Grants from The Women's Fund -- 2001


The Women's Fund of Greater Birmingham honored 17 agencies with grants totaling $50,000.

ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY

 Birmingham PATH: $5,000. To provide a series of sessions on self-esteem building for women living in the organization's transitional housing, as well as a program suited to young children and adolescents suffering the effects of homelessness, unstable living situations, and violence at home and elsewhere. In addition, PATH will offer its residents one-on-one financial counseling.

Consumer Credit Counseling Service: $1,800. To teach women how to increase their financial knowledge, expand their horizons, and raise their awareness of money management skills, thereby helping them to better take care of themselves and their families.

Elizabeth Conwell Schlarb Foundation for Women Entrepreneurs: $1,800. To help the organization to leverage matching funds required under a $150,000 grant awarded by the Small Business Administration to provide a wide array of comprehensive services in seven counties.

Greater Birmingham Habitat for Humanity: $5,000: To help the organization build the second home in Jefferson County that will be built and funded entirely by women.

POLICY

Leading Edge Initiative: $5,000. To support the organization in its January Summit, a final retreat for young women from 16 colleges in Alabama, who will have already been involved in a four-part leadership development process.

YWCA of Birmingham: $2,500. To help initiate a collaborative Birmingham area women's organizations "electronic network," based on the important need for women's voices to be heard in reference to policy issues affecting Alabama's women and children.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Legal Services of Metro Birmingham: $5,000. To partially fund an attorney to provide advice and court representation to clients in domestic violence and related domestic relations matters.

PARENTING

Urban Young Life of Birmingham: $2,500. To fund "Mentor Moms," a program in which mothers throughout Birmingham will volunteer their time, experience, and encouragement to teen moms in the community. Also included will be an Adopt-a-Mom system.

WOMEN’S/GIRLS’ HEALTH

Crossroads, Inc.: $4,000. To fund "Heart-to-Heart," a breast health education project specifically designed for African-American women in eight selected churches whose goal is to educate and increase awareness of the need for early detection and intervention.

Lakeshore Foundation: $1,000. To help with a Women's Health Promotion Day, specifically targeting women of all ages with some form of physically disabling condition or impairment. The project will educate women and girls in an informal and interactive manner about the benefits of regular physical activity, regardless of their level of mobility and chronic conditions.

WOMEN OF WISDOM

Shepherd's Center, Bluff Park: $500. To help provide weather radios, exercise chairs, music stands, fire extinguishers, hot lunches and snacks, and materials for arts and crafts for members of the organization.

South Highland Center: $1,000. To help the organization, which addresses the needs of aging adults whose lives are impaired by dementia-specific illnesses, to increase access to the Center's programs for some of its lower-income participants and to open the program to residents of the community for whom it is not currently an option.

St. Vincent's Foundation:  $900. To provide three six-week sessions of yoga for senior females residing in the Southtown Housing Community.

GIRLS/YOUNG WOMEN

Cahaba Girl Scout Council: $5,000. To help provide a two-week resident camp program that is designed to foster improved conflict resolution skills, decision-making abilities, self-confidence, self-esteem, and respect for others among at-risk girls, ages 9-12.

Girls, Inc. of Central Alabama: $2,000. To support phase one of a plan to establish a comprehensive sports program for the benefit of girls participating in organized sports in the Birmingham community. The first phase of the plan will be to conduct an assessment, in collaboration with other youth-serving agencies, to determine current levels of girls’ interest, skill, and participation in organized sports and fitness programs.

Oasis - A Women's Counseling Center: $2,000. To assist the organization in convening a coalition made up of providers from existing community-based programs with an interest in using their respective strengths to plan and develop an innovative high-energy program for at-risk girls. A well-designed model that can be evaluated for effectiveness and replicated in other communities will emerge.

Sandlot Sports: $5,000. To help defray costs of a year-round program to bring experienced young women mentors into inner city schools, playgrounds, computer labs, and lives of young girls in the central area of Birmingham.