2015 GRANT RECIPIENTS
A Hand Up for Women
Funding enabled A Hand Up For Women staff to train and work with 48 to 50 women at The Village at The Restoration House and The Salvation Army's Joy Baker Center. The expected outcome was for clients who complete the training programs to obtain long-term employment, housing, and independence. A grant of this nature facilitated collaboration between nonprofits in East Tennessee, enabling organizations to expand the reach of their mission.
Boys and Girls Club of Elizabethton/Carter County
Funding for the Boys and Girls Club of Elizabethton/Carter County provided the opportunity for girls ages 8-18 from low-income families to recognize opportunities for higher education and career paths by providing weekly summer sessions for ten weeks. These summer sessions focused on education, career preparation, financial literacy, relationship building, and positive attitudes. Successful women in the local area served as role models and mentors for various careers, and learning was enhanced each summer as girls advance through the program.
Branches of Monroe County, Inc.
Branches of Monroe County helped women and children fleeing domestic violence to achieve self-sufficiency by providing emergency shelter, advocacy, life skills training, case management, job search assistance, and transitional housing. Funding facilitated the development and publishing of a handbook titled Why Just Survive When You Can Thrive? The interactive workbook is a self-paced training tool that can be completed independently. It was used during the classes at the shelter and as a content refresher as the clients journey to self-sufficiency.
Centro Hispano
Centro Hispano seeks to promote the empowerment and civic participation of women, men, children, and young people from the Hispanic community in East Tennessee through education, advocacy, and social services. Funding provided for a minimum of 40 women to enroll in an individualized annual program of training modules that focused on academic preparation, vocational and technical training, and life skills building. These training modules helped participants to develop tangible professional and life skills that will help enhance their ability to succeed in their private and public lives.
Red Legacy Recovery, Inc.
Red Legacy Recovery provides support for women who have experienced addiction, incarceration, and/or dependence on outside financial assistance. As our second grant to Red Legacy Recovery, our funding increased the hours per week that their van (purchased through our 2014 WF grant) is available to transport clients to court, to attorney and probation appointments, and to Red Legacy workshops for computer skills, parenting certification, relapse prevention and recovery skills, GED tutoring, and job interviews.
The Restoration House
The Restoration House provides transitional shelter and assistance for single mothers and their children while training women to become self-sufficient. Funding enabled staff from A Hand Up For Women, a well-known and highly successful organization, to provide computer training for the clients of The Restoration House. The expected outcome is that clients who complete the training programs will obtain long-term employment, housing, and independence.
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army provides transitional shelter and assistance for single mothers and their children while training women to become self-sufficient. Funding from the Women's Fund enabled staff from A Hand Up For Women, a well-known and highly successful organization, to provide computer training for the clients of The Salvation Army. The expected outcome is that clients who complete the training programs will obtain long-term employment, housing, and independence.
STAND of Scott County
A collaboration with Pearls of Grace and LMU, STAND is an adaptation of the Tusculum College 2014 model. Funding provided for two six-day, five-night summer institutes, to be attended by 20 girls (per week) who are rising seniors in high school. These institutes provided life skills, work skills, and educational intervention to assist low-income and first-generation participants in finishing high school and entering/finishing a program of post-secondary education. The program sought to empower underrepresented participants from one of our poorest counties to achieve academic and personal self-sufficiency.
Tusculum College
Funding provided for 18 rising freshmen, sophomore, and/or junior high school women to attend a five-day residential institute at Tusculum College known as the "Women's Search for Success and Self-Sufficiency" program. The program provided assistance to low-income, first-generation high school women to complete high school and enroll in/complete college.