GCCF Funds Youth & Education Grants, April 2020

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Greenwood County Community Foundation GCCF awarded a total of $25,000 to eight local nonprofit organizations in our 2020 Youth & Education granting cycle.

Grant recipients are:

Boys & Girls Club of the Lakelands — Power Hour program

Community Initiatives — I-station and computers for Safe Haven

Emerald City Hoops/BLOOM — LeadHERship Conference

Food Bank of Greenwood County — Weekend Backpack Program

Goodwill Industries — CNA uniforms and Job Connection training

Healthy Learners — staff and client transportation

The Museum and Railroad Historical Center — summer camp scholarships and “Polar Express” collaborative project

Salvation Army — youth music enrichment program

In response to the particular challenges experienced by nonprofits during this period of COVID-19 precautions, GCCF offered additional flexibility in the utilization of these grant awards.

(Due to COVID-19 precautions, grant check presentation photos for this cycle have been postponed.)

We congratulate each of our Youth & Education grant recipients and are grateful for your continued good work serving our community!

GWC Spring 2020 Newsletter

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GWC Quarterly Meeting, “Caring for Community Members with Special Needs”, at Harley Family Center, February 18, 2020

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Sixty plus members and guests turned out on a very cold and wet Tuesday evening on February 18th to enjoy an uplifting and highly informative Greenwood Women Care’s 1st Quarterly Meeting of 2020.  After a very enjoyable extended social time, Mary Woodiwiss, GWC Co-Chair, welcomed guests and members to the Harley Family Center.  She shared that we now have 122 members (of which 21 are new members!), reiterated our open Membership, and shared details of our 2020 GWC Grants cycle. Beginning this year, GWC will accept grant applications in August and vote on our grant awards in October.

Rhonda Merritt kicked off our program, “Caring for Community Members with Special Needs”, by introducing our speakers: Susan Keown, Director of Quality Assurance at the Burton Center and Carol Scales, Board President of Greenwood Place along with Toni Belcher of Greenwood Place. Each of these women touched our hearts with their messages of hope, compassion, and respect for those who are served by their organizations.

Laura Bachinski, GWC Co-Chair, closed the evening with special thanks to all who prepared for our meeting. She also announced an invitation to enjoy Greenwood Community Theatre’s production of A Raisin in the Sun on Friday March 6th at 7:30. A special discounted rate is available to all GWC members. (An email with details was sent to Members on 2.19.)

New Members’ Soup Supper, February 11, 2020

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GWC is happy to welcome 21 new 2020 Members, as of February 11th! On that evening, our Membership Committee hosted an informal Soup Supper at the home of Mary Woodiwiss.

Our purpose was to welcome our new Members, give an overview of the activities of our GWC Committees, and provide a smaller gathering for women to meet others before our first Quarterly Meeting on February 18th.

After enjoying an array of several soups, breads, salads, desserts, and beverages, we each spent time getting acquainted with someone we didn’t already know well. Representatives from our six standing committees gave an introduction to their functions within GWC. There was an opportunity for questions, discussion, and continued conversation. It was lovely to be there and just relax in each other’s good company!

2019 Philanthropy Award Recipients

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Videos presented at GCCF’s annual ‘Celebrating A Giving Community’ Awards Gala honoring the ‘Spirit of Philanthropy,’ ‘Lifetime of Philanthropy,’ and Duke Energy ‘Citizenship and Service’ recipients.

Read more

“A Salsa Social” at The Venezuelan Spot, January 28, 2020

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It’s official! January 28th will go down in history as one of the most entertaining Tuesday nights ever enjoyed in Greenwood, SC. A good number of GWC Members and guests showed up ready to have a good time at our “Salsa Social” at The Venezuelan Spot.

We savored a delicious Venezuelan dinner enhanced with refreshing homemade sangria and finished with tres leches cake. Thankfully, we were given an opportunity to burn off those calories with an easy-to-follow Salsa line dance lesson. Even those of us with two left feet could follow those moves!

Special thanks to Jose Hernandez of The Venezuelan Spot and Niria Abadia of Buenavista Cuban Cafe for hosting us and teaching us great dance moves, and to Marisel Losa, Laura Bachinski, Louise Watkins, and the rest of our Social Committee for providing us with such a fun night!

Burton Center

GCCF Awards Open Granting Funds, December 2019

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Eight local nonprofits received funding in GCCF’s Open Granting cycle in December 2019 for a range of projects and programs for Greenwood County residents. They are:

Alston Wilkes Society for essential work-related items for ex-offenders

American Red Cross- Upstate SC Chapter for Disaster Cycle Services program

Beyond Abuse for purchase of therapists’ computers, printers, and Voicestation

Burton Center for sound wall around café for clients

Connie Maxwell Children’s Home for renovation of residential home for children

Engaging Men of Color for “Reaching Your Destiny Through Education” conference expenses

SC Festival of Flowers for “When Dogs Fly!” Kidfest program

Upper Savannah Land Trust for Community Conservation Priorities spatial analysis

Congratulations! Thank you for all you do to serve and improve our community!

Greenwood Women Care logo

GWC 2019 Highlights, December 2019

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GWC Highlights 2019

January 8, 2019   “Shake off the Winter Blues” GWC Social, held at Wild Hare Productions Theatre, including

“Scenes from Shakespeare” performed by Wild Hare’s Youth Shakespeare actors

February 19, 2019   New 2019 Members’ gathering, hosted by Steering and Membership Committee

Members to welcome 26 new members

February 25, 2019   1st GWC Quarterly Meeting, held at The Museum; Reception, followed by presentations

from GWC Committees and an outline of the voting process for our very first GWC Grant

Awards

March 12, 2019   GWC Presentation, “LearnŸ GiveŸ Grow- Women Building Community Through Collective

Grantmaking” at Together SC’s Annual Summit, “Building Bridges” by Trentsie Williams and

Mary Woodiwiss, GWC Steering Committee Members

March 26, 2019   1st GWC Annual Meeting, held at Greenwood Genetic Center; Reception, followed by

confirmation of slate of GWC Officers and Steering Committee, annual highlights, and

celebration of our first GWC Grant Awards, totaling $47,625!

March – November 2019   GWC presentations to community groups to spread the word about GWC

May 13, 2019   2nd GWC Quarterly Meeting, held at Hospice Store; Reception, followed by our program

“Getting Your Ducks in a Row” featuring presentations by: Nancy Corley (CEO, Hospice and

Palliative Care of the Piedmont), the Hon. Travis Moore (Judge, Greenwood County Probate

Court) and Melissa Bane (Senior Client Private Advisor, Greenwood Capital)

July – November 2019   Informal home gatherings hosted by GWC Members and GWC presentations to other

community groups to introduce GWC to community women

July 2019    GWC Membership reached 123!

August 20, 2019   3rd GWC Quarterly Meeting, held at the United Center for Community Care; Reception,

followed by our program “Back to School: Tools to Succeed” featuring presentations by:

Katie Davenport (Executive Director, The Greenwood Promise) and Laura Padgett (Emerald

High School Transition teacher and Emerald High School Thrift Shop)

October 14, 2019   “GWC Fall Social”, at Grand Harbor Clubhouse

November 4, 2019   4th GWC Quarterly Meeting, at The Arts Center; Reception, followed by our program

                                   “Celebrating Community Impact” featuring our eight 2019 GWC Grant recipients

 

GWC Quarterly Meeting, “Celebrating Community Impact”, at The Arts Center, November 4, 2019

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On Monday, November 4th, Greenwood Women Care met at The Arts Center for our Quarterly Meeting, “Celebrating Community Impact”. After a social time in the gallery with delicious treats and beverages arranged by the Social Committee, we moved to the Arts Center’s reception hall for the program. Laura Bachinski, GWC Co-Chair, welcomed approximately 90 Members and guests. Anne Craig, Executive Director of The Arts Center and GWC Charter Member, was our venue host for the evening. She spoke of the importance of supporting the arts in our community and the Arts Center’s role in Greenwood’s vibrant arts offerings. Mary Woodiwiss, GWC Co-Chair, recognized Kelly Buckshorn, Social Committee Chair, for her contributions over the past two years. Kelly was given a rousing ovation and presented with flowers and wine.

Self Regional Healthcare sponsored the audio-visual portion of the evening and was represented by Dr. Kathleen Jeffery, Medical Director of Breast Services. Dr. Jeffery spoke about the new 3-D Mammography capability at the SRH Imaging Center and emphasized that SRH’s is the only center in the Upstate with a high-risk breast care component.

GWC’s Grants Review & Awards Committee presented our program, “Celebrating Community Impact”. Our 2019 Grant recipients were welcomed by Trentsie Williams, GWC Grants Co-Chair, and given delightful handcrafted GWC cookies from Sweet Indulgence. Rossie Corwon, Grants Committee member, introduced the premiere of Impact!, our GWC video featuring 2019 grantees, each speaking about their organization’s mission and project funded by their GWC Grant. They are: Beyond Abuse, Community Initiatives, Meg’s House, Greenwood Community Improvement Foundation (for Women’s Leadership Council), Project Hope Foundation, Models Academy, Greenwood Community Theatre, and Connie Maxwell Children’s Home. Mary Woodiwiss closed our program by inviting Members and guests to speak with our grantees at information tables in the gallery of The Arts Center. Everyone left feeling enlightened and inspired!

GWC Fall 2019 Newsletter

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