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League Of Women Voters Celebrates 100th Anniversary, Women’s Right To Vote


League of Women Voters logo.

The League of Women Voters of Arlington Heights (LWVAH) celebrates the organization’s love for voting on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) through its first fundraising gala, “100 Years and Beyond,” which coincides with the league’s founding anniversary and 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed and protected women’s constitutional right to vote.

At the gala, LWVAH will recognize two “outstanding partners who exemplify the League’s commitment to education and advocacy.”

President of Township High School District 214’s school board, Dan Petro, will be given the organization’s first Ally Award. Petro is being awarded for the work he has done to bring LWVH-sponsored programs to high schools in the district. For example, one of the programs LWVAH sponsors with District 214 and St. Viator High School is the “Birthday Envelope Initiative,” in which each student receives a gift on their voting birthday that includes information on how to register to vote, the cost of absentee voting and a stylus that says “the vote is mightier than the pen.”

“Because of the LWVAH Birthday Envelopes Initiative, thousands of high school students, and first-time voters, have received information on how to register to vote by their 18th birthday,” according to LWVAH.

Regina de Leon Gomez is being awarded the “Pat Lindner Award” for her “incredible work educating and advocating on behalf of the environment and climate change,” according to LWVAH. She has worked to bring together key stakeholders from across the state of Illinois to work toward the environment.

“We’re so excited to offer our community a chance to celebrate the right to vote and the progress we’ve made these past 100 years,” LWVAH President Heidi Graham said. “It’s my hope the people who join us at the gala will see how they can make a difference and inspire those in their social circles to get involved.”

The gala will be held at Metropolis Ballroom, 6 S. Vail, in downtown Arlington Heights from 6:30 to 11 p.m.

Tickets for the gala can be purchased on Eventbrite until Feb. 7. The cost of the ticket includes dinner, dessert, dancing and live dueling piano entertainment. There is also an opportunity to win various prizes and become a member of LWVAH, regardless of gender. The first 100 people who purchase a ticket will receive a commemorative Susan B. Anthony dollar coin.

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