AFSCME Women spreading knowledge and raising awareness

By William Kauffman on March 11, 2017

The largest-ever AFSCME Council 13 Women’s Conference is 600 attendees strong, with more than 100 first-timers.

This year’s Women’s Conference, on top of being a tremendous educational experience for all involved, is dedicated to combating the scourge of drug addiction. Last night, Council 13 hosted a live and silent auction, expected to raise thousands of dollars for Sage’s Army, a non-profit drug awareness and prevention organization dedicated to helping those who have been affected by the epidemic of addiction.

We heard from Joette Dudeck, member of AFSCME Local 3864, who shared the story of the loss of her daughter Lisa to addiction, and how her AFSCME sisters have helped her persevere through hard times.

This morning, conference participants heard from Council 13’s Executive Director David Fillman, and Director of Dauphin County Drug & Alcohol Services Cheryl Dondero.

“This scourge of addiction took an AFSCME sister from us, which is reason enough to stand up and fight against it, as we do with every other threat to our AFSCME Family,” Fillman said.

After hearing some empowering words from the Executive Director, and some uplifting stories from Dondero, activists sprang into action to take part in a variety of workshops.

The conference will conclude on Sunday, when participants will hear from Carmen Capozzi of Sage’s Army.

Council 13 thanks Dudeck, Dondero, Capozzi and everyone brave enough to share their stories, and is proud to be part of the fight against drug addiction.