Dear WGC Donor and Friends,

How exciting, this is my first message to you as the Chair of the WGC! 

It is my honor to serve as Chair for the next two years, and to work closely with our wonderful Advisory Board, Community Foundation of Howard County leadership and staff, and WGC donors, partners, and grantees to improve the lives of women in girls in our community. I am so grateful to Alison Canning, Immediate Past Chair, for her incredible efforts to help move the WGC forward!

READ THE JULY 2018 WGC ENEWS HERE

As I said at our wonderful happy hour on Tuesday, it is exciting to start leading our giving circle that has been part of the Howard County community for over 15 years, has raised over $1 million to support our efforts from over 1,000 donors, and has given grants to over 100 nonprofits that support women and girls in our community. What I reminded everyone there – all the old and new faces – is that the WGC:
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• Gives grants to nonprofits in Howard County that focus on our mission.
• Raises money from donors to support our grantmaking, and we have an endowment so that we will have money in perpetuity to fund programs that benefit women and girls
• Hosts events and programs to engage donors and raise money to support our grantmaking.

Thanks to everyone who attended the happy hour – it was great to meet and speak with so many women who want to partner for change in our community. I’m looking forward to working with all of you to continue to nurture and grow our wonderful giving circle, and hope to see you soon at one of our upcoming events!

Sincerely,

Barb Van Winkle, WGC Chair
WGCChair@womensgivingcircle.org

JA Rising Women is the WGC’s multi-year grant supporting a 13 week after-school entrepreneurship program for girls grades 9-12, in partnership with Junior Achievement of Central Maryland. 2018 is our fourth year of funding JA Rising Women, having invested $100,000 to date.
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Check out their most recent blog post for the latest news and information on this wonderful program:

7/9/18When Chesapeake Charms CEO Barathi Aravindan joined JA Rising Women in 2017, she thought it would be “just another program” that her mother encouraged her to attend. Now, it’s something that has changed her career trajectory.

“After participating in JA Rising Women, I realized business was the field for me. I discovered something that finally utilized my skills and interested me,” said Aravindan, who is headed to University of Maryland this fall to major in finance and participate in the entrepreneurship and innovation honors program.

Aravindan and her 16 colleagues – fellow Howard County high school students – found a fashionable way to save the Chesapeake Bay through their business venture, Chesapeake Charms. The young entrepreneurs designed charm bracelets featuring three species native to the Chesapeake Bay, including the loggerhead sea turtle, Eastern Oyster, and blue crab, which sold out in less than two weeks from launch. After reaching their sales goals, the company donated $1,000 to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Chesapeake Charms was selected as one of 14 teams to compete at JA National Student Leadership Summit (NSLS) in Washington, D.C. to demonstrate their business acumen, creativity, and entrepreneurial thinking on a national stage, while showcasing their companies to members of Congress and business leaders.

“The NSLS competition is rough, but everyone is open to learning new ideas. The biggest impact for me was the FedEx seminar, where I realized how global connectivity is important for a successful business and it inspired new ideas of bringing Chesapeake Charms, at the very least, nationwide,” said Marketing Director Ashley Chen. “I also learned how the business world really does need more women.”

As the only all-women student company represented at NSLS, Chen’s thoughts were echoed by her peers, who enjoyed aspects such as networking, educational workshops, and competitive events. For Erin Duncan, chief financial officer, the experience was unforgettable, even though Chesapeake Charms did not win.

“NSLS gave me a chance to experience networking as a real businesswoman. Overall it was a fun business experience that most high schoolers never get the chance to experience,” added Duncan. “We also participated in multiple workshops with C-suite mentors on what it means to be an entrepreneur in your innovation, social responsibility, and global impact. I expect the lessons I learned from JA Rising Women and NSLS to lead me into a strong business-guided future.”

With a year full of new experiences, JA entrepreneurs received an authentic look at the business world, but it’s impact is even greater. Kathy Tran, vice president of sales, felt her JA experience “played a large role” in her personal growth, particularly building her leadership skills.

“JA Rising Women not only taught me about the business world and what it means to be an entrepreneur, but it also taught me to be more confident,” added Aravindan. “I hope to start my own business in the future that will give back to the community that has already given me so much.”

While Aravindan prepares for her freshman year of college this summer, her colleagues have other plans including studying for SAT’s, internships, jobs, and returning to JA Rising Women next fall.

To learn more about JA entrepreneurial programs such as JA Rising Women, contact Nick Anderson at nanderson@jamaryland.org.

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What a night!
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We had great food, drink, company and conversation at our jam-packed July Happy Hour, where we heard from newly-elected WGC Chair Barb Van Winkle about our recently enhanced WGC Emergency Response Network, and why and how you can participate.

And, we heard from Jennifer Pollitt Hill, ED of Hopeworks, our first ERN recipient this year!

It was great to see so many nonprofit partners, old and new donors, founders, and new faces. Many thanks to our 2018 Advisory Board, our hosts Sub-Zero and Wolf Showroom by Fretz, and everyone who joined us.

Check out pictures from the night here
Mark your calendars for our Annual Celebration on Monday, October 15th!

Many thanks to everyone who took action and donated to help a women and her family in need right here in our community.

We asked, and you, our network of women philanthropists, responded – and in less than an hour we raised $400!

The WGC Emergency Response Network was created to provide an opportunity for WGC donors to help women in need. When our nonprofit partners are working with a woman or girl with an immediate need, they submit a request to the WGC.

Emergency Response Network Requests:

• Come from one of our pre-determined nonprofit partners.
• Are for immediate needs up to $1,000.
• Provide assistance to women and girls in Howard County.

Thank you for your support of women and girls in our community through the WGC’s Emergency Response Network (ERN). We are making a bigger difference together than we might otherwise be able to alone – the reason for the success of our giving circle!
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If you have any questions about the WGC or our Emergency Response Network, please email wgcchair@womensgivingcircle.org.