Ten area not-for-profits will be the recipients of nearly $200,000 in grants from the Rochester Women’s Giving Circle.
The organization, which was founded in 2007, is a community of philanthropic women in which each member makes an annual donation of at least $1,050 and has the opportunity to participate in the grant-making process.
The group has grown from its five founders to more than 170 active members and has distributed more than $1.3 million to nonprofits in Monroe County that help women and girls on their journey to economic independence.
This year’s grant recipients were chosen from 22 proposals collectively requesting more than $404,000. Grants were awarded to the following nonprofits:
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester: $10,000; The Little Sisters – Big Futures! program recruits, screens and trains mentors to help at-risk girls stay in school, avoid risky behaviors and develop positive attitudes about their futures through one-on-one mentoring relationships.
• Cameron Community Ministries: $16,000; The Respect & Responsibility for Girls after-school support group helps girls ages 10 to 16 by fostering self-esteem, financial literacy, knowledge of career opportunities and improved academic performance.
• Center for Employment Opportunities: $15,000; Employment Re-entry Services works with women returning from prison to prepare them for meaningful employment through training, job-coaching, transitional employment and retention services.
• Center for Teen Empowerment: $25,000; The Young Women’s Leadership and Employment Project prepares and places young women in high-profile and role-model positions as they seek to address social change in the community while gaining career-based skills and meaningful employment.
• Judicial Process Commission: $25,000; The Women’s Legal Action Project & Support Services helps ex-offender women overcome barriers to employment by offering legal services and support to correct RAP (Record of Arrests and Prosecutions) sheets and achieve Certificates of Relief and by assisting in the job search, application and interview process.
• Society for the Protection and Care of Children: $25,000; The Teen Age Parent Support Services program helps reduce repeat teen pregnancies and improve employability of young mothers through home-based case management and counseling, employment preparation activities, subsidized work experiences and job coaching.
• Spiritus Christi Prison Outreach: $15,500; The Women’s Empowerment Program of Jennifer House provides case management, counseling, mentoring and support services to homeless women discharged from the Monroe County Jail who are stable and focused on pursuing their educational and vocational goals to become self-sustaining and avoid reincarceration.
• Unity Hospital of Rochester: $25,000; Project Independence at Healthy Moms is a job training and placement program customized for each participant that leads directly to employment and increased self-sufficiency by tackling the obstacles that keep employment out of reach for low-income mothers with a child under 2 years old.
• Veterans Outreach Center: $10,500; The Women Veterans Self Sufficiency Project helps female veterans reintegrate into the community by providing outreach, case management, wellness counseling and assistance with housing, training and employment.
• Volunteers of America: $16,000; Self Sufficiency and Workforce Readiness Programming provides case management services, job coaching, interviewing skills and professional attire to unemployed/low-income women to help them conduct successful job searches and obtain employment.
The grants will be awarded at a June 20 celebration breakfast at Monroe Golf Club.
[email protected] / 585-653-4021
Follow Velvet Spicer on Twitter: @Velvet_Spicer
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