It is all about giving back, no matter what. That is the idea and the mission behind the recent formation of the non-profit Business Women of Fayette and Coweta.

BWFC was formed with the intent of empowering women, promoting networking and helping the less fortunate. The organization’s most recent bi-monthly meeting was held Oct. 27 at Maguire’s Family & Friends in Senoia. Speaking after the meeting were Wendy Maguire and Patti Kadkhodaian, two of the groups organizers.

Maguire said the precursor of the organization formed about three years ago with nearly a dozen women doing low-key fundraising for different charities. Then earlier this year the group decided they needed to up the ante on their participation.

“We decided we needed to do more and to pool our resources,” Maguire said. “But it’s not about the money we raise. It’s about what we bring to the table.”

That idea is an attractive notion to an increasing number of local business women, this desire to expand their impact in their communities in areas of need. So starting with nearly a dozen in February, the metamorphosis of intent and empowerment had transitioned into a group of 33 that attend the Oct. 27 meeting. And it was at that meeting that a $2,000 check was presented for the Cattle Barons Ball/American Cancer Society fundraiser.

“We needed to do something more,” Kadkhodaian said of the group’s emerging efforts and its current application for non-profit status. “We want to have a networking venue for members and we want to empower women and we want to give back to the community.”

BWFC will typically have three ongoing fundraising and assistance efforts each year, Maguire said. One of those efforts is assisting the Community Welcome House shelter for abused women and their children in Coweta County. Shelter representative Linda Kirkpatrick and one of the shelter’s staff attended the Oct. 27 meeting to make a presentation.

Other items on each meeting’s agenda also include a variety of informational and networking opportunities. Upcoming speakers will include life coaching, fitness and nutrition and obstetrics/gynecology. Agenda’s are structured so that each meeting will have something women can take with them and better their lives, Kadkhodaian said.

If the energy and zest of the 33 women at the Oct. 27 meeting is any indication, it will be interesting to see in the near term what the Business Women of Fayette & Coweta will accomplish.

“We have to give back, no matter what,” Maguire explained.

BWFC dues are $50 per year. For more information on the Business Women of Fayette and Coweta contact Wendy Maguire at (770) 361-3716 and maguirewendy@comcast.net or Patti Kadkhodaian at (678) 472-1199 and pkad@bellsouth.net

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