Thank you to all who have given to the WGC this past month:

Jean Lewis, Tara Hart, Megan Bruno, Kimberly Agnor, Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz, Beth Harbinson, Melissa Curtin, Beatrice Dane, Sharice Hammond, Stephanie Wall, Barb Van Winkle

​Thank you for being a part of the Women's Giving Circle of Howard County and our powerful network supporting women and their families in our community - we are having a greater impact together!

Junior Achievement (JA) of Central Maryland has been granted another $20K this year by the Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County for its JA Rising Women program. The WGC has invested over $150,000 to date over the past seven years. 

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 that gives young women in Howard County the opportunity to start their own companies alongside local women business mentors.

JA Rising Women provides real-world experiences to help build entrepreneurial and business mindsets in young women and girls, and to date has launched numerous student-run companies which have earned more than $3,000. These profits have been donated back into the community, benefitting local organizations such as the Howard County Food Bank, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Special Olympics, and the Linus Project.

“We are thrilled to continue our wonderful partnership with JA of Central Maryland on the JA Rising Women program” said Barb Van Winkle, chair of the Women’s Giving Circle. “It’s exciting to be able to fund another year of this exceptional entrepreneurship program for girls that has yielded clear results and has exceeded our expectations!"

To find out more, click here.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County is proud to recognize Cris Oviedo as part of the WGC's "Our Giving, Our Stories" profile series.

A professional with a passion for broadcasting, acting, and serving others, Cris was born in Ecuador, moved to the United States in 2001, and is fluent in English and Spanish. A graduate from Towson University's EMF program,  Cris is the Program Director at Howard Community College’s Dragon Digital Radio, where she has the opportunity to help in all capacities at the radio station from editing to directing and hosting shows like Live with Cris.  She also produces and hosts Caliente, a Spanish show that looks to bring valuable information to our Latino community in Maryland serving as a bridge between services and nuestra gente, closing that gap through education and empowerment. 

"Cris is committed to serving the Hispanic community in all aspects of her professional and personal engagements. She offers bilingual programming through the HCC Dragon Radio, initiated the Howard County Latino Facebook group, and was elected Co-Chair of the Howard County Executive’s Alianza Hispanic initiative" said Feli Solá-Carter, Coach, Excellence in Government Program at the Partnership for Public Service and Howard County Community Leader.

Cris is constantly looking for ways to serve, empower, and bring opportunities to the Latino community in Howard County, and she’s striving to become a better leader and advocate. She recently joined Alianza Latina, a county group that she co-chairs with Danielle Duran Baron, where along with other community leaders, she is working to create a strong voice and presence for all Latinos in Howard County. 

"She is an up and comer" said Stacie Hunt, President & CEO of Leadership Howard County. "She’s smart and is learning how to use her voice."

We are fortunate that we have Cris in our community working with us to elevate the voices of women and girls. Thank you for joining us in recognizing her by clicking on this image to read her full WGC "Our Giving, Our Stories" profile, and learning more about all of the amazing women who are part of  WGC "Our Giving, Our Stories"!