Women's Fund Awards Grants for 2010

   The end of September led to an exciting beginning of October thanks to the Women's Fund of Gibson County (WFGC). On September 30th, the WFGC presented grants to the Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana and Doulos Family Services in order to fund events and projects devoted to empowering women throughout Gibson County.

   The WFGC is a group of women that strive to improve the quality of life for the women of Gibson County by funding charitable events and projects. These events and projects not only promote philanthropy, but empower women and raise awareness about women's issues. The WFGC supports these initiatives through a nonpermanent fund created with the Gibson County Community Foundation. This nonpermanent fund provides a significant amount of money that is distributed to organizations such as the Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana and Doulos Family Services that wish to positively impact the lives of women in Gibson County.

   This year, the WFGC was able to contribute $1,500 to the Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana Gibson County's "It's a Girl Thing" event. This funding will assist the organization and implementation of this event in late August or mid-September in 2011. "It's A Girl Thing" is an all-day event for young girls from Kindergarten through sixth grade to participate in three of ten fun, interest-driven exercises. Each of these activities acknowledges one of three areas: confidence, competence or connectedness. These areas have been found to affect the healthy development of positive self-image and self-esteem. As a result of "It's A Girl Thing," the Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana hope to show these young women what the organization has to offer and encourage them to continue their involvement through the Girl Scout program. The Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana aims to mold these girls into young women of "courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place."

   In addition to the Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana, the Doulos Family Services's Women's Well-Being Advocate Project was funded by the WFGC as well. It will consist of a monthly meeting in a relaxed atmosphere with a prepared luncheon. During this meeting, the women will be providing and receiving support corresponding to the established topic. Also because of this funding, one-on-one counseling intervention will be offered at a lower rate. This project hopes to encourage women to avoid isolation, to be able to participate in counseling sessions for a lower price if needed, to receive support and knowledge on subjects, to help establish goals to counteract issues and to provide referrals for other needs. The WFGC was able to grant $2,760 to Doulos Family Services for this project.

   In total, the WFGC was able to grant over $4,000 to the projects and was very enthusiastic in doing so. "The WFGC is very excited to be able to contribute to these projects," says Sharen Buyher, Vice-Chair of the Women's Fund of Gibson County's Advisory Board. "These initiatives implemented by the Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana and Doulos Family Services have the potential to make a tremendous impact on the lives of the women in Gibson County."

   For more information regarding the Women's Fund of Gibson County, contact Tami Muckerheide at tami@gibsoncountyfoundation.org. For further information about the Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana or Doulos Family Services, go to www.girlscouts-raintree.org or www.doulosfamilyservices.org.