Grants to Be Announced at Women & Girls Fund Luncheon

 The Women & Girls Fund of the Mid-Shore will hold its 6th Annual Grants Award Luncheon at 11:30 AM on Monday, April 28, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Cambridge.   Recipients of this year’s grants will be announced at the luncheon, which will also honor the recipient of the 2008 Women & Girls Fund Award. Valerie Lamont, the Fund’s president, says:   “The Women & Girls Fund received a record number of worthy applications this year.  We look forward to highlighting the work of the grants recipients. The community will be impressed with the efforts these organizations are making to address a wide range of problems facing women, girls, and families in our region.”   

She adds:  “It is also our pleasure to honor, through the Women & Girls Fund Award, a community member who has made continuing personal contributions towards understanding and addressing these needs.”  Previous recipients of this award were Lois Duffy of Centreville, Harriet Critchlow of Easton, Sandra Wellford King of Oxford, and Dr. Maria Boria of Chestertown.

The Women & Girls Fund is a permanent endowment associated with the Mid-Shore Community Foundation.  It channels contributions into grants supporting under-funded programs and initiatives that target problems facing women, girls, and families in Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot Counties.  Since its inception six years ago, the pooled resources of the Fund’s donors have provided $116,962.00 in grants to 35 area non-profit organizations. This year, that total will jump to $152,516.55. 

Lamont concludes:  “Through their continuing generosity, donors to the Women & Girls Fund have made it clear that they recognize needs in our communities and are committed to addressing them by pooling resources to fund programs that make a positive difference. We are grateful for every donation---large or small---and for the confidence that has been placed in our stewardship.”

Taking the Show on the Road

The Women & Girls Fund of the Mid-Shore has launched a series of informational forums designed to better acquaint non-profit organizations and community members in Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Caroline Counties with the Fund’s mission and goals.  Fund president Valerie Lamont explained the initiative this way:  “The Women & Girls Fund is well known in Talbot County where it was founded and has its office.  We want to be equally well known in the other four counties we serve so are holding these forums to give potential grantees, donors, and perspective donors a more complete idea of how we operate and what kinds of programs we fund.”  

The first forum was held on November 7th at the Dorchester Family YMCA in Cambridge, Maryland. After a brief multi-media presentation about the Fund, representatives of 14 non-profit organizations shared the work of their own organizations and explored ways in which they might work together.  The meeting closed with a question and answer period that provided an opportunity for the organizations to learn more about the Fund’s grant application process.

Lamont adds:  “The board of the Women & Girls Fund was truly impressed by all of the work being done by non-profit organizations in Dorchester County.  We plan additional forums in Kent and Caroline Counties in January 2008 and hope that organizations there serving women and girls will seize the opportunity to spread the word about what they do and to connect with people who might help them to do it.”

Inspiring Women Journal Celebrates Extraordinary Ordinary Women

"Tell us the story of a woman who inspires you."

With this simple invitation, seven local women launched the Inspiring Women Project in July to acknowledge and celebrate women in Kent and northern Queen Anne's County who live their lives in a purposeful way that inspires those who know them.

Seventy-five people accepted that invitation, sending the Project stories about 65 local women who are, to them, shining examples of grace under pressure, courage in the face of adversity, simple kindness, and generous hearts. "We received stories from neighbors, friends, acquaintances, fellow church members, former students, co-workers, mothers, daughters, daughters-in-law, nieces, cousins, and even one husband," Gail Newman, a member of the Project team, recalled. "One story arrived by email from the Marianas Islands. While these women might not think they're special in any way, the stories we received make it clear that others think they are indeed very special."

Now the Project is sharing the stories and photographs of 14 of those "extraordinary ordinary" women in the Inspiring Women Journal. Selecting the women to be featured in the Journal was not an easy task, according to Suzanne Straub Moore another Project team member. She explained: "We wanted to choose women whose stories were representative of all of the stories we received, and of the many ways in which they inspire others. We chose some who have had an impact far beyond Kent County, and some who are an inspiration in a much more personal way. Some have worked hard to turn their dreams into reality, and some have dedicated their lives to meeting the needs of others."

The Inspiring Women Journal was designed and edited by Karen Reed of the Tidewater Trader, with photographs by Tracey O'Connell of Creative Focus, both of whom generously donated their time and professional talents. The Project team is also grateful to Choptank Electric Trust, Peoples Bank of Kent County, Carla Massoni, Alice Bower, Dr. Pat Fanning, and the staff and members of Curves in Chestertown for their financial support.

The Inspiring Women Project team also hopes to use the journal to reach out to young girls in our community at a critical time in their lives, the middle school years, by providing them with positive role models and a tool to help them have confidence that they too can live extraordinary ordinary lives. The Project team is currently working on developing a partnership with the Character Counts! program to give each girl in Chestertown, Rock Hall, Galena and Sudlersville Middle Schools a copy of the Inspiring Women Journal and offering journal writing workshops to help her get started writing her own story.

The Inspiring Women Journal goes on sale First Friday, December 7, at The Compleat Bookseller, which is hosting a reception for the women featured in the Journal, and at Curves and Gabriel Designs in Galena, Durding's in Rock Hall and Curves in Chestertown. Proceeds from the sale of the Journal will support programs that benefit women and girls in Kent and northern Queen Anne's Counties through grants from the Women & Girls Fund, an endowment fund of the Mid-Shore Community Foundation. To learn more about the Fund, go to www.womenandgirlsfund.org.

Governor's Citation presented to Women & Girls Fund by Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley

Maryland’s Governor Honors Women & Girls Fund Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley awarded the Governor’s Citation to the Women & Girls Fund of the Mid-Shore on March 10, 2007. This citation was conferred in conjunction with its fifth anniversary and recognizes the Fund as “an important source of grant money and professional support to non-profit organizations in Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot Counties.” View Governor's Citation

Grants Announced At Women & Girls Fund Luncheon

The Women & Girls Fund of the Mid-Shore held its 5th Annual Grants Award Luncheon on April 16, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Cambridge.

Download Press Release PDF >

The history, goals and accomplishments of the Women & Girls Fund were traced by an extensive article in the Chesapeake Business Ledger.  The Fund’s efforts to incorporated best practices and strategic planning strategies into its activities were highlighted.

View The Article >

2006 Annual Grants Luncheon Grants totaling $27,800 were awarded to nine non-profit organizations at our Fourth Annual Awards luncheon on April 24, 2006. The Women & Girls Fund Award, which annually honors a community member whose efforts have improved the lives of the region’s women and girls, was also presented to Sandra Wellford King at the event, which was attended by 160 people.

Alice Bower, President and Bettie Baer, Grant Committee Chairperson, award 2006 grants

She says: “Because of the individual contributions of over 300 local donors, the Fund’s endowment has grown to more than $326,476.93 to date. By pooling these contributions we have been able in the last four years to provide grants totaling $81,972 to underserved programs meeting the crucial needs of a population that receives only a very small percentage of traditional grant dollars. Each one of these grants will set off ripples of positive change in our communities, ultimately benefiting every one of us.”

Robin Davenport, executive director of CASA of Talbot County, gave the luncheon’s keynote address. Davenport spoke eloquently of the impact that individuals can have on their communities when they allow their hearts to lead them into positive action.