Weather on Saturday impacted the Genesis House Women's Expo, planned to coincide with International Women's Day. 

Community and Resource Development Kari Kauenhofen described the day.

"We had presentations going on from 9 am till 1 pm and then we also had some community booths and different booths that provided some information and you could see what kind of supports were in our community." 

Some presenters were unable to drive from other communities to get to the event so some changes to the plans had to be made. Kauenhofen said Genesis House is used to being flexible and pivoting to the challenges each day.

 

She explained why they wanted to hold the event at this time of year.

"This week was International Women's Day and we wanted to have it on the week of International Women's Day to celebrate women, but also to showcase some of the supports in our area and give women some free education about their bodies. The more that we know, the more empowered we are and so we felt like as Genesis House, we see a lot of women that are controlled and don't always have a say in their body or their situation, so we wanted to be able to give them some support."

She shared her hopes for all women.

"My hope is that women will see that they are valued, that they are unique, and that they're not alone, whether or not it's health, mental health, physical health, that there are supports out there. My hope is that for one woman, more than one woman would get plugged into supports if they need that."

Kauenhofen is grateful for all who came to make the event happen and those who attended the event. she said they will evaluate the day and begin planning for next year's event.