After a warm welcome by Mary Woodiwiss, Co-Chair of the Steering Committee, the meeting convened at approximately 5:35pm. Mary noted that GWC is 129 members strong and growing, and encouraged us to “consider the power of collective giving when 129 women can move $74,000 into our community in our second granting year”.

Louise Robinson, Chair of the Programs & Education Committee, led the program and announcement portions of our meeting. Louise reminded us of recent programs and this meeting’s theme of “Lighting the Way with Literacy” through child and adult literacy programs at Community Initiatives (Safe Haven) and the Greenwood County Library.

Dawn Puderbaugh Hodges introduced Teresa Goodman, Executive Director of Community Initiatives, who discussed Safe Haven, an after-school and summer program. Teresa highlighted that the program serves children up to sixth grade. Safe Haven includes a five-tier approach to helping children, especially those in low income neighborhoods. The program focuses on making sure students can read on level by third grade. She pointed out that Greenwood County ranks 29 of the 46 counties in South Carolina when it comes to literacy Safe Haven strategies to address childhood literacy are research-based.

Dawn gave a brief bio to introduce Pattie Fender of Greenwood Public Library. Pattie could not attend the meeting due to an important family celebration but provided an excellent video about the GPL’s Adult Literacy and ESL programs. There were testimonies by students, volunteers, and staff. The video included an appeal for more volunteers, with several participants sharing about how rewarding it can be.

Lisa Smith thanked our presenters, stating how enlightening the information was and announcing that Greenwood Women Care will donate a book to the GPL Children’s Collection in honor of each of our speakers.

Louise Robinson called for announcements from: Sally Kaufmann, Grant Review & Awards Committee, who gave an update on the new Women’s Health Grant to be publicized in early 2021; Trentsie Williams, Grants Review & Awards Committee Co-Chair, who spoke about our recent GWC Grants to 10 local nonprofits; and Summer Booker, Membership Committee Co-Chair, who said that renewal packets would be mailed this week and 2021 renewals should be returned by December 31.

Laura Bachinski, Co-Chair of the Steering Committee, reminded us that “GWC grows through membership of a broad range of women from many professional and personal sectors and our membership is open to everyone. New members many join us at any time. Participating in our organization is truly rewarding as we seek to enrich and strengthen our community in the good company of community-minded women.” Laura closed the meeting at approximately 6:35pm after thanking all the Zoom attendees, presenters, and guests and wishing all a Happy Thanksgiving and a peaceful and loving holiday season.

A video about Community Initiatives’ Safe Haven program is here. (6 min.) (NOTE: Community Initiatives received a GWC 2019 Grant for $10,000 in support of the Safe Haven program.)

A video on the Adult Literacy and ESL programs at the Greenwood County Library here. (8 min.)

A video of the Quarterly Meeting may be found here. (52 min.)

GWC’s first virtual “Kick Off the Vote!” event was a tremendous success. For the 2020 grant cycle, we are delighted to be able to award upwards of $50,000 this year to nonprofit organizations serving Greenwood County. The completion of our second grant cycle will bring our total grant awards to approximately $100,000. With your continued support, GWC is on track to grant half a million dollars or more into Greenwood County during our first ten years as an organization!

We welcomed around 35 Members to the Zoom meeting, taking some time to chat as we settled in. Margaret Conrad, Jan Puzar, and Mary Woodiwiss (Grants Review & Awards Committee members) developed our “Kick Off the Vote!” program, presenting GWC Grants information with detailed PowerPoint slides and allowing time for questions.

Margaret reviewed the highlights of our 2019 granting cycle: Eight local nonprofits received a total of $47,625 in last year’s cycle with our top ranked organizations receiving their full request. There was a natural break in the data between organizations receiving a higher total of votes and those receiving fewer votes. This break was the deciding factor between those organizations receiving funding and those that did not, and in determining amounts of each grant award.

During the “Sample 2020 Ballot” portion of the meeting, Jan reminded us not to forward the email containing our personal ballot link, to fill out our print worksheets prior to voting for ease in entering our votes electronically, to vote on a desktop or laptop as opposed to a phone, and, of course, to vote prior to Wednesday, October 21^stat 11:59pm. Points will be assigned to organizations based on your ranked votes: Your first ranked nonprofit will receive ten points, the second nine points, down to the tenth selection which will receive one point.

Before and after the ballot discussion, Mary led us through some “FAQs About Nonprofit Funding” to help inform our voting decisions and described “What Happens After You Vote”.

After a quick 30 minutes, with everyone’s questions answered, the meeting was adjourned at 6:00, just as our email ballots arrived in our inboxes. What incredible timing! Thanks again to Mary, Jan, and Margaret for an informative and enjoyable “Kick Off the Vote!” meeting.

If you missed the meeting, you can view it here.

Greenwood Women Care’s first Quarterly Meeting via Zoom was held on Tuesday, August 18^th. We were welcomed and introduced to both the technology and agenda items of our meeting by Laura Bachinski, GWC Co-Chair.

While not all 129 members could be in attendance, those members and guests that were greatly enjoyed the virtual tour afforded us by Chris Thomas, Director of the Benjamin E. Mays Historical Site. Mamie Nicholson welcomed us to the site, and Rhonda Merritt introduced and accompanied Mr. Thomas on the tour. We were treated to forays into Dr. Mays’s boyhood home, a school like the one-room school he attended, and the museum that honors him. It was inspiring to learn that a man of humble beginnings could aspire to and attain such heights of acclaim and influence. Dr. Mays was the sixth president of Morehead University from 1940-67 and was a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He is credited with building the foundation of the American civil rights movement and gave the benediction after Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 and the eulogy at Dr. King’s funeral in 1968.

At the conclusion of the video, Louise Robinson, Chair of the Programs and Education Committee, thanked Mr. Thomas for his tour and hospitality and GWC members who assisted with the video. Mary Woodiwiss announced GWC’s contribution of the children’s book I Have a Dream to the Greenwood County Public Library in Chris Thomas’s honor. Members are invited to help provide book contributions to honor our speakers and can email gwc@greenwoodcf.org for more information.

Laura Stowe, Co-Chair of the Communications Committee, reminded us about our committee structure of six standing committees and recognized Chairs, including three new Chairs. Approximately 50% of our members are currently engaged in our committees. Laura noted that committee descriptions and members can be found on our webpage and encouraged interested members to contact the Chair of any committee to join or learn more.

Trentsie Williams, Co-Chair of the Grants Review and Awards Committee, presented a PowerPoint on the 2020 granting cycle. On October 19^th, GWC with host a “Kick Off the Vote” virtual social at 5:30 – 6:30 where granting and voting procedures will be highlighted. Online voting will be open October 19^th – October 21^st. GWC is expected to grant upwards of $50,000, as directed by Members’s votes.

Mary Woodiwiss, GWC Co-Chair, gave our closing message, highlighting the many ways that GWC has remained active in these past challenging months.

Please remember to watch your inboxes and mailboxes for more news to come!

The link to the full meeting video, which includes the Benjamin E. Mays virtual tour and important GWC updates, is here. (video lasts ~ 40 minutes)

The link to the Benjamin E. Mays virtual tour is here. (video lasts ~ 15 minutes)

In early June, the GWC Steering Committee discussed and approved the submission of the following letter to the Index Journal. It was published later in the month, on 6.30.

The impetus for the letter came from a GWC Member who recognized the critical moment in which GWC is well-situated to speak to our community as a positive, inclusive voice, consistent with our mission and values. We hope and trust that this will be an encouragement to our Members, friends, and community.

To the Editor:

In these troubled times, Greenwood Women Care (GWC) stands with the many in our community and world who continue to experience injustice.

GWC is a diverse, open membership organization of 125+ women of varied life experiences, ages, and sectors who come together in our commitment to Greenwood’s thriving through collective grantmaking to local nonprofits.

“Caring Women Building Community” is our mission statement. In our three-year history, we have experienced community-building within our membership, with our many guests, and with those serving in local nonprofits. From our formation, we have intended to be an organization that welcomes, includes, and reflects the broad range of women who comprise Greenwood. In this time of divisiveness and pain, it is good to pause and think about all we have in common.

GWC continues to seek the well-being of all in our home community and the broader communities in which Greenwood County is situated. We deeply desire that all of our actions and efforts bring us closer to the realization of the Beloved Community that Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned and pointed us toward.

We know that one organization cannot solve the ills of our society. But we want to bring our best to bear on making our home a better one for everyone. We care passionately about our community – thus our name, Greenwood Women Care. Let us all unite in our care about each other, our community, and our world!

Mary Woodiwiss and Laura Bachinski, on behalf of the GWC Steering Committee