With the help of a grant from the Georgia-Pacific Foundation, the Women’s Fund has established a new component fund targeted at violence prevention education. The Violence Prevention Education Fund within the Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region will provide targeted funding for violence prevention and education outside of the Women’s Funds competitive grants process.

Grants from the fund have already provided funding to Harbor House Domestic Abuse Programs for additional performances of Doin’ the Right Thing, an anti-bullying program held the first week of October at several area elementary schools. Funding was also provided to Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services for promotion of Life as We know It, an art exhibit featuring a collection of paintings by Christine Ann clients. The exhibit will be displayed through the month of October at Art Affair in downtown Neenah.

Women’s Fund Executive Director Shauna Ejeh spoke about the need to do more to prevent violence in our community. “This is an issue that impacts our schools, workplaces and healthcare providers. Our whole community pays the price for abusive and violent relationships. It is time for all of us to recognize that safety is a basic human need, and shelter without safety has no benefit.”

If recent events in our country’s financial markets have you worried about your ability to provide financial support to your favorite charities and still secure your own financial well-being, now may be the time to consider a Charitable Gift Annuity. Giving through a Charitable Gift Annuity allows you to make a generous gift to the Women’s Fund, while providing you with an income source you can count on for the rest of your life.

A Charitable Gift Annuity combines a fixed stream of income to you with a deferred charitable gift to the Women’s Fund. Gift annuities can be set-up to make payments for the lifetime of one person, or to include the lifetime of a second person, such as a spouse.

More details are available on the Ways to Give page of our website, www.womensfundfvr.org, or by calling Becky at 830-1290.

This year’s recipient of the Helen Spashoff Kratzer Scholarship is Danielle Johnson. Danielle is a 2008 graduate of Appleton North High School and started classes this fall at UW-LaCrosse.

Established in 2006 by Helen Kratzer and her late husband, Carl, the Helen Spasoff Kratzer Scholarship provides a one time award of $2,500 to female graduates of Appleton East, North, West, Fox Valley Lutheran or Xavier High Schools who will attend a University of Wisconsin system school and major in education.  Mrs. Kratzer was herself a teacher and the first in her family to attend college. Through this permanent scholarship in her name she will help many young women achieve their dreams of going to college.

Application guidelines for the Kratzer Scholarship are available at www.womensfundfvr.org, or your high school guidance office.

The Women's Fund is collecting unwanted cell phones in support of the Women's Funding Network and the Good Deed Foundation's work to help women in poverty. Phone's may be dropped off at our office within the Community Foundation between 8:00-4:00 Monday - Friday. If your workplace would like a collection box please call the Women's Fund at 830-1290 and we will arrange to deliver a box to you.  Learn more at www.gooddeedfoundation.org.

Help us build awareness of the Women’s Fund and issues facing women and girls in our community. We are asking our volunteers, donors, and supporters to host a party at their own expense for eight to ten of their friends the week of March 5-12, 2009. Hostesses can plan whatever type of event they enjoy: breakfast or dinner, cocktails or dessert, fun or fancy, at your home or out on the town. We will provide invitations, thank you notes, donor envelopes, a DVD to show about the work of the Women’s Fund, and conversation starter ideas on topics related to women and girls in our community and beyond.

Help the Women’s Fund to:

·    Bring many small groups of women together to reflect on the needs of women and girls in the Fox Valley Region.

·    Create greater awareness of the Women’s Fund as a non-profit organization.

·    Generate additional revenue for Women’s Fund programming and grants.

If you would like to host a party, volunteer for our Let’s Dish planning committee, or need more information, please contact us at 830-1290 or info@womensfundfvr.org.