Women's Giving Circle Awards Grants Including $15K for Journey Camp

The Women’s Giving Circle (WGC), a fund of the Community Foundation of Howard County, has awarded $27,300 of its 2014 grants budget to sponsor a camp for young women, support a scholarship fund to improve employment opportunities for women, provide emergency funding for local nonprofits, and benefit other programs that assist women and girls in Howard County.

Journey, a summer residential camp for 8th and 9th grade girls, was awarded $15,000 in funding to reduce the fees for attendees. Supported by WGC since its inception in 2006, Journey is operated by Maryland Leadership Workshops. Over 260 girls have attended Journey since it began. It is held at Washington College is Chestertown, MD.

WGC added $5,000 to the scholarship fund it established at Howard Community College for women students taking job-related classes, and $250 was contributed to the Women’s Studies program at HCC.

Another $6,000 was awarded in emergency funds to local nonprofits serving women and girls. Emergency Grants are provided to selected nonprofit organizations on an annual basis to be used throughout the year toward immediate relief of financial emergencies in the lives of women and girls they serve.

Recipients of Emergency Grants for 2014 are Bridges to Housing Stability, Community Action Council, Hope Works, Family and Children’s Services’ Healthy Families program, FIRN, and Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center. Each of this year’s recipients has been granted $1,000.

WGC has also granted $800 to Leadership U for scholarships for girls selected for the 4-month team building and leadership development program. A grant of $250 was awarded The Arc of Howard County to support a program about dating and relationships for young women with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

WGC is a community of women philanthropists addressing the needs of women and girls in Howard County. WGC’s grantmaking is strategic and proactive and focuses on programs that increase the life skills of women and girls and encourage the healthy development and personal authority of young girls.

WGC was founded in 2002 and has over 1,000 donors, who have contributed and pledged over $1 million to its fund with the Community Foundation of Howard County. For information, visit www.womensgivingcircle.org.