On Sunday, January 11, 2009, The Commercial Appeal published the following letter, written by Ruby Bright, addressed to the next First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.

Balance of Power and Opportunity

Dear Michelle,

The election of your husband, Barack Obama, as President of the United States empowers us to be the change we want to make. Throughout the campaign, both of you professed your commitment to helping strengthen the American family. I am looking forward to working with you on that mission.

As Executive Director of the Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis and as Board Chair of the Women's Funding Network, I am dedicated to helping women and children achieve economic self-sufficiency. These dual roles provide me with unique insight to work with women on opposite economic spectrums but who share a struggle for security. I work with women who strive to break the glass ceiling in leadership roles and women who, depite working two jobs, struggle to patch leaky ceilings and feed their children.

Determined working class families are strained by higher prices for necessities, less access to education and fewer outlets to make their dollars stretch further. Women and children are the face of poverty in this country and globally. As "First Mom," please keep the faces of these families at the forefront of your thoughts and political agenda.

From "Main Street" down to Our Street, women work tirelessly to find balance between their work and home life. But the number of women and children who need our help is growing rapidly. In Memphis, one in five families lives below the poverty level. As President-Elect Barack Obama so eloquently stated in a speech on October 21, 2008 in Lake Worth, Florida, "A crisis like this calls for the best ideas, brightest minds and the most innovative solutions from every corner of this country." In this economic downturn and in this moment in history, where there is openness for change, we should align ourselves to eradicate poverty.

Throughout the presidential campaign, your family epitomized strong family values and a commitment to change. This shift motivates and infuses energy in our work to support the economic security for the families. We represent a women-led constituency who invest in communities across the nation and our world.

Michelle, Barack Obama recently characterized his presidency as our "partner in the White House that understands our prosperity doesn't come from Wall Street or Washington, but from the hard work and ingenuity of our people." We ask for your leadership and motherly compassion to drive economic change on a national front. Together we can lead the movement of community transformation from Our Street to "Main Street" to Wall Street.

Additional Resources:

Center on Budget and Policies Priorities Report "Recession Could Cause Large Increases in Poverty and Push Millions into Deep Poverty

Transformational Philanthropy A Practical Guide and Worksheet