Women's Fund Makes Grants to Deserving Organizations

The Women’s Fund of Hancock County, a fund of the Hancock County Community Foundation (HCCF), made grants at the Women’s Fund Grantmaking Event on Friday evening, May 7^th. The Women’s Fund Grant Committee evaluated 11 applications, narrowing the field to four, through diligent review practices and a series of on-site interviews. The final four applicants made presentations to Fund members at the grantmaking event, which was attended by over 120 women and girls. Following a vote by Fund members, awards were presented. The Fund’s Advisory Committee had anticipated awarding only one grant, but the generosity of 2009 Women’s Fund Members resulted in enough funding that two grants were awarded, as well as two additional gifts of $350.

Families United for Support and Encouragement, F.U.S.E., received a $3,000 grant for a new program called Growing Together Early Learning Series, which provides hope and encouragement to parents who are assigned rigorous therapeutic demands for their children with disabilities. The program will provide resources and training to help them learn how using everyday tasks can partially meet the speech & language, gross & fine motor, and social emotional development therapeutic needs of their child. "I remember thinking that I was supposed to spend an additional four hours of at-home therapy every day with my boys, on top of everything else that a mother needs to do to care for her child," shared presenter Denise Arland. "That’s very overwhelming when you’re a parent with a child or children with disabilities. What a relief it would have been to know that leg exercises during a diaper change could play an important role in therapy."

Mt. Vernon High School partnered with the Mt. Vernon Education Foundation to present the case for five new RealCare Infant Simulators that will be used by students in the MVHS Child Development Classes. "Hundreds of students are impacted by this program. These babies go to class and effect fellow classmates and instructors when they cry. They ride the bus home in car seats. Since the babies are computerized, all activity is recorded, including if a baby has been shaken too hard, missed a feeding, or been ignored for too long while crying," says Tammy Bauchert, MVHS Family & Consumer Science Department Head. "I still want to be a mother some day," reported Gabby Kellow, a junior at MVHS, "but this experience made me realize that I'm a long way from being ready...it will be a very long time before I have children!"

The Women's Fund of Hancock County makes grants to address needs and issues affecting women and families. "The Women's Fund is a giving circle. Giving circles are a form of philanthropy consisting of groups of individuals who pool their resources to donate to their communities and seek to increase their awareness and engagement in the process of giving," says Mary Gibble, HCCF President. "It is an opportunity for Hancock County women and girls, beginning at age 10, to be involved in strengthening our community with an annual financial commitment to the fund in any amount meaningful to them. Together, they make a significant impact on vital programs." Members are women and girls who believe that high-priority issues should be addressed thoughtfully to inspire social change and improve our quality of life for generations to come.

Strong membership support has also positioned HCCF's Women's Fund to launch a new program called Been There, Done That...Connecting the Dots of Life. The program was announced at the event and dedicated in honor of Nancy King, a long-time advocate of strong and healthy family programs in our community.

For more information about the Women's Fund of Hancock County, or to become a member, click here.

Pictured above right: Denise Arland, FUSE Executive Director; Amy Borgmann, FUSE Development; Irene Curry, WF Advisory Committee Chair; Karen Tarver, WF Volunteer Coordinator & Grant Committee Chair

Pictured above left: Karen Tarver; Shannon Walls, MVEF Board Member; Tammy Bauchert, MVHS; Gabby Kellow, Student & Baby Simulator; Irene Curry