Columnist urges women to share their stories as Women & Girls Fund announces $108,000 in grants
Mystic - Syndicated columnist Connie Schultz urged an early morning audience of supporters of the Women & Girls Fund to change others' lives with words of encouragement - including the stories of their own lives.
Schultz was the featured speaker at the Celebration of Women Breakfast at the Mystic Hilton, where the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut announced 22 grants totaling $108,000 to benefit girls and women from childhood to old age.
The Norwich and Southeastern Connecticut chapters of the fund made the grants.
Schultz praised the fund supporters for their leadership on behalf of women and urged them to write their own life stories for themselves and to inspire those they are close to.
Schultz, who recently left The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland as her husband, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, runs for re-election, also told a few of her own.
One was the story of the tip jar at the coat room of an evening function at an Ohio hotel.
The woman working at the coat desk had also been one of the servers at the dinner. She looked tired, and Schultz said so.
"I'm exhausted," the woman replied. Schultz said that at least she had the brimming tips jar as compensation.
No, said the woman. Workers don't get to keep the tips. Management at that hotel took the contents of the jar.
Two hotel chain vice presidents told Schultz it wasn't a story and nobody would care, but when she wrote a story about it, women cared. Women are the people who book family weddings and other large events, and they started canceling.
That same morning, the hotel changed its policy. Now Schultz asks the waitstaff in every restaurant, "Do you get to keep your tips?" and if the answer is no, she lets people know in a blog or on Facebook.
The grants announced Wednesday are aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases; supporting victims of domestic abuse and promoting healthy relationships; helping women re-enter the work force to achieve greater economic security for their families; and ensuring that seniors can live with dignity in their homes. The fund is now worth about $2 million and has distributed about $850,000, according to Ruth Crocker, fund chairman.
Earlier in the year, the third Women & Girls Fund awarded more than $22,000 for programs serving women and girls in the Windham area.
For more information about the Women & Girls Funds, please contact Alison Woods at the Community Foundation at (860) 442-3572 or visit www.cfect.org.
Grant recepients
Women & Girls Fund Southeastern Connecticut Grants were made to:
Catholic Charities, $5,000, case management for elderly New London women to help maintain self-sufficiency.
Child & Family Agency, $10,000, bilingual outreach through the school-based health center to reduce teen pregnancy and STDs.
Child & Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut, $8,000, counseling program for mothers and children affected by domestic violence.
Connecticut Community Care, $3,000, support of the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders in New London; funded in part by the Lewis Female Cent Society Fund.
Covenant Shelter of New London, $1,000, support of services for women with children who are victims of domestic violence; funded in part by the Lewis Female Cent Society Fund.
Drop-In Learning Center, $2,500, domestic abuse prevention workshop for parents of enrolled children.
Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut, $5,000, activities and services for NL area senior women to help them live independently.
L&M Community Health, Outreach and Partnerships, $10,000, support of teen prevention activities including Be Tru 2 U and Latino Parent Power.
Mystic Area Shelter and Hospitality (MASH), $1,000, employment support for single mothers seeking permanent housing.
Noank Group Homes, $2,000, program to address prevention of family and dating violence in collaboration with the Women's Center.
Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC), $2,000, program with the Women's Center and NL Homeless Hospitality Center to assist women attain job skills.
Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center, $1,500, job-seeking program for low-income women in the Pawcatuck and North Stonington area.
Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, $10,000, Students Teaching About Responsible Sexuality (STARS) program at New London High School.
Thames River Community Service, $6,000, services and counseling for families with special needs who are victims of domestic violence.
Tsetse Gallery, $2,500, classes in creative expression to help clients from the Women's Center healing from domestic violence.
Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Connecticut, $10,000, home health care visits for elderly female clients.
Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Connecticut, $5,000, nurse-managed wellness clinics in three locations in New London's senior housing sites.
Women's Center of Southeastern Connecticut, $8,000, crisis intervention for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Women's Center of Southeastern Connecticut, $500, employment and training program for victims of domestic violence.
Women & Girls Fund Norwich Area Grants were made to:
Three Rivers Community College - Women in Green Jobs, $5,000, a skills training program in the photovoltaic industry for 12 Norwich-area women.
United Community & Family Services, $5,000, educational materials and outreach to approximately 600 uninsured/underinsured teens and young women about reproductive health, pregnancy and STD prevention.
Women's Center of Southeastern Connecticut-Victim Advocate Law Enforcement (VALE), $5,000, to sustain a certified domestic violence counselor/advocate in the Norwich Police Department, serving approximately 400 women in the Norwich area.
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