2010 was an exciting year for The Women’s Foundation’s blog as we worked to establish Our Voices as one of the go-to sources for information about, by and for the women and girls of the D.C. metro area.  We added new features, encouraged conversation, and added an increasingly diverse number of topics and voices to the blog.  We’ve accomplished a lot, but we still have a long, long way to go; it takes time and commitment to establish a voice in the community, and we have plenty of both!  As we look ahead to 2011, we hope that our readers will take an even greater role in helping us carve out our niche in the D.C. metro area by adding their voices to the conversation.  Your commentary is critical to any conversation we might have as we all work toward moving forward as a region.

Here are the 10 most read Our Voices blog posts of 2010:

#10: As the Recession Continues, More D.C. Area Residents Go Hungry This post came courtesy of one of our Grantee Partners.  Alexandra Ashbrook is the executive director of D.C. Hunger Solutions.  In this post, she explains why food might be the first cutback in many economically strained households.  She also takes a look at what happens when families go hungry.

#9: A New Year’s Wish List for Economic Justice Program Officer Gwen Rubinstein kicked off the year with a list of 9 things the community could do to ensure economic justice for women.  Take a look and let us know if you think that we, as a community, came close to any of Gwen’s goals.

#8: Unemployment Rate for Single Moms Reaches 25 Year High Gwen was on a roll in January!  In this post, she explained that Bureau of Labor statistics showed that the economic downturn was not a “man-cession” and asked that public benefit programs and policies take the facts into account.

#7: A Conversation About Bullies, the Bullied & LGBTQ Teens In this follow-up post, Philanthropic Education Officer Nicole Cozier wrote about the varied reactions she’d received to an earlier post about instances when bullying and cyberbulling led to suicide.  Nicole’s original post is further down on this list.

#6: No Suffering in D.C.?  Wake Up, Congress! I have to admit — I was pretty angry when I wrote this post responding to a comment made by U.S. Representative-elect Allen West on Meet the Press.  West’s comments that no one in the District of Columbia is suffering from the recession seemed like an insult to the people who are working so hard to get by.

#5: A Day in the Life of a Fundraiser Guest contributor Karen Paul-Stern was inspired to write this post after attending our annual Leadership Luncheon in October.  She says that was the day she realized that she could be a philanthropist.

#4: How Women Can Achieve Economic Security This post was really a call for submissions for our Stepping Stones Research Briefing, which focused on research relevant to issues facing low-income, women-headed families and those working to assist them.  The final product of that call for submissions can be found by clicking here.

#3: AIDS Case Rate of Women in D.C. Nearly 12 Times Higher Than National Rate On World AIDS Day, The Women’s Foundation issued a press release on the blog and to the media highlighting data from Portrait Project 2010 (a new report from the Foundation) that showed that the AIDS case rate for women in D.C. was 90 per 100,000 — nearly 12 times the national rate.  The release also called for this health crisis to remain in the conversation as the District dealt with budget cuts.

#2: Growing Up in an Age of Enlightenment & Ignorance Philanthropic Education Officer Nicole Cozier was moved to write this post after reading about Tyler Clementi, a college student who committed suicide after his roommate allegedly filmed an encounter between Tyler and another man and streamed the video online.  “[F]or every young person that has felt so powerless and without options that they believed the only way out was taking their own life, my heart breaks again and again” writes Nicole.

#1: Teen Unemployment: Opportunities Plummet for Youngest Workers As laid-off employees turned to jobs for which they were overqualified, our area’s young residents found themselves with more ambition than opportunity.  Last year, Washington D.C. had a 53 percent teen unemployment rate — the highest in the country.

I’d also like to mention Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity’s weekly news round-up which takes a look at the most interesting stories about poverty around the country every week.  The round-up is one of the blog’s most popular features and is always worth the weekly read!

If you’d like to write for the blog, we’re always taking submissions!  For details, contact me at mcraven@wawf.org or 202-347-7737, ext. 207.

A new report from Washington Area Women’s Foundation highlights the devastating effect that HIV/AIDS continues to have on the Washington metropolitan region.

2010 Portrait of Women & Girls in the Washington Metropolitan Area (Portrait Project 2010) shows that the District of Columbia has an annual AIDS case rate of 90 cases per 100,000 women aged 13 and over; that rate is almost 12 times higher than the national rate (7.7 cases per 100,000 women). The report also shows that Maryland has an annual AIDS case rate for women almost three times the national rate.

Nationwide, African American women are at the greatest risk for HIV/AIDS, and D.C. is no exception. The AIDS case rate for African American women aged 13 and over in the District of Columbia is over 176 cases per 100,000 women.

“HIV/AIDS is one of the fastest-growing threats to women’s health in our region,” said Nicky Goren, president of Washington Area Women’s Foundation. “As D.C. grapples with a pending budget crisis, this health crisis must remain part of the conversation.”

In addition to data on HIV/AIDS, Portrait Project 2010 suggests policies and strategies that would improve the health of women and girls in the region. The report encourages residents to advocate with policymakers to adopt and support better health practices for women and girls that take into account their unique risks for particular diseases, such as HIV. Portrait Project 2010 also encourages the investment in outreach and education for improved preventative services and screenings.

2010 Portrait of Women & Girls in the Washington Metropolitan Area provides a clear and current look at the lives of women and girls in the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, MD, Prince George’s County, MD and northern Virginia and in coming years will serve as a critical tool locally and beyond for policymakers, community‐based organizations and funders. It can be read online by clicking here.