Women and men are invited to contribute to a book about some fine women in New Westminster's history.
Lynn Duncan, who is a co-founder of Vivalogue, is publishing a book as a fundraiser for WINGS (Women in Need Gaining Strength), a non-profit organization that operates Monarch Place transition house in New Westminster. Spreading Our Wings - Profiles of Extraordinary New Westminster Women is expected to be printed and available in time for Christmas. Duncan is hoping to involve as many people as possible in the community project. Vivalogue is a small publishing house based in New Westminster.
"We are still open to profile suggestions but are also looking for researchers, writers, editors and proofreaders who want to be involved on either a large or small scale," Duncan said. "We will be assigning tasks by September and expect to have the manuscript completed by Thanksgiving."
Duncan said the idea of raising funds for WINGS came about after she did a similar project in Vancouver. In addition to being a fundraiser for homelessness, she said that project proved to be a lot of fun for participants.
"I wanted to do something like that in my own town," she said. "A friend put me in touch with Lorrie Wasyliw, executive director of Monarch Place. They don't get a lot of government funding."
The women who will be profiled in the book will fall into four categories: pioneers, trailblazers, activists and achievers. Some of the women who have been identified at this time are well known, while others are completely unknown.
"There are some pretty amazing women on that list," Duncan said.
Some profiles may require doing research through city archives, while others may involve interviews.
"We have identified about 25 profiles. Some of them might be 500 words, some of them might be 2,500 words," Duncan said. "We want people to feel free to contribute a little bit of time, or a lot of time, depending on what they are comfortable with."
Duncan is still working on details of where the books will be sold, and also welcomes input on marketing opportunities for the book that will raise funds for WINGS. Monarch Place is a transition house in New Westminster that assists women and children fleeing domestic violence. For more information on the project, contact Duncan at 604-522-6222 or at [email protected].
