October 2, 2008 issue
Appalachian Women’s Fund Holds Annual Membership Meeting
Awards $65,000 to Nine Local Agencies
Story by Kathleen McFadden
Members of the Appalachian Women’s Fund, potential members and guests gathered for dinner and a year-end wrap-up at the Meadowview Inn last Thursday, even though not quite one year has passed since the fund was established in December 2007. Nevertheless, the officers had plenty of accomplishments to report to the membership that has increased to 80 women over the past eight months.
“I see that you all have a passion for helping women and that’s how we’ve grown,” said Appalachian Women’s Fund President Nancy Ashline.
The Appalachian Women’s Fund is an all-volunteer grant-making organization formed by a diverse group of concerned women in the community who want to make a positive impact on the lives of women and girls in the mountains of North Carolina. The fund is a philanthropic catalyst for social change and economic justice with the goal of creating a community where all women and girls reach their full potential.
Ashline said the group needed a strong base before setting out on its mission and now has a professional website, brochures and permanent office space at the Oak Summit business complex in Boone.
As a result of the inaugural fundraising luncheon in June that featured keynote speaker Liz Murray, the subject of the movie Homeless to Harvard, the fund’s grant committee had $65,000 to allocate to local agencies for programs that will assist local women.
Vice President Patti Turner said, “That is a lot of money—$65,000 to allocate to nine very deserving agencies.”
Grants from the Appalachian Women’s Fund address problems of domestic violence, hunger and poverty, homelessness, education, substance abuse and health. Among the agencies receiving funding are OASIS, A.S.H.E. (A Safe Home for Everyone in Ashe County), DANA in Alleghany County (an organization that provides transitional housing for victims of domestic abuse and their children), W.A.M.Y. Community Action, the Hunger and Health Coalition, Family Solutions, Hospitality House, the ACCESS program at ASU that financially assists students who are the first generation in their families to attend college, and the Community Care Clinic.
Funding will help build the women and children’s facilities at the new Hospitality House shelter; assist single mothers with transportation, food and heating costs; educate single mothers on how to reduce their dependence on the food pantry at the Hunger and Health Coalition; support a confidential support group, a hotline and transitional housing for victims of domestic abuse; assist single mothers who are recovering from substance abuse with getting a new start after a period of long-term transitional housing; provide mammograms, dental restoration, eye exams and gynecological exams for low-income women; and help four women—the first in their families to attend college—to attend ASU.
A grantee awards breakfast will be held on Friday, December 12, at Meadowbrook when the agency directors will be recognized for the women’s programs the Appalachian Women’s Fund is supporting.
“We’ll do even more for women in 2009,” Turner said.
For more information about the Appalachian Women’s Fund and to find out how to join, click to www.appalachianwomensfund.org or call 828-264-4002.
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