Our Caring for Women campaign kicked off on June 3, 2022, at The Land in Spicer. Chair, Val Amberg, and Vice Chair, Hallie Johnson, highlighted the work that the Women’s Fund has done and our goals for the coming year including our $50,000 campaign goal. Guest speaker, Marti Paulson, shared how grant funds to Project Turnabout helped expand Trauma Informed Care efforts in Kandiyohi County. Guests enjoyed a large grazing table, drinks and live music. Chefs Mateo Mackbee and Erin Lucas also shared their vision for The Land by Model Citizen. It brought together donors and strong supporters. During the month of June and early July, steering committee members reached out to our community of supporters in our Caring for Women Campaign to share the exciting work of our partner organizations and to bring public awareness. As of November 10, the campaign raised a total of $55,290.
Our WAWF 2022 Caring for Women Campaign will help:
Provide flexibility to our partner organizations to design programs that will best serve our community’s needs amid the shadow pandemic of the last two years (an increase in domestic and sexual violence and families impacted by trauma)
Offer trauma informed care implementation grants to grantees that work with children, youth and families to build their capacity
Broaden awareness of the intersectionality issues including homelessness/housing insecurity impacting sexual exploitation in our county to help prevent and end the cycle
In July, The Willmar Area Women’s Fund awarded a round of grants in support of trauma informed care. We seek to expand training and build Trauma Informed Care capacity to organizations serving children, youth and families impacted by trauma. The Women’s Fund announced that it would provide $5,000 each to Lutheran Social Services, Project Turnabout and Kandiyohi County Family Services. Trainings will reach over 1,100 individuals in Kandiyohi County including law enforcement professionals, emergency medical technicians, fire department volunteers/personnel and public defender office attorneys and personnel, as well as other professionals that work directly with children and families impacted by trauma.
The Willmar Area Women’s Fund (WAWF) strives to shine a light, connect the dots, and propel work forward to improve the lives of the women and children in Kandiyohi by filling gaps in funding with partner organizations. Thanks to all that have supported our 2022 Campaign. If you’d like to be a part of the collective impact of combining our resources to influence change, visit notherenotourkids.com and click on the Donate link on the top of our home page.