at 30 years old, feels by participating in DFW she can still have an impact on women in Asia.
Hubele is most proud of DFW’s ability to raise funds for scholarships and schools for girls living in some of the poorest countries in the world.
Every month the DFW headquarters provides chapters with information on a topic, summarizing the selected organization’s activities. In January, the Ahwatukee chapter donations were used to support the catalyst Foundation in Vietnam, which prevents human trafficking by creating economic opportunities for girls.
Information is also distributed at meetings regarding the culture of the country being discussed at meetings. Music, art forms, fair-trade shopping suggestions that emphasize social responsibility, readings and local recipes are all part of the discussion so everyone can become acquainted with the culture.
The DFW’s website reports close to $2.8 million have been raised since 2003 to help impoverished women and girls worldwide.