The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County’s (CFSLOCO) Women’s Legacy Fund (WLF) will hold its 14th annual luncheon with the largest grant award total to date. The fund addresses issues of local women and girls and has distributed more than $192,000 in local grants since 2004, and this year’s grants bring that total to more than $247,000. For the next three years, the Women’s Legacy Fund will provide grants to local programs that empower girls with the skills, knowledge and support to overcome gender inequity.
This year, a total of $55,000 will be given to the following local organizations:
- Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County – $15,000
- Boys & Girls Club of North SLO County – $40,000 (over three years)
The Community Action Partnership grant will provide support for collaboration with Soroptimist International of San Luis Obispo to implement a self-esteem building program, Dream It, Be It. The program strives to increase positive identity assets in girls and will be offered to 100 high school and middle school girls in both Paso Robles and South San Luis Obispo County.
The Boys & Girls Club of North SLO County grant involves a three-year plan to strengthen and expand the current Boys & Girls Club of America SMART Girls curriculum with an on-site one-to-one mentoring component for all middle-school female participants. The staggered budget increases will take place for this after-school program so it will grow to include more girls in Atascadero and Paso Robles. This program is structured to include education on healthy lifestyles, relationship management, sexual health, peer pressure and bullying.
“The two grants we’re giving away this year are perfectly aligned with the priorities of the Women’s Legacy Fund over the next three years. Our focus is on supporting programs that empower local girls to succeed and make a difference into adulthood.”- WLF Committee Chair Linda Reitner
The luncheon will feature keynote speaker Carissa Phelps, CEO and Founder of Runaway Girl, Inc., and co-creator of Ending The Game, an intervention curriculum. Runaway Girl, Inc. is a California Social Purpose Corporation that strives to create development opportunities for runaway, former runaway, and homeless youth, and to improve and create services for these groups.
Phelps’s leadership has led to an increased level of awareness and improved legislation and responses for human trafficking victims, especially children. In 2008, she co- produced the award winning short documentary Carissa, which took her back to the streets where she was trafficked at 12 years old. Phelps lives on the Central Coast of California, where she mentors survivors, writes, and works as a social entrepreneur.
Tickets to the luncheon are available until September 15th for $50 each or a table of eight for $400, and may be purchased online at wlfslo.org. For more information about the Women’s Legacy Fund, contact The Community Foundation at (805) 543- 2323 or visit wlfslo.org.