background shadows

For Immediate Release:                            Contact: (609) 633-8507

March 15, 2013                                            Kristine Brown

 

 

Christie Administration Celebrates National Women’s History Month Visit to Alice Paul Institute Details Historic Contributions of Women’s Suffrage Leader

 

TRENTON, NJ – In honor of National Women’s History Awareness Month, New Jersey Department of Children and Families’ (DCF) Commissioner Dr. Allison Blake, along with executive staff of the Department’s Division on Women (DOW), toured The Alice Paul Institute (API) today to recognize the social and economic contributions of women to New Jersey and the nation. Alice Paul was a New Jersey pioneer who dedicated her life to securing equal rights for all women and was the catalyst for some of the most outstanding political achievements on behalf of women in the 20th century.

 

“I think it’s so important that we continue to highlight the many contributions women have made, not only historically, but also the many contributions they continue to make today for the advancement of all society,” said Commissioner Blake.  

The API was established in Paul’s birth town, Mount Laurel, New Jersey in 1984 by a group of dedicated volunteers to commemorate the centennial of Alice Paul's birth and to further her legacy.

 

Blake said that educating others about the contributions and achievements of women has always been important, but this year it carries a special significance across the DCF since it is the first time Women’s History Month is recognized in coordination with DOW, transitioned over to the Department last summer.

 

New Jersey was the first state in the nation to make a comprehensive survey of women’s historic sites, resulting in the establishment of the Women’s Heritage Trail, which uses historic places to tell the collective story of women who contributed to agricultural, industrial, labor, cultural and domestic advances in the Garden State. Paulsdale, the birthplace and home of Alice Paul and home to the API is a site on the heritage trail.  For more information, visit http://www.nj.gov/dep/hpo/

 

“DCF is so proud to support women every day through all its programs and services, and visiting API today is really a way for us to come together and simply honor all of the remarkable women who have impacted our past, present and future.”

 

This year's National Women's History Project’s (NWHP) theme is “Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.”

 

A copy of Governor’s Christie’s proclamation declaring March as Women’s History Month in New Jersey is attached.