2007 Women Making a Difference Grant Recipients

Carolina Youth Development Center provides support and services to youth victimized by abuse, neglect, abandonment, and/or emotional disturbances. Our grant will help implement a Leadership Track, which will help 20-30 abused/at-risk youth develop successful skills for the workplace and life as they move towards independence. $6,700 grant.

Charleston Breast Center strives to ultimately lower the number of breast cancer deaths by combining modern cancer detection and treatment solutions with education and compassionate care. Our grant will enable access to essential breast cancer screening and diagnostic services for uninsured and underinsured women. $10,000 grant.

Communities in Schools of the Charleston Area, Inc. identifies children least likely to graduate and proactively helps them stay in school. Our grant funds the Student Support Program at Ft. Johnson and James Island Middle Schools, a multi-faceted approach to serve case-managed young women identified as in danger of dropping out. $7,500 grant.

Dee Norton Low Country Children’s Center seeks to reduce the incidence of child abuse, as well as the impact of abuse on the child the family and the community. Our grant will continue to underwrite DNLCC’s art therapy program, which provides individual, family, and group treatment that allows participants to express feelings and communicate about their trauma in ways other than talk therapy. $9,200 grant.

East Cooper Community Outreach assists women and children who would not otherwise have access to dental care. “My Sister’s Smile,” one of three initiatives at ECCO, provides restorative dentistry for victims of domestic violence. $5,000 grant.

Family Connection of South Carolina strengthens families who have children with special needs, developmental delays, disabilities, or chronic illnesses through a parent-to-parent network of family-focused support system that provides assurance, information, community awareness, and enhanced parent/professional relationships. Our grant provides a monthly Respite Night for families with children with disabilities and special needs. $5,500 grant.

Florence Crittendon assists low-income, at-risk young pregnant and parenting women to grow into independent, self-sufficient young adults. Our grant will help fund the Family Development Program, which provides home-based, supportive services for up to two years for at-risk single mothers with children ages five and under. $9,700 grant.

Humanities Foundation seeks to end homelessness by increasing the availability of affordable housing through non-profit housing development, technical support, emergency financial assistance, education, and advocacy. Our grant will help fund the ShelterNet program, which offers one-time emergency financial assistance with rent, utilities, mortgage payments, and security/utility deposits to low-income families who have temporarily fallen behind in their monthly expenses. $8,700 grant.

My Sister’s House helps victims and their families survive and overcome domestic violence. We are supporting their operating costs. $10,000 grant.

Operation Home provides critically needed home repairs throughout the Lowcountry. Our grant will help fund a part-time services coordinator who will be responsible for oversight of repair activities, emergency referrals, and tracking client services such as building wheelchair ramps, replacing roofs, fixing floors, improving faulty wiring, and delivering air conditioners for heat relief. $10,000 grant.

Palmetto Health Foundation “Reach out and Read” makes literacy promotion a standard part of pediatric primary care, so that children grow up with books and a love of reading. Our grant will purchase 1,000 books for the MUSC Pediatric Emergency Room “Reach Out and Read” program, which focuses on low-income children who do not have a pediatric home and who later may be at risk for reading difficulty. $2,500 grant.

Pattison’s Academy improves the quality of life for children with multiple disabilities by providing a comprehensive education and rehabilitation program. We are underwriting the transportation of 33 children with severe disabilities for field trips to the 2008 Summer Camp Program.  $9,000 grant.

School’s Out forges partnerships and unites existing resources in order to transform local schools into community learning centers. Our grant supports the first Community Learning Center initiative, a partnership of School’s Out, a local school, and a local businesses to offer healthy meals and health care access, as well as learning and recreational options for families during evenings, weekends, and summer months. $5,000 grant.

Windwood Farm Home for Children provides quality residential clinical treatment to boys ages five to 16 who have suffered trauma from physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse. Our grant will enable 30 families to participate in a 12-month Family Reunification Therapy program. $5,000 grant.

YWCA of Greater Charleston provides programs in family life, health promotion, youth leadership development, childcare, summer camp, job training, and career development. Our grant supports the “Working Opportunities for Women” (WOW) program that helps low-income women overcome employment barriers with computer training, financial literacy, interview techniques, and resume building skills. $7,500 grant.

SEPTEMBER 2007

Our BRING Event clothing event yielded 345 garments donated to Dress for Success.
Read more... [click]

APRIL 2007

We have experienced a dramatic surge in memberships, and we are poised to raise $100,000 by June 30, the last day of the 2007 membership drive! To give you some perspective, it has taken us five years to generate $200,000 for our grants, which seek to improve quality of life for women and children living in the Lowcountry. To raise half of that in one year (six months actually), is a tremendous feat... this, we feel, is our tipping point.

One of the 15 grants we awarded in November was to underwrite screening, diagnosis, and support at the Charleston Breast Center for women facing socioeconomic disadvantages. The center recently closed their stunning state-of-the-art facility for the day and picked-up all of the women living at the Crisis Ministries shelter in a van that had been borrowed from the city. They performed free mammograms and cancer screenings throughout the morning, which was followed by a healthy lunch. The staff was very gentle and patient with the women, many of whom were fearful of the process. Fortunately, none of the women tested positive for breast cancer.

Outside of the money we gave the Charleston Breast Center to do this, they went to Costco and purchased bags, which they filled with toothpaste, deodorant, toothbrushes, shampoo, etc. You know how we like to say Women Making a Difference is "sparking ripples of hope and compassion"? Well, this is a perfect example: we started one ripple of hope with the grant, and some doctors and administrators in turn started many more ripples of compassion.

A few weesk later, some WMD members prepared and served breakfast at the shelter. When the women applauded, thanked, and cheered for us, it was a poignant moment. Those nameless women are exactly why Women Making a Difference exists. It could be any one of us in need of assistance at some point in our lives, but hopefully WMD is helping stem the tide of people living in the margins of society.

February 2007

Please help us welcome the following special women to their new volunteer roles with the executive committee: Darci Grady, Marcie Jacobs, Catherine McCullough, and Elizabeth Sinkler. Read more... [click]

Was volunteering more of your time one of your resolutions for 2007? Whether it was or wasn't (and you know it should have been), give a bit of your time and enjoy getting to know fellow members of Women Making a Difference!

Join us as we cook and serve breakfast for families at Crisis Ministries. If you can’t be there to participate, consider making a donation of breakfast food or a grocery store gift card. Contact Darci Grady for more information.

Sunday, March 18
Crisis Ministries Family Shelter
573 Meeting Street
6 a.m.

January 2007

This year at the Charleston Home + Design Show, six Charleston media personalities have been matched with top ASID Interior Designers and home furnishing companies to create Celebrity Designer Idea Rooms that reflect the personal style of the celebrity while highlighting the latest design trends.

Each media personality has chosen a partner charity, and Alison Keller, host of Y 102.5 Wake-Up Morning Show, selected Women Making a Difference!

Guests at the home show will be voting on their favorite room and the charity associated with the winning room will receive the proceeds from the silent auction held on Friday, January 26, 2007. Last year, Juvenile Diabetes received a check for $6,500. Please visit the Home Show and vote for WMD!

Another opportunity to vote...

Every year, the Charleston City Paper hosts a reader-supported contest to name the Best Of Charleston awards. Online voting is easy, and the deadline is January 31, so please vote right away!

There are several categories at the top of the online ballot that apply to Women Making a Difference:

Best Community Activist
Best Philanthropist
Best Local Cause

A little further down, you can vote for:
Best Fundraising Event: Women Making a Difference's Grants Celebration

December 2006

Special thanks to the following people who made a donation to the Women Making a Difference endowment in honor of colleagues and/or loved ones.

Samantha Andrews
T. Alexander Beard
Ida A. Becker
George Bellows
Kay Chitty
Amanda B. Comen
Allen T. Curry
Robert Epper
Mary P. Evans
Darcia D. Grady
Kenneth S. Gustafson
John D. Hood
Jane R. Kronsberg
LuAnn O. McCants
Gigi McCarty
Miostile
Kyra Morris
Kenton Morrison
Thomas Morrison
Weesie Newton
Reid Patrick
Mary D. Porter
Elizabeth B. Reynolds
Harriet R. Ripinsky
Jacob ShuleR
Ariel Trouche

November 2006

Welcome to a recap of our watershed year.
Last summer, when the executive committee met to discuss the goals and activities for the coming year, a common thread emerged: raising awareness. We talked about The Tipping Point, and its notion that small actions can manifest a magnificent change if given the right environment and support. We set forth to undertake as many thoughtful actions as possible to spread the word of our grassroots effort to improve the quality of life for our fellow women and children living in the Lowcountry, our neighbors and our community. Read more... [click]


November 2006

Women Making a Difference Surpasses $200,000
Giving Mark; Grants Celebration Attracts Hundreds
Several hundred people cheered as Women Making a Difference awarded $53,000 to 15 local charities at a party held at Lowndes Grove Plantation on Wednesday, November 15. Since 2002, Women Making a Difference has generated over $200,000 to fund grants that seek to enhance the quality of life for women and children in the Lowcountry. Read more... [click]



November 2006

Weesie Newton, co-founder of Women Making a Difference, was featured as the High Profile in the November 18th edition of the Post and Courier. Read how she started this amazing army of women who are sparking ripples of hope and compassion! [click]

November 2006

Local Giving Circle Marks Fifth Anniversary
by Awarding $50,000 to Local Charities
Women Making a Difference, a 150 member giving circle, will award over $50,000 in grants to 15 local organizations at its fifth annual grants celebration on Wednesday, November 15. The grants dispersal, one of Charleston Philanthropy Week's most anticipated events, will take place from 7 - 9 p.m. at Lowdnes Grove Plantation with drinks and hors d'oeuvres courtesy of Whole Foods. Read more... [click]

November 2006

Just in time for the holidays, Women Making a Difference has launched a CafePress store full of iteams featuring the logo. Our favorite item: the postage stamps, which bear our web address. Stock up now for all of your written correspondence. Check it out! [click]

October 2006

For the past four years, Women Making a Difference's mission has spread mostly through word of mouth. No longer! Over the next year, hundreds of thousands of people will be introduced to Women Making a Difference via a billboard that will move to various locations along I-26 thanks new member Heather Jones and her employer Adams Outdoor. Our first location is westbound headed toward I-526, near the exit to the new outlet mall. Check it out!

May 2006

Business Owners Sponsor Employee Memberships
in Women Making a Difference
Terms like "return on investment" and "leveraging dollars" are familiar concepts in the business world; however, a few savvy entrepreneurs in the Lowcountry are applying those terms to their corporate philanthropy by underwriting memberships in Women Making a Difference, a Charleston-based giving circle. Read more... [click]

For additional information, please email Ida Becker.