JEFFERSON CITY — On what would have been her 82nd birthday, former Lt. Gov. Harriett Woods will be remembered by family and friends next week with the establishment of a political fundraising organization for women.

The PAC, which will be called HARRIETT’S LIST, will help “progressive Democratic women” seeking state legislative and statewide offices, according to a release from Stacey Newman, the group’s executive director.

The list will be modeled after Emily’s List, a national fundraising arm that Woods helped found after her narriow loss in 1982 to U.S. Sen. John Danforth. Emily’s List stands for Early Money Is Like Yeast.

Woods died of leukemia at age 79 in 2007. She was the first woman elected to statewide office in Missouri, serving as lieutenant governor from 1985 to 1989. She also was a prominent fighter for women’s rights during two terms in the state Senate.

A press conference is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall in University City, where Woods began her political career as a councilwoman. Her son, Andy Woods, and her granddaughter, Reina Woods, will help launch the new PAC.