Heart of Stark: Women's Fund invests in seven nonprofits
In partnership with The Repository, every Monday, Stark Community Foundation highlights positive happenings in our community. Here’s to Good News Mondays!
The Women’s Fund, an endowment fund of Stark Community Foundation, recently announced the recipients of its 2023 grant cycle. Seven nonprofits received nearly $30,000 in support of local programs meeting the needs of underserved women and children in Stark County.
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Chosen programs serve at least one of the fund’s three priority focus areas: economic stability and advancement, mental and emotional health support and neighborhood-based programming. This year’s grantees were:
Boys and Girls Club of Massillon: $5,000 to be used for Arts & Conversation, a once-a-week after-school program to build confidence, awareness, life skills and mentoring for girls grades 4-12. Arts & Conversation uses art projects to help young women express who they are and how they feel.
Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health: $2,980 to provide 20 clinicians with basic training in Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS). In addition, five clinicians who work with clients at higher risk for suicide will be able to complete more advanced training.
Domestic Violence Project Inc.: $5,000 to provide a shelter care package of personal care and practical items for new clients who enter its emergency shelters in Canton and Massillon. Oftentimes these clients are experiencing a crisis due to a traumatic event and arrive with only the clothes they are wearing.
Feed Kids First: $2,000 to help purchase food and hygiene supplies for the on-site pantry programs at eight schools in Canton City School District. The program’s purpose is to ensure food and basic needs are accessible to all students and families.
The GRACE Project: $4,050 to support the Culinary Club, a weekly, hands-on project that is conducted during a mid-day class period at Canton Harbor High School. Preparation of simple and healthy food will be led by GRACE staff and volunteers, with students planning and actively participating and sharing preparation tasks.
Tri County Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates: $3,192 to support pregnant and parenting youth with appropriate books and information and diaper bag backpacks. The youth are more likely to remain in the program and can focus on completing their education and fulfilling their career pathway goals.
YMCA of Central Stark County: $5,000 will fund the addition of Girl Time to the Y Minority Achievers Program, a college and career readiness program for minority teens.
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The Women’s Fund was created in 2006 by 12 visionary women out of concern for the growing poverty status of women and children in the community. They pooled their resources to create a charitable fund that would advance the status of Stark County women and children in perpetuity. What started as an initial investment of $120,000 in 2006 has grown to nearly $750,000 through the support of donations from individuals, families and businesses coupled with wise investing.
Since its founding, The Women’s Fund has awarded $215,000 to over 40 area nonprofits supporting underserved women and children. Learn more about The Women’s Fund at www.starkcf.org/womensfund.
Stark Community Foundation helps individuals, families, businesses and nonprofits achieve their philanthropic goals through a variety of charitable funds and strategic initiatives. Ranked in the top 10% of community foundations in the country, the foundation and its family of donors have granted $230 million to nonprofits since 1963. Learn more at www.starkcf.org.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Heart of Stark: Women's Fund invests in seven nonprofits
