Local Women’s Program Raises $40,000 with Help of Two Local Couples

St. Cloud, Minn. – The Central Minnesota Community Foundation (CMCF) is pleased to announce today that the Starfish Program, a key initiative of the Women’s Fund of CMCF, reached their goal of raising $40,000 through the generosity and vision of two local couples.
 
The Starfish Program is a 12-month mentoring program that works with women who have been previously abused and/or sexually assaulted and provides them with the tools, resources and information needed to transform their lives after leaving the abusive situation. This unusual program has graduated 32 women over the past 10 years.  Success stories include one young woman going from homelessness to stability. The program is an initiative of the Women’s Fund of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation. 
 
Two local couples saw the need to help.  Together, they agreed to provide $20,000 in matching monies for other dollars raised to support the program. In just over a month this match was met in time before the year’s end. One member of the matching grant providers remarked “We wanted to be able to help women in their journey to a successful life for themselves and their children. Second, when we saw how successful the Starfish program was is their endeavors with such few resources we wanted to be part of the solutions to even greater success in the future. With the response we had for the match, it makes us feel proud to be a part of this community and the people who are so willing to help others.”
 
For more information about the program, visit starfishprogram.com.
 
The Central Minnesota Community Foundation (CMCF) in affiliation with CommunityGiving, is a public charity that attracts and administers charitable funds for the benefit of the local community. Since 1985, CMCF has grown to over $78 million in assets and awarded over $5.2 million in grants to local non-profits in 2015.  CommunityGiving is a partnership of four community foundations, including Alexandria Area Community Foundation, Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation, Central Minnesota Community Foundation and Willmar Area Community Foundation.  CommunityGiving administers more than 650 funds totaling more than $115 million. Learn more at CommunityGiving.org.