The Appalachian Women’s Fund (AWF) hosted its first
Grantee Awards Celebration April 6 at the Broyhill Inn and Conference
Center.
Attending were the nine agencies representing six counties which
received grant money from the $65,000 raised by the AWF.
“This is a celebration of the fund coming full circle,”
said AWF president Patti Turner. “Today we are learning how
each agency is using the grant money to better the lives of women
and children in our mountain communities.”
Agency directors and volunteers spoke about the creative ways
they were using the funds.
Lee Cornett of DANA (Domestic Abuse Not Acceptable) located in
Alleghany County told the group about the need for “gap funding”
between the time a client receives government support and the
time she begins working at a new job.
“The AWF grant will support women for an additional three
months when no other assistance is taking place. The minute she
starts working, she stops receiving government funding, yet there
is this gap time of having to incur moving and household expenses
and the paychecks to afford all of it,” said Cornett.
“Sometimes clients aren’t ready to talk about their
trauma,” said OASIS (Opposing Abuse with Services, Information
and Shelter) director Jennifer Herman.
“We implemented an expressive arts therapy group that allows
clients to open up on a different level. Our women and children
use visual arts in the form of photography, pottery, drawings
and written journals. The ways our clients begin healing are as
varied as the many ways they are hurting.”
Beth Marsh with the ACCESS program at ASU is using the grant money
to support students whose families live at or below the poverty
level.
“These students come to Boone with so many burdens already.
The goal of ACCESS is to have students graduate debt-free,”
said Marsh.
Because grants from ACCESS are restricted to eight semesters,
students find that the cost of summer school and internships are
not covered.
“Thankfully, the AWF is funding five summer school scholarships
to girls who are one step closer to breaking the cycle of poverty
through education,” Marsh said.
Other recipients included the Hunger & Health Coalition, New
River Behavioral Center, the Hospitality House, A.S.H.E. (A Safe
Home for Everyone), WAMY Community Action Inc. and the Community
Care Clinic.
Turner said she is “humbled by the skills the directors bring
to the table. These agencies are well-versed in helping families
in crisis. The goal of the AWF grants is to support the agencies
programs in areas of education, health care, life skills and job
training.”
These grants were funded from money raised at the 2008 Woman of
Vision Fundraiser (WOV) and Luncheon.
Tickets are now on sale for this year’s WOV event on June
25.
For membership or ticket information, call the Appalachian Women’s
Fund at 828-264-4002 or visit www.appalachianwomensfund.org.
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