Emmaus Rotary Club once again celebrated International Women’s Day at its March 5 meeting by honoring Jill Long with the Rotarian Award and Corrine Goodwin with the Community Award.

Rotarian Alicia Ruiz-Orbin is the chair of the International Women’s Day celebration for Emmaus Rotary Club.

Ruiz-Orbin provided a history of women in Rotary, saying, “Female members were not admitted until 1989 when the constitution and bylaws of Rotary International stated that Rotary Club membership was for males only.

“In 1978, The Rotary Club of Duarte, Calif., invited three women to join. The Rotary International board withdrew the club’s charter for violation of the Rotary constitution. The club brought suit against [Rotary International] claiming a violation of a state civil rights law that prevents discrimination of any form in business establishments or public accommodations,” Ruiz-Orbin said. “The appeals court and the California Supreme Court supported the Duarte position.”

Ruiz-Orbin said the Rotary International constitutional change was made at the 1989 council on legislation to eliminate the “male only” provision for all of Rotary; however, it was at the option of the clubs to accept women.

Rotarian Wilmer Schultz, a Rotary member since 1952, was asked by Ruiz-Orbin his thoughts about women in Rotary.

“Women are the sparkle, the liveliness of Rotary,” Schultz said. “They are hard workers and energetic.”

As of March 5, of the 1.2 million Rotary members worldwide, about 277,624, or 22.7 percent, are women.

“These women are from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds,” Ruiz-Orbin said. “They demonstrate teamwork, persistence, determination, creativity, enthusiasm, generosity, self-confidence and compassion. They have embraced the leadership opportunities provided by their clubs and have been making an impact in communities around the world.”

Ruiz-Orbin said Emmaus Rotary Club is proud to be the first Rotary Club in District 7430 to join this celebration for the third year by honoring two women from the Lehigh Valley.

Introducing Long was Rotarian Courtney Kennedy, also a member of the International Women’s Day Celebration committee.

Long has been a member of Bethlehem Rotary Club since 2014. She is a strong supporter of the Rotary Foundation and has earned a Paul Harris +2 recognition. She is also a TRF Major Donor and a Bequest Society member.

Long maintains a 100-percent attendance record with Bethlehem Rotary Club, with the exception of vacations. As the community service committee chair, she is responsible for overseeing, as well as being an active member, in the following committees: membership, golf, hunger outreach, dictionary project and Taste & Tunes, an event that has raised more than $200,000 in six years and has benefited many charities.

She is also very active in the Phillies Strike-Out tournament every August, which raises money for the Rotary Foundation and collects cans of nonperishable food for distribution to local food banks.

In 2010, Long participated in the Rotaplast Medical Mission to Pereira, Colombia, South America, serving as a photojournalist, responsible for recording the visual and personal stories of the missions.

She serves in the Lehigh Valley BEST Foundation and has been a member of the board of directors of Valley Youth House since 1980. She has also been a foster mother for eight girls through Valley Youth House during her 37 years with this organization.

“I am truly honored to receive this award,” Long said.

Rotarian Ashley Lorah introduced Goodwin, who was nominated by Rotarian Jim Palmquist.

Goodwin is the leader of Lehigh Valley Transgender Renaissance; executive director of Eastern PA Trans Equity Project; board member and secretary of YWCA Bethlehem; volunteer for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee at United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley; volunteer at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center; volunteer for LGBT Business Council of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce; and an invited speaker for numerous organizations.

“This nominee is leading the regional response to one of the most compelling social justice issues of our time - transgender rights,” Palmquist said.

Goodwin provided statistics on how transgender individuals are subjected to high levels of prejudice during her acceptance speech.

• 57 percent have been rejected by their family

• 29 percent have been homeless

• 23 percent experience job discrimination

• 30 percent have had negative health care experiences

• 51 percent have been harassed by law enforcement

• Unemployment rate is twice the national average

• Twice as likely to be assaulted as the general public

• Targeted for violent hate crimes at a rate of two times that of Muslims or black people, four times that of Jewish people and 14 times that of Latinos

• 67 percent of LGBT hate crimes are perpetrated against trans women of color

• 41 percent of gender-diverse people have attempted suicide

To clarify, transgender or trans is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth.

In a study released in early 2019 by the Centers for Disease Control, the percentage of the population who are transgender and gender diverse is estimated to be 2 percent of the U.S. population - or approximately 6.7 million gender-diverse people living in the United States. Approximately 240 transgender persons live in Emmaus with another 700 living in Lower Macungie Township.

As the leader of Lehigh Valley Transgender Renaissance, a group supporting the transgender community in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas, the all-volunteer nonprofit support group seeks to improve the lives of transgender individuals and their families. The group provides social opportunities, peer support, education, resources and outreach focused on the needs of the transgender community.

Goodwin recently launched the nonprofit Eastern PA Trans Equity Project, which is focused on providing direct financial assistance to transgender people. The nonprofit hopes to provide legal name change assistance (base cost between $700-$1,000), prosthetic micro-grant program ($100), housing assistance and educational programming such as workforce training.

“You need identification to do anything,” Goodwin said. “If the name doesn’t match the gender presentation,” it becomes a problem.

Goodwin cited examples of being stopped by law enforcement, going to the hospital, buying cough medicine at a drugstore or buying alcohol and being asked for identification.

The goal for this year is to provide 30 name change grants, which cost $500 if they are done by the person or $2,000 using a lawyer. The organization will help the individual with the forms and support needed to change their name. They hope to double that number by 2021.