Invest in Women in the Washington DC Metro Area

Because of dedicated supporters like you, there is a brighter future for women like Lidia V.

Lidia, a single mother and graduate of the Washington Area Women's Foundation supported Training Futures program at Northern Virginia Family Service, found the program while pursuing her GED. Prior to enrolling, Lidia said she was constantly thinking, “I’ll get my GED, but then what?” Training Futures helped her answer that question by showing her that it was possible to go from working two jobs on nights and weekends to securing a full-time position with benefits and regular business hours.

In 2014, after completing a three-week internship with the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia, Lidia was offered a full-time position as an executive assistant. Since then, she’s impressed her employers, received a raise, and is now able to spend more time at home raising her 9-year-old son. She acknowledges that without the support of Training Futures and Washington Area Women’s Foundation she would never have been able to imagine achieving all of these things.

Your support and donations provide critical services like job training for economically vulnerable women in the Washington region and helps them work towards a brighter future for themselves and their children.

But the most rewarding experience Lidia says thus far has been the opportunity to help change other people’s lives by introducing them to Training Futures. She says, “I couldn’t be more blessed. I don’t even have the words to describe Training Future’s impact on my life. Where I work, I have the ability to speak to a lot of people who could benefit from the program and I tell everyone I can about it.”

At Washington Area Women’s Foundation, we invest in pathways out of poverty for women and girls, including job training and post-secondary education opportunities that provide access to careers that offer benefits and pay family-sustaining wages. The Foundation first started supporting Northern Virginia Family Service’s Training Futures program through Stepping Stones in 2005. Training Futures provides the training and skills that help under-employed and unemployed women in Northern Virginia secure a rewarding career.

When it comes to helping women build their economic security and earnings potential, Training Futures is one of the nation’s most effective workforce development programs. More than 90 percent of all participants who enroll in the program graduate, and 80 percent of all Training Futures graduates find administrative jobs with benefits paying an average of $12.50 per hour within a year after completing the program. With your support, Washington Area Women's Foundation can continue identifying and resourcing high-performing programs like Training Futures that are changing the lives of women and their families in the Washington region.  

Links:

• Learn More about our programs in the Washington Region

Your support of Washington Area Women's Foundation fuels investment in Early Care and Education.  Join with us to support a critical opportunity for children to increase school readiness and close the achievement gap.

Did you know?

• Kids who enter kindergarten prepared are four times more likely to graduate high school.
• In 2013, the average annual cost of full-time center-based care for an infant in the District of Columbia was $22,000, or about 92 percent of the median income of a female-headed household.
• The cost of center-based care for an infant in the District of Columbia was three times higher than the cost of a year's tuition and fees at a four-year public college in 2013.
• Every public dollar invested in early care and education saves taxpayers up to $13 dollars in future costs.

In 2014, early care and education grants helped reach over 6,300 low-income children across the region.  These grants improved teacher-child communication in the classroom, supported literacy efforts and interventions, invested in the professional development of child care workers and empowered families to advocate for quality child care across the region.

In the Washington metropolitan region, more than 200,000 women and girls are living in poverty.  Early care and education is one critical strategy to help increase the economic security of families and, together, we can make influence change that will have lasting impact, not just on this generation, but for generations to come.  

Please donate today to Washington Area Women's Foundation.

Links:

• Girls Issue Brief 2015
• Early Care and Education Fact Sheet
• Washington Area Women's Foundation Website