AWNY President Belinda Jackson reflects on a year of “something for everyone”:
First Snow of the Season
The first snow for the winter fell yesterday as I started writing this post and I was reflecting on how much I cherish that first snowfall of the season. It seems as though a blanket of peace momentarily falls over the city. There is a quiet that is unlike any other and the beautiful fluffy white stuff seems to be even more brilliant on the first snowy day. It also makes me feel as though I have a good excuse to make a hot Milo to join some toasted crumpets and vegemite for afternoon tea. I always find the start of winter a joyous time in NYC as everyone is getting ready for ‘The Holidays’, decorations are up, Christmas lights are all over the city and The Rockettes are playing at Radio City Music Hall.
From an AWNY perspective, some of us are heading ‘down under’ and others will stay in NYC to enjoy the festive season. Others will venture further afield, whether it be to upstate New York or Europe to ensure they get a ‘White Christmas’, or to the Caribbean to work on their tan.
Connecting Women in NYC
Our mission at AWNY is:
To provide something for everyone in our community at some stage throughout the year
Our committee is working hard to achieve that goal. People engage with us in a variety of ways, either by attending our events, or online, including enjoying our newsletter, blogs and social media channels.
We aim to offer a broad range of events. Some are educational, like our recent Finances/Taxes in the USA event, and others are social, like The Met Rooftop drinks evening, where we had about 150 people come along. Others are just plain fun, like our Scanlan and Theodore Trunk Show.
Our online presence includes our blog, where you will find all sorts of interesting information ranging from tips for living in New York City to profiles of individual AWNY members. If you subscribe to our blog, you will receive the blog posts emailed to you directly for the most up-to-date information. We also have our Facebook page and two Facebook groups (Australian Mums and Dads in NYC and the AWNY group), along with Twitter and Instagram profiles.
Supporting the AWNY Community
The AWNY community is comprised of women of all ages and life stages. We have members aged from 18-80, some who have moved here for their careers, others for love and/or adventure. More and more Aussies are attracted to the USA and especially the Big Apple, so we seem to be growing at a consistent rate. Our goal is to be a very supportive and inclusive group for Aussie women living in and moving to NYC.
To support this broad community, we have structured our AWNY Committee into five sub-committees: Communications, Events, New Members, Charity and Mums and Dads. There is an amazing breadth and diversity of talent and professional interests within the group of volunteer Committee members that enables us to fulfill our mission. Check out our Faces of AWNY posts to get a taste of the impressive talent pool amongst our volunteers.
The Meet and Greet Program
We recently launched our Meet and Greet program and have received a tremendous response to date. If you know anyone moving here who could benefit from being connected with a like-minded Australian women in New York, please feel free to refer them to this program.
Kicking Off 2018
We will be kicking off the New Year with a fun social event: Ice Skating at Bryant Park on January 6. Please join us to either skate or enjoy a hot chocolate or glass of mulled wine with some other Aussies.
Finally, I’d like to wish all our members and their friends and family a very Happy Chanukah /Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays wherever you are in the world and sending positive vibes for 2018.
If you have any queries or comments at all please feel free to reach out to our Committee via awny@aaanyc.org
AWNY | Australian Women in New York 