GRANT RECIPIENTS
Grants Support Variety of Programs Serving Women and Girls
Fourteen nonprofit organizations received nearly $70,000 in Women’s Fund community grants at our annual Women’s Fund luncheon in September, 2007.
In selecting its community initiated grant recipients, the Women’s Fund of Greater Omaha gave special consideration to programs that reflect its own priorities of leadership development, health and wellness, financial education and philanthropy.
Forty-three non-profit agencies submitted proposals totaling more than $450,000. “The grants committee was very impressed with the high caliber of applications received this year,” said Sara Woods, committee chair. “We believe the programs selected for funding represent the very best of our community's nonprofit organizations. All of these programs will have a substantial and sustainable impact on the well-being of women and girls in the Omaha area.”
Recipients include:
Camp Fire USA -- $6,000 for the Teen Advisory Board’s Leadership Academy for Girls, which focuses on developing leadership and professional skills for 100 middle school and high school girls. Training simulates a professional business environment, including attire. Focus areas include team building, decision making, healthy relationships, volunteer skills, goal setting, social competence and time management.
This is the third year for the project, which is held during spring break. The Teen Advisory Board assists Camp Fire USA staff in planning, implementing and evaluating the academy. The board also determines content for monthly meetings to prepare the youth for the academy and for follow-up leadership activities after the academy.
Chicano Awareness Center (now the Latino Center of the Midlands) -- $4,000 for Spanish General Equivalency Diploma (GED) preparation classes for 100 Latino women. Students are tutored over a 12-week span in the five test areas of science, social studies, reading, math and writing. The program provides the undereducated Spanish-speaking population a feasible means in which to receive a GED to attain higher education and further employment opportunities.
College of Saint Mary -- $4,000 for the Institute for Women’s Leadership. It will offer degree programs, lectures, and events that engage the community on important questions around gender and leadership.
Students in the Master in Organizational Leadership program will conduct research on informal networking in Omaha and the impact it has on professional advancement. The research will examine the difference between men’s and women’s use of informal networks. Additionally, small groups of men and women in executive positions will be interviewed about their networks. Results will be summarized and shared with the community.
Girls Incorporated of Omaha -- $5,000 for Born Leaders! This political advocacy and leadership program is for girls ages 13 to 18. Participants will learn about local, state and national politics, as well as what it means to serve in a leadership position on a volunteer board. They also will meet with elected officials and learn about issues before the Nebraska legislature.
Justice for Our Neighbors -- $7,500 to continue and expand a community education campaign about immigrants’ rights, with a focus on victims of domestic violence and other gender-based crimes. Justice for Our Neighbors provides legal services to low-income individuals with immigration-related legal problems. Priorities include assisting victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes, children who are in the U.S. without their parents, and persons who require legal assistance due to heightened U.S. immigration and Customs enforcement initiatives.
League of Women Voters of Greater Omaha Educational Fund -- $1,500 for Running and Winning, a workshop to encourage girls to consider using their leadership skills to one day run for public office. Current and former female elected officials will meet with the students to talk about their experiences in campaigning for and holding elected office. Students also will participate in an interactive mock campaign, and work as a group to develop a campaign slogan and a campaign speech.
Forty-five high school girls from Omaha South, Bellevue East and Millard West will be selected by their teachers to participate in the Oct. 11 Running and Winning workshop.
National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Omaha Metropolitan Chapter -- $7,500 for a Leadership Development Program. The program will encourage women to seek grassroots solutions to issues that affect the African American community. Women’s Issues Forums, which are open to the public, will focus on the topics of black women and health, black women and leadership and power, and black women and wealth.
These three forums lead up to a Women of Color in Leadership Summit that will provide powerful and practical personal and professional development opportunities for women of color. Plans are for 150 women to take part in the summit, with an additional 100 community leaders participating in a keynote luncheon.
Omaha Street School -- $2,500 to expand its Leadership Mentoring Program that encourages female students to develop leadership skills, pursue healthy lifestyles and visualize career opportunities through interaction with female role models in the community.
The teens will host women in leadership workshops in which they will interview successful women. They also will participate in skill-building leadership groups with mentors from Creighton University, and they will spend a day job shadowing a woman in a leadership position. Each woman will receive a career outfit upon successful completion of the program.
OneWorld Community Health Centers -- $6,000 for a program to provide a full-time bilingual domestic violence advocate. During each prenatal and women’s health visit, a OneWorld physician or mid-level practitioner screens each woman for domestic violence. If it’s determined a woman is in an abusive situation, the bilingual domestic violence advocate will be called in immediately to assess the situation. The advocate will refer victims to appropriate agencies for additional services and provide information and assistance to police officers working with victims.
Planned Parenthood of Nebraska and Council Bluffs -- $3,200 for Unequal Partners: “Teaching about Power and Consent in Adult-Teen and Other Relationships.” The one-day workshop will train teachers, counselors, public health officials, healthcare providers and youth care professionals on how to help young people make healthy decisions about relationships, especially those involving power imbalance. Research has found the risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases are greater when there is a significant age difference between the female and the male.
University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Information Science & Technology -- $1,800 for a Women in Information Science and Engineering (WISE Women) program that will engage girls in the creativity and fun of computing and engineering and create a sense of excitement about what they can accomplish through activities such as geocaching, digital media, mobile computing, computer programming, podcasting and robotics. The program includes a Women in Information Technology and Engineering Day at the Peter Kiewit Institute for high school students and their teachers and a weeklong summer day camp in conjunction with the Girl Scouts.
Visiting Nurse Association -- $5,000 to continue support of the MAMAS program that empowers Spanish-speaking mothers in the Omaha area to live healthier lives by strengthening their connections to the community and each other. The program provides education regarding women’s health and wellness.
MAMAS meets biweekly, with the first half of the group program devoted to education concerning women’s health, wellness and cultural orientation. The second half focuses on relationship building and information sharing, with the program providing a safe place for members to share joys and concerns with other Spanish-speaking women.
Youth Emergency Services -- $3,000 to address sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among homeless teens in Omaha. YES partners with the Visiting Nurse Association to provide a part-time public health nurse at its emergency shelter, drop-in center and on the streets of Omaha and Council Bluffs.
The public health nurse screens teenagers in the YES Emergency Shelter and teaches classes on pregnancy and disease prevention at its drop-in center. The grant funds will be used for medical supplies and testing equipment, transportation and administrative expenses.
YWCA -- $10,000 to provide legal representation to victims of domestic violence. The YWCA provides civil legal representation for domestic violence victims who previously would have gone into court without legal representation.
The legal services project at the YWCA Omaha began in 1994. Legal services include assistance with protection orders, divorce decrees, child custody, child support, housing issues and divorce modifications.
The YWCA grant is given in Melanie Morrissey Clark’s honor to recognize her 10 years’ service as volunteer editor of Today’s Omaha Woman magazine, which is published by the Women’s Fund.