Women's Giving Circle Grants are intended to improve the lives of women and their families in Washington County MD. In May 2007, the Women's Giving Circle partnered with the Community Foundation of Washington County and the Pauline Anderson Foundation to award nearly $70,000 in grants to 8 area nonprofits offering a variety of programs addressing many of the current needs in our county, including teen pregnancy, senior independent living, hunger, youth mentoring, education and promotion, and substance abuse.
Our Impact with Previous Grants
The Washington County Family Center was awarded $2,100 to help fund two health education and life skills programs designed to engage young parents in discussion and critical thinking about choices and the effect of those choices on their future and the future of their children.
· Unequal Partners teaches about power and consent in adult-teen and other relationships.
· The second program is a three-part series designed to educate participants about family planning, pregnancy prevention and sexually transmitted illnesses.
The Authentic Community Theater was awarded $2,100 to help fund Operation Start at the Heart --a series of programs that includes:
· Parent-child interactive classes promoting bondinh and the parent as a maturing child advocate and teacher; and
· a drama program that explores current issues for teen parents, including mentorships with successul community members that were also teen parents.
The MSO Guild was awarded $800 to help fund a new project aimed at nurturing an infant's cognitive, social, emotional and language development, and to teach teen mothers activities that nurture attachment and positive ways to interact with their infants. The program will take place at the Washinton County Family Center for 8 weeks and will use a Kindermusik curriculum and a journaling activity.
The Women's Giving Circle awarded our inaugural grants in 2004. The focus was programs and activities designed to increase the life skills of women.
Girls, Inc. received $4,000 to support "Dollars, Sense and Me" an economic literacy program for girls aged 8 to 14.
Hagerstown Community College Job Training Institute was granted $1,000 to support a mentoring program for young women enrolled in the Job Training Institute. The grant was later amended to support GED training and fees for these same young women.
Unfortunately, we were unable to meet the grant requests of several worthy organizations. However, as a result of our grant proposals process, the God's Grace Fund of the Community Foundation of Washington County generously granted a total of $7,900 in order to meet the needs of four of the agencies that we were unable to assist.
In addition to our annual granting process, the Giving Circle has also created a hands-on opportunity to members who attend our holiday events. Each year, we select an organization that primarily assists women and their children. Our members are then asked to donate items from a wish list for that organization. we have been able to help REACH, CASA and W House.
Who is the Women's Giving Circle?
Currently the Giving Circle has 49 members and 3 junior members:
Tracy Barlup, Tracey Bowman, Mary Anne Burke, Ruth Anne Callaham, Pam Christoffel, Fanny Crawford, Sondra Crumbacker, Bev David, Betsy Day, Laura Day, Mary Anne Day, Freddie Erath, Ranelle Flurie, Pat Hamill, Marion Hardin, Kathy Harple, Alison Harrell, Trish Harrell, Florence Hill Graff, Trish Kinter, Erin Kothari, Paula Lampton, Doris Lehman, Jane Malik Anderson, Melinda Marsden, James Marshall, Genie Massey, Suzanne Mazzei, Beverly McCain, Gaye McGovern, Kathy McHugh, Carolyn Moller, Mary Newby, Sharon Palank, Cynthia Perini, Kathleen Perini, Meredith Perini, Dale Phoebus, Pat Reynolds, Barbara Rice, Monda Sagalkin, Elizabeth Schulze, Janet Shaool, Abby Singer, Jeanne Singer, Candice Wagaman, Carrie Walter, and Frances Young,
To learn more about the Women's Giving Circle, please call Kristy at (301) 745-5210, or email womensgiving@cfwcmd.org.
