Gender Equality United States Project #6559

Invest in Women in the Washington DC Metro Area

by Washington Area Women's Foundation

Project Report | Dec 5, 2011
What Inspires You to Step up and Take Action?

By Helen French | Director of Development

What inspires you to step up and take action? When Mya Zeronis looks at her five-year-old daughter, Mandy, she sees a reason to fight. After Mya left her job as a chef at a local restaurant, her employer refused to pay her last month’s wages. So Mya sprang into action with the help of Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC-DC), a Washington Area Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner. After taking leadership training courses at ROC-DC, Mya created an online petition drive and an in-person flier campaign that resulted in her getting the money she was owed. After all, could you survive without pay for a month?

“There are a lot of wrongs happening in the restaurant industry and no one seems to care,” says Mya. “[When I joined ROC-DC] I wanted to be active in reforming the industry. It felt good to send a message.”

And not just to restaurant owners. She also wants to teach her daughter that “she’s in charge of her own future.”

There is an increasing number of women and girls like Mya and Mandy who fight to survive day-by-day.

Mya Zeronis and her daughter, Mandy.

“A lot of work went into just getting a paycheck I already earned,” says Mya.

Shamefully, 21 percent of women and girls live in poverty in our nation’s capital. And frighteningly, the numbers keep rising. More than 200,000 females live in poverty in our region, according to recent Census data, nearly 14 percent more than just a year ago. That’s twice the increase seen nationwide.

We cannot stand by while more and more people in our community struggle. We have to act.

With your support, in the last six years, Washington Area Women’s Foundation has:

Invested nearly $5 million in grants to more than 45 community-based organizations.

Helped more than 4,000 women increase their assets by just over $18 million through decreased debt, increased savings and growing equity related to home ownership.

Conducted research on the status of women and girls in our region and educated our community about the needs of women and girls.

Thank you. Your support measurably improved the lives of thousands of women and girls like Mya and Mandy.

And your gift today will have even greater impact. Please give as generously as you can.

We will ensure that your donations support the most effective strategies and programs that help women and girls access high-quality and affordable childcare, obtain jobs with family-sustaining wages & benefits, and save for their futures.

Together we will shape a community where all women and girls have the resources they need to thrive.

With gratitude.

Links:

Read our blog for news affecting women girls in our area.

Attachments:

Brochure (PDF)

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Sep 14, 2011
The Foundation in the Community

By Helen French | Development Officer

Earlier this summer the Washington Area Women's Foundation board approved $350,000 in new grants for eight local nonprofits working to build the economic security and financial independence of low-income, women-headed families. Three of the organizations had never been funded by The Women's Foundation before. This latest round of funding brings The Women’sFoundation’s grantmaking total to $779,000 for the 2011 fiscal year. All eight nonprofits received funding from The Women’s Foundation’s Stepping Stones Initiative. The objective of Stepping Stones is to build the economic security and financial independence of low‐income, women‐headed families.

The AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation is one of Washington Area Women's Foundation's newest Grantee Partners and just received a $50,000 grant for their Every Child Ready project. The new grant from The Women's Foundation came from the Early Care and Education Funders Collaborative.

AppleTree is using a pioneering model to close the achievement gap before children enter kindergarten. The organization operates four charter preschools that serve 320 children in D.C.'s Southwest, Columbia Heights and East Capitol Hill neighborhoods. The schools are open to all three and four-year-olds in the District.

Every Child Ready is creating a scalable model of high-quality preschool that is set to be replicated nationwide. It is the only DC-based project serving children that was selected for a federal Investing in Innovation (i3) grant last year. According to AppleTree: "Every Child Ready has shown extraordinarily strong results in providing those most at risk of educational failure with the language, literacy, math, and social-emotional skills they will need to succeed in school and life."

The Foundation in the Community

"I have had no health care since 2007. I don't know what it is to go to the doctor."

"[My kids] have no day care so I can't work."

"The lawmakers need to hear from us... the ones who struggle every day."

"No one can do it alone. It's important to work together."

After the release of the report 2010 Portrait of Women & Girls in the Washington Metropolitan Area, The Women's Foundation embarked on a series of listening sessions across the community to share data from the report and hear what Grantee Partners and their clients were doing to resolve issues faced by women and girls in our region.

We heard from middle school girls in Montgomery County who were concerned about their families' economic security. In Ward 8, single women raising children talked about wanting to advocate for themselves. We talked about the challenges faced by lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents. And we found out what one Northern Virginia nonprofit is doing to improve the economic stability of domestic violence survivors.

Click here for an overview of the latest community presentation, held in conjunction with the Prince George's County Executive and Prince George's Community College.

Links:

Washington Area Women's Foundation website

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May 26, 2011
What does economic security mean to you?

By Helen French | Development Officer

What does economic security mean to you? To Linda* it meant gaining her independence so that she could provide for her three children, rather than staying in an abusive marriage in which she wasn’t allowed to work.

After leaving her husband, Linda slept on a friend’s couch and had to take her children with her on job interviews. Following weeks of frustration and rejection, just as she was about to give up hope and return to her husband, she discovered Doorways for Women and Families, a Northern Virginia organization that offers shelter and a range of services for women and children fleeing domestic violence.

Doorways - a Washington Area Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner – gave Linda financial and job skills training and helped place her children in daycare. When she completed her training course, she beat out 300 other applicants for a position with a local city government. She now lives on her own with her children and credits Doorways for helping her. “I got my life back and my children got a life they otherwise would not have,“ she said.

Sadly, Linda’s story is not unique. More than 177,000 women and girls in the DC metro region live in poverty and struggle to make ends meet. Your investment in Washington Area Women’s Foundation helps ensure that women like Linda have opportunities to support themselves and their children.

And your investment is showing phenomenal returns. During the past year, our signature program, Stepping Stones, strategically invested $270,000 in grants to organizations such as Doorways that provide financial education and job training to low-income women. That investment yielded a nearly $6 million return through income and asset gains made by women participating in these programs. That is a 2196% return on investment.

Thank you for investing in the women and girls of our region. Together we can make a difference.

* name changed to protect identity

Links:

www.thewomensfoundation.org

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