The Community Foundation of Howard County Spring Party is always one of our favorite events of the year - and this year the Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County took over the bar for an hour. Nothing better than having fun for a good cause! We love our community!
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Wow, what a night to kick off the WGC's Big Give 2024 at Vectorworks!
The WGC's Big Give 2024 is designed for women who want to learn more about grantmaking to women and girls in our community in a fast-paced, hands-on giving experience. The WGC Big Give 2024 has 53 women who have pooled $20,000 individually and as teams who will collectively grant this $20,000 to three nonprofits that support women and girls of Howard County. WGC Big Give 2024 members will meet again next week to hear from this year's 3 finalists and determine grant awards - stay tuned! "We firmly believe that women’s philanthropy is shaping the future for women and girls through the power of collective giving" said Melissa Curtin, WGC Big Give Chair. "WGC's The Big Give is empowering women to support other women in our community now, and in the future." You can learn more about the WGC's Big Give 2024 here and view photos below! The WGC was honored to sponsor “Listen to Your Mother - Howard County” on May 11.
From hilarious and heartwarming to emotionally intense and profound, we heard 10 diverse true stories about motherhood from 10 inspiring women, including some WGC leaders! We collected products to support WGC’s Feminine Hygiene Product Drive and, our participation supported our partners at JustLiving Advocacy. Congratulations to all involved for bringing “Listen to Your Mother” to our community. 12 BIG ideas for social change in Howard County | 6 that were funded with $100k | ALL that are winners Changemaker (n) – One who desires change in the world and, by gathering knowledge and resources, makes that change happen. On May 7, The Horizon Foundation, United Way of Central Maryland, Women’s Giving Circle, and Community Foundation of Howard County hosted The Changemaker Challenge - a social innovation competition to highlight and award ideas in Howard County, and we are all feeling energized and inspired by our Changemaker Challenge 2024 finalists! The Changemaker Challenge aims to spark social innovation to address challenges facing our community and we invested $100K to support 6 big ideas for social change in Howard County! Here are the 2024 Changemaker Challenge Winners:
Here are the Changemaker Challenge 2024 Finalists:
"We are proud and honored to have worked with all of these amazing social entrepreneurs this year" said WGC Chair Jennifer Bodensiek." And in particular, we are excited to have the $10K WGC Award go to Ballet After Dark that is launching "Periodt!" to fight period poverty, something that is very important to the WGC." Changemaker is looking for big ideas for social change in Howard County. We have partnered on the Changemaker Challenge because despite all the strengths of our community in Howard County, we recognize that many pressing problems continue to persist. Fortunately, Howard County has a long history of tireless work by many individuals and organizations that have brought creative solutions to some of these pressing problems. This idea started in Howard County, and was so successful that our partners at United Way have now replicated Changemaker throughout Central Maryland - talk about innovation! "Our philanthropic community as partnered on the Changemaker Challenge since 2017 and we are proud of our growing, collaborative efforts to invest in social innovation and change in our community" said WGC Executive Director Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz. "4 Changemaker Challenges, 125+ applicants, 40+ finalists, 17 Changemakers, and $250K in awards to date - that's social innovation!" We look forward to our next Changemaker Challenge - stay tuned! We had a wonderful Women's Giving Circle of Howard County Mother’s Day Happy Hour tonight at Bra-La-La. We highlighted how women can engage in the WGC, and in particular, our WGC Feminine Hygiene Product Drive. Thank you to all who joined us and many thanks to Mary Jordan & Bra-La-La for hosting us. Period Poverty is real. Learn more and support the drive here.
EIGHTH ANNUAL BOOKS IN BLOOM FEATURES AWARD WINNERS AND FAN FAVORITES IN MULTIGENERATIONAL, MULTICULTURAL COMMUNITY EVENT Downtown Columbia Partnership and Howard Hughes Holdings Host Book Festival May 11 at Color Burst Park in Downtown Columbia Women’s creativity and accomplishments are at the forefront of the eighth annual Books in Bloom festival hosted by the Downtown Columbia Partnership (DTCP) and Howard Hughes Holdings on Saturday, May 11, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m., in Color Burst Park, Merriweather District, Downtown Columbia. The multigenerational, multicultural event is free and open to the public. The roster of featured presenters includes:
Children’s activities, writer’s workshops and exhibits by local literary, human rights and other organizations will be included. Busboys and Poets will showcase books by festival authors, and local restauranteurs will offer special snacks and meals for sale. Free parking is available in the parking garage at the festival site. More book festival information is at https://merriweatherdistrict.com/books-in-bloom/ |
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