100 Women Who Care in Starkville awards grants

Three organizations have been awarded grants thanks to one non-profit group.

The group that awarded the three organizations is named 100 Women Who Care – Starkville, which is in its third year.

Over the last three years, the group has put more than $76,000 back into the community by funding projects or organizations in Starkville and Oktibbeha County. Members pay $100 each year, and nonprofits apply for a grant. Then members meet for an hour to vote on which local nonprofits to support.

"We are a group of women who love Starkville and want to be involved in helping to make this town the best it can be. Giving a financial boost to organizations already important in our communities is a small way to make a big difference,” said 100 Women Who Care board member Aundrea Self.

Three grants were given in a first, second, and third place order with first place getting $5,000, second place getting $4,000, and third place getting $3,000.

In first place is Path to Prosperity by Starkville Strong, which is a program that will focus on building on the progress made, data gathered, and method of process Starkville Strong implemented in the Path to Stability program.

In second place is the Workforce Apprenticeship Project by The J. L. King Community Center. Through this program, the J. L. King Center will enlist the resources of the Mississippi Apprenticeship Program, a program devised by the Mississippi Department of Labor and Department of Employment Security to provide on-the-job training and classroom instruction relating to one's desired field of employment interest.

In third place is the Life Skills Enhancement Program by Safe Place Foundation, Inc. This program will offer training in culinary arts, painting, investing in stocks, budgeting, improving interview skills, building resumes, social skills, and more. Safe Place Foundation plans to meet with youth twice a month to teach them new skills that they can use for a lifetime, which will help youth who are entering into the workforce for the first time.

"It's the easiest investment you ever make – the one that enhances and improves the community where you raise your kids, buy a house, or want to retire. I'm ready to help take Starkville to the next level as a thriving community,” said 100 Women Who Care board member Alison Buehler.