ABOUT US
UNWG New York Headquarters
The United Nations Women's Guild was founded in 1948 in New York to help children in need all over the world.
We channel funds to charities providing shelter, education and health care to impoverished, orphaned and disabled children.
Our international membership provides the personal link necessary to make assistance available to communities with limited ability to obtain outside support.
Membership is open to any woman officially connected by work or relationship to the United Nations. This includes the UN, its Specialized Agencies, and Permanent Missions to the United Nations.
Non UN-affiliated women interested in supporting the work of the Guild are invited to contact our office.
Members come together in fellowship and a shared commitment to improving the lives of the most vulnerable children regardless of race, religion, or country.
2024 Coordination Board
Honorary President:
Mrs. Catarina VAS PINTO GUTERRES
President:
Ms. Annette Hayrapetian
Vice President:
Ms. Ellen Sung ok Kwon
Secretary:
Ms. LeNelle Suharto
Assistant Secretary:
Ms. Grace Zhuo
Treasurer:
Ms. Neelam KAKAR
Assistant Treasurer:
Ms. Rosely Saad
Communications Committee:
Ms. Zoe Chang
Fundraising Committee:
Ms. Genoveva Wallach
Membership Committee:
Ms. Pierangela Shaw
Projects Committee:
Ms. Isabel Aleta
Sales Committee:
Ms. Ginet Cubillos
Overseas Liaison Office:
Ms. Ana Soto
UNWG HISTORY
MARCH TOWARDS THE 21ST CENTURY (1980 - 1995)
The purpose of the Guild has remained the same. It anchored itself steadfastly to the welfare of the needy children avoiding any kind of political or sectarian controversies that were swirling around all over the world during the cold war. But its focus shifted from regional to international, and to keep up the pace with the enormity of the needs of the children, it stretched its arms as far as it could. Consequently, the fund-raising activities required tremendous efforts on its part and a knowledge of the facts of life beyond its doorstep became imperative.
OUR AFFILIATES
Vienna International Centre,
Room F-1036
P.O. Box 400, A - 1400 Vienna, Austria
Tel: +431 2600 24276
https://unwg.unvienna.org/unwg/index.html
President: Cathy Kieffer
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153 Roma
Tel: + 39 06 57053628
President: Barbara Pandawe
1 Lady Musgrave Road,
Kingston 5,
JAMAICA, West Indies
President: Una McPherson
THE CALL OF THE UN TO REBUILD THE WORLD: A TINY GROUP'S RESPONSE
(1948-1960)
On April twelfth, 1948, there was great jubilation among the women of a small sewing group in Great Neck, N.Y. They had formed an association to help the needy children, mostly in war-torn Europe. A memorandum had just arrived from the United Nations permitting them to add "United Nations" to their title, thus recognizing the group as an affiliate of the most prestigious world body. The significance of the memorandum conferred honor and responsibility on them. They welcomed their new status with awe; they also considered it their reward and challenge. Immediately, they proceeded to place their house on a footing worthy of its name
- "The United Nations Women's Guild."
SELF-RELIANCE IN CHARITABLE WORK:
A NEW WAY
(1960 - 1980)
It was a new era for the United Nations Women's Guild.
For the first time, an itemized list of donations appeared in the 1962 newsletter. The five groups (Great Neck, Parkway Village, Manhattan, the Secretariat and Westchester) provided $1,242.00 to eleven charities. On that list was a contribution of $425 to buy equipment for the Handicapped Centre in Leopoldville in the Congo near to where the late Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjold, had been killed in a plane crash. By comparison, 1980 accounts showed donations of more than $33,000 to seventy-seven different hospitals, child care centres, schools, orphanages and children's projects.