WEDC Foundation: News

Plan to Attend - Nominate Someone you know for an Award

Women Honoring Women
September 30, 2004
Location to be announced
Featuring Lynn Donohue, Author of "Brick by Brick"

The Women Honoring Women awards will recognize women whose legacy has been to serve as role models of excellence in their fields of expertise as well as excellence in their efforts to improve the quality of life for others. In doing so, these women help to pass along strong ethics, character, compassion and empathy for others.

Do you know an unsung hero? Click here to go to our online Nomination Form. Nominate a deserving woman to be honored for her contributions to our community!

Click here for Sponsorship Information

Click here to email for sponsorship, tickets, or general information, or call (256) 882-1848.

Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor

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2002 Scholar Awards

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Why Support the Foundation?

I was 12 years old when my parents divorced. I had an 8-year-old brother and a 4-year old sister. My mother took the three of us and started a new life on her own. She had a high school education and very little work experience. Things were not easy. Many sacrifices had to be made in order for her to put food on the table. One of the sacrifices was that she was not home much-she had to work a day job and a night job just to make ends meet. And there were times, I know, that the ends didn't quite meet. But the one thing my mother had that made a difference was determination!

Why do I tell you this story? I tell it for two reasons. One is because it gives you an insight as to why I am so passionate about the WEDC Foundation and its mission. The second reason, and perhaps the most important one, is that it illustrates a story that too many of us are very familiar with. Many women, for whatever reason, are faced with needing to enter or re-enter the work force. Many do not have the education or skills they need to become self-sufficient. Between the dependent care and financial issues, doors are closed (and sometimes seem locked).

This Foundation has begun to make a difference in the lives of some of these women. We are reaching out to those women who have the determination to succeed-they just need a little hand up. It is my hope that doors previously closed to them will now be opened and a new life can begin. As skills rise, so will self-confidence. They can achieve and move onwards and upwards! Thanks to all of you for helping this become a reality! Isn't it wonderful?

Christine Starnes, Crabtree, Rowe and Berger, and past WEDC Foundation President

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Mentoring Success Story

Mentoring our grant recipients is one of the most rewarding parts of the WEDC Foundation's programs. Not only the recipients, but the mentors feel its rewards as well. What follows is the story of Susan Phelan's experience in mentoring Sandy Hardiman:

I first met Sandy at UAH when I was serving on the Board for the Friends of Women's Studies and Sandy was a student worker in the Women's Studies department. Early on, it was clear that she was a reliable and competent young woman.
It was several years later that our paths crossed again when Sandy received a grant from the WEDC Foundation and became a part of our mentor/protégé program. I accepted the opportunity to be Sandy's mentor at her request. It was my previous work in grant writing that matched her interest. We began meeting regularly to discuss the grant writing profession, her current work at the university, and other matters related to career development.
Through this association I grew to see how very bright and capable she is, and was able to use her skills to assist me in identifying funding sources for a local non-profit organization. She did an outstanding job. I was most impressed at her initiative, intuitiveness and dedication to the effort. It was a win-win situation to be able to offer her a paid hands-on learning opportunity, increase her experience with grant work, and find the help I needed to respond to a request for my services as a grant consultant.
The mentor/protégé relationship has been very rewarding for me. I have learned the value of my own experiences in sharing with others. In addition to the specific information we exchange about the grant-writing world, there is a growing arena of other shared experiences common to being a woman in a predominantly male work environment, and a liberal arts major in a sea of engineers.
Exchanging experiences and strategies benefits us both.
Each time Sandy and I meet gives me an enhanced perspective to both what I know and what I learn. I enjoy the time we spend together, and look forward to our meetings. It feels great to know that I am able to share both my professional experiences and the more personal experience of facing and handling the complex and varied challenges and opportunities women face in the work place today. It's a valuable and rewarding growth experience for us both.

Susan Phelan, Time Domain and past WEDC Board Member

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How You can Help

Everyone has skills that can be applied to the needs of the WEDC Foundation. You don't have to join WEDC or the Foundation Board to get involved. You can join one of the Foundation committees, volunteer for short-term projects, or support the Foundation with financial contributions from yourself or your company.
If you only have time for a short-term commitment, sign up to help with our annual fundraiser, the Women Honoring Women Annual Awards. Click here for more information.

Women Honoring Women 2003 was an exciting event and fun to plan. Our next event, planned for October 7, 2004, will take lots of creative energy and all volunteers are appreciated.

Perhaps you'd like to be involved working directly with the women who receive the benefits from the Foundation's labors. There are many opportunities to work with identifying and selecting candidates. And what could be more rewarding than mentoring one of the grant recipients? It's more than a boost on your resume; it helps you build new skills and contacts. But the best benefit can come from the personal reward of helping others grow.
To volunteer, contact us today. You'll be glad you did!

Linda Spalla, Volunteer
Phone: 883-5327
Email: lspalla@whnt.net

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Endowment Fund

The Foundation recently established an endowment fund to provide a permanent financial base for the Foundation. The purpose of the endowment is to supplement the other scholarship funds raised by the Foundation, and not to replace the Foundation's fundraising activities or to be used to provide operating funds for the Foundation.

Commencing this year, 25% of the money raised annually by the Women Honoring Women fundraising event will be placed in the endowment fund. In addition, donors can specifically earmark their contributions to the endowment. A memorial or honorary named fund can be created under the endowment for a minimum donation of $10,000 (which can be paid over a 3 year period).

The principal of the endowment will be preserved and invested in perpetuity. Only the investment earnings will be used to provide scholarships to eligible women selected by the Foundation. However, no distributions will be made from the endowment until it has assets totaling at least $20,000.

The endowment fund will be overseen and directed by a committee of 6 people chosen by the WEDC Foundation, but who may not necessarily be connected with the Foundation or the Women's Economic Development Council (WEDC). The endowment committee shall determine the amount of endowment earnings to be distributed each year.

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WOMEN HELPING WOMEN RADIOTHON
"Supporting Scholars, Helping Families, Shaping Futures"

The WEDC Foundation joined with Lite 96.9 Radio for a new event to increase awareness about the WEDC Foundation and raise funds for future scholarships. Throughout the day, Lite 96.9 WRSA broadcast stories from scholarship recipients, their mentors, WEDC volunteers and sponsors.

The Lite-96.9 Women Helping Women Radiothon was held on Friday, January 23, 2004 at Parkway Place Mall. Pledges were accepted throughout the day and donors received coupon packages, gift bags and were eligible for other special promotions from Parkway Place merchants. The money raised by this event funds scholarships for local women who are pursuing an academic degree or technical training in order to achieve economic independence for themselves and their families. To date, the WEDC Foundation has awarded more than $50,000 to assist 37 women. The organization also provides individuals mentors and specialized training workshops to its scholarship recipients.

The Women's Economic Development Council established the WEDC Foundation in 1998 to focus the critical time, energy and money on a formalized grants and mentoring program.

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