St. Cloud, Minn. – The Women’s Fund and Julianne Williams Fund of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation announced today the recipients of their annual grants, totaling $78,850. The grants were awarded to twelve area organizations focusing on improving the lives of women and girls in central Minnesota. “These organizations are implementing life-changing work for the girls and women in our community and we are excited to support them,” says Joanne Kudrna, Chair of the Women’s Fund Advisory Board.
The Women’s Fund allocated over $65,000 to the following:
- $8,000 to assist with emergency childcare placement, guaranteed for children birth to age two, through St. Cloud Crisis Nursery.
- $8,000 to support the implementation of an employment readiness program for victims of trafficking at Terebinth Refuge.
- $8,000 to help expand the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center’s space due to an increase in demand for services.
- $8,000 for girls age 7-13 to participate in a mentoring program that educates them on healthy relationships, self-esteem and practical skills such as cooking through the Sustainable Leadership program at Promise Neighborhood.
- $8,000 for the continued expansion of the Garden Leadership Project which provides immigrant women mentoring in economic self-sufficiency, job training and work experience through the Central Minnesota Sustainability Project.
- $7,500 to support the Elder Mediation program which gives elders a voice in their care and provide qualified mediators to facilitate family discussions through the Conflict Resolution Center.
- $6,400 to support the 36-bed facility at Anna Marie’s Alliance which provides safety and mental health services to women and children who have experienced domestic violence.
- $5,100 to support parenting classes to Somali women through the Center for Victims of Torture.
- $3,200 for recruitment and training of women as mentors to 8th and 9th grade girls in the Dr. Potter Bigs on Campus Mentoring Initiative run by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota.
- $2,800 for the Girls 360 Group program which is girls age 13-17 participating in programming that addresses healthy lifestyles, making good relationship choices and avoiding risky behavior at the Village Family Service Center.
Additionally, the Julianne Williams Fund awarded $13,850 in grants to three organizations. The Julianne Williams Fund was established to honor the life of Julianne Marie Williams, reflect the essence of Julie and promote the building of self-esteem, safety, confidence and overall empowerment of girls and young women through outdoor activities. Those grant recipients are:
- $5,800 to Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota for their Date SMART program which provides youth tools and resources they need to develop safe, supportive and healthy dating relationships.
- $4,700 to Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin Lakes and Pines to expand summer programming and support scholarships for camp and weekly day camp to girls in need of financial assistance.
- $3,350 to support purchasing winter outdoor sports equipment and implement programming for the Women’s Empowerment Winter Wellness program at Terebinth Refuge.
Since 2002, the Women’s Fund of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation has been dedicated to strengthening the community by improving the lives of women and girls. The Women’s Fund has granted over $1.3 million to support local programs in three core focus areas: girls age 10-18, women in transition and elder women.
The Central Minnesota Community Foundation (CMCF) attracts and administers charitable funds for the benefit of the local community. Since 1985, CMCF has grown to over $105.9 million in assets and awarded over $100.5 million in grants to non-profits. The CMCF is governed by a local board of directors and is a partner of CommunityGiving, which is a collaborative of community foundations united under a single framework to create efficiencies that maximize the impact of our donors. Collectively, CommunityGiving administers nearly 800 funds totaling more than $140 million. Learn more at CommunityGiving.org/CentralMN
