Area Women’s Fund Awards $24K In Grants

SALISBURY -- The Women’s Fund at the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore celebrated its initial grant awards June 14 at a special reception hosted at the Community Foundation.

The University of Maryland Extension Office will provide girls, ages 8-13, with scholarships to attend 4-H Summer Camp.

·The Salisbury University Women in Leadership student organization will implement a professional development workshop for SU students to help them develop the skills they need to reach their full potential.

Easter Seals will provide girls with the opportunity to attend summer camp at Camp Fairlee, which is one of the few camps in our region that provides safe, healthy, and success-oriented recreational opportunities for people with special needs.

Wicomico HOPE will provide support for females, ages 14-20, who are preparing for a life of independence after foster care with a unique program to help cultivate their social, cultural, behavioral, and life skills.

Life Crisis Center, Inc. will bring a sense of normalcy to the lives of girls and women who have sought shelter from abusive situations through therapy and activities provided through the KIDD Fund (Kids Inquiring Discovering and Developing).

·Village of Hope will provide mental health services to women in its transitional housing shelter.

Diakonia, Inc. will create a weekly women’s support group at its transitional housing shelter. This group will promote healthy support networks and will provide adult homeless women with coping techniques, job skills, life skills, and a positive social network.

The Community Foundation’s Women’s Fund is a permanent endowment fund created to address the unmet needs of women and girls on Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore. Since the Fund was established in October 2011, more than 100 local women have become founding members.