Power of the Purse distribution benefits 8 groups
The Power of the Purse in Berks County awarded $60,000 in grants through Berks County Community Foundation to eight organizations.
That is the largest annual amount the group has distributed since it was formed in 2012, according to the foundation.
The grants help other local women and girls increase their leadership skills, sense of empowerment, educational attainment and ability to find employment, the foundation said.
“Women who wanted to improve the lives of other local women and children started the Power of the Purse in Berks County,” said Chiara Renninger, one of the group’s founders. “Our donations are combined and targeted toward specific programs so that we have a greater local impact than we would if we each gave individually without a coordinated effort.”
The awards: $12,575 to VOiCEup Berks for its Youth Volunteer Corps of Reading InSchool Leadership and Service Program. The program provides opportunities for middle school girls in Reading to be involved in service learning and leadership development.
$10,000 to Safe Berks to run the Education, Empowerment, Employment! program, which provides survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault with financial assistance and support for education, transportation, child care, job searches and more.
$10,000 to Reading Recreation Commission for its Girls Leadership Program, which empowers young women in Reading. The program addresses peer pressure, bullying, selfworth and self-confidence. The program includes speakers, female mentors and field trips.
$10,000 to Community Prevention Partnership to support the Nurse Family Partnership program, which provides home visitation to first time, low-income mothers beginning in pregnancy and continuing until the child’s second birthday.
$5,000 to Berks Youth Chorus for scholarships to ensure all girls ages 8 to 18 who desire to sing with the chorus can do so, regardless of financial need.
$4,619.50 to Girl Scouts of Eastern PA to support its Funded Initiatives Program, a leadership development effort that engages hundreds of girls between the ages of 5 and 17 in underserved areas of Berks.
$4,619.50 to Girls on the Run to provide Power Up kits to local girls.
Power Up is a new athome program by Girls on the Run that uses creativity and physical activity to teach girls to stand up for themselves and others, recognize the leader within, better understand and deal with emotions when times are difficult, and learn to enjoy and be present in daily life.
$3,186 to Clare of Assisi House for its Bridge the Gap program, which offers workforce development, drug and alcohol counseling, and life skills training to nonviolent women who are coming out of prison.
Power of the Purse has awarded $285,903 in grants since its inception. For more information on how to join or contribute go to bccf.org/pop.