Women's Giving Circle

2022 Grantees

Armed Services YMCA 
Baby bundles and Child Care
Amount awarded:  $3,100

This is an established organization with good support from the military community that leverages their resources with private donations and volunteer support. This request will help fund Baby Bundles and childcare for mother’s doctor appointments. Baby Bundles are given to new military mothers whose family falls in the lowest pay grades placing them within poverty level guidelines. 1200 bundles are distributed annually through Womack Hospital.   Bundles include a wide variety of baby items. Information is included about other essential services provided by the YMCA such as parenting info and a food bank that provides monthly access baby items like formula, baby food and diapers. This grant will also use funds to help staff childcare during mother’s mental health or ob/gyn appointments. This service has in the past, resulted in as much as a 40% increase in kept appointments. Programs are well thought out, coordinated, and professionally delivered.

Children’s Home Society (CHSNC)
Cumberland County New Foster Parent Recruitment
Amount awarded:  $9,000

CHSNC is a professional and well- run organization with an exceptionally long track record of placing children in adoptive or foster homes. Cumberland County has one of the largest and fastest growing need for foster placements in NC. CHSNC is successfully increasing resources to foster children here.  They were funded last year to recruit new foster parents and documented the following results:  2,000 new visitors from Fayetteville to their website and a 46% increase in foster homes available to Cumberland County Children, 131 Women Served, 173 Children Served. They have requested funds to continue their online marketing targeting Cumberland County, monthly information sessions.

Connections of Cumberland County, Inc.
Improving Quality of Life at Connections Day Resource Center
Amount awarded:  $7,500

Connections provides a day resource center that assists single women and their children that are homeless or at risk for homelessness.  They offer one-stop, comprehensive case management and support services using a wide variety of community resources including graduate level interns.  The use of these resources greatly leverages their ability to offer services. They assist women in finding and retaining housing and increase employment marketability via case management, employment workshops and access to employment resources.

Fayetteville Technical Community College Foundation (FTCC)
H.O.P.E. Childcare support and Tuition Assistance
Amount awarded:  $10,000

HOPE is a new initiative to connect and prepare adult learners with better skills to obtain better paying employment. FTCC has received funding to offer tuition/scholarships for off-site classes to low wealth students, many of whom find transportation a barrier to attending classes at the main FTCC campus. Students will earn certificates in a variety of high demand trades. FTCC is partnering with multiple community agencies to establish these off-site locations.  FTCC is applying to WGC for a grant to fund 2 childcare staff members at each off-site location, which would address another obstacle that prevents adult learners from attending classes. FTCC is also partnering with other organizations, including FTCC programs that can provide childcare staffing while earning observation and student teaching credits.

Fayetteville Urban Ministry (FUM)
Emergency Assistance Program Reefer Truck Project
Amount awarded:  $17,610

This project seeks to purchase a refrigerated truck with a lift gate to increase capability of accepting large donations of food. Currently FUM is not able to accept large, palleted donations of fresh foods and meats from businesses such as Smithfield Packing, Publix, and Walmart. FUM is currently installing refrigerator/freezer space to accommodate large food donations. FUM estimates it can double the number of meals provided from 118,000 in current year to 250,000.The one-time purchase of a refrigerated truck will have a significant impact on the community by substantially and permanently enhancing FUM’s capacity to provide meals for those in need.

Methodist University
Speaking Senses
Amount Awarded:  $4,044.49

Speaking Senses is a supplemental education program for parents and caregivers of children (K-12) with sensory processing challenges.  Sensory challenges are children with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Downs Syndrome, Traumatic Brain Injuries or other developmental delays. Classes are conducted by second and third year Doctor of Occupational Therapy students. This grant will fund the first three years of the in-person launch of classes for start-up costs that cover therapeutic and recording equipment and the first year of marketing materials and office supplies.

School of Hope
Adaptive Learning Materials/Books
Amount Awarded:  $2,965

The School of Hope is a private school that educates students with Autism and learning disabilities.  The grant funds will provide for a license to download and utilize 300 adaptive learning materials and books.  Adaptive materials are especially beneficial for this student population; typical reading materials overstimulate and are less effective.  The School of Hope is creating a library that will be utilized by children, teachers and parents. These materials will be used at the school and at home.  The WGC grant funds were used for a copyright license that will not require renewals and serve children and families for years to come.

St. Ann Neighborhood Youth Center
After School and Summer Reading Program
Amount Awarded:  $2,300

This is an existing program that serves low-wealth communities as well as deaf and hard of hearing students.  The program was suspended due to the pandemic. They are re-starting the on-site after-school and summer reading and tutoring program. St. Ann has found less expensive reading tools to create more individualized learning plans for students.  The tool allows students to create a video summary of what they read which also helps them to enhance other communication skills. St. Ann’s has partnered with the Cumberland County schools. Students who have been relocated to Spring Lake schools are bused to St. Ann’s in the afternoon so that they can participate in the program.  This has provided stability and normalcy for those children.

2021 Grantees

Alms House
Kids Assistance Program Plus
Amount awarded:  $8,018

Alms House serves families in the Hope Mills area of our county with a clothing closet, a food pantry, backpack weekend food for school children and a feeding program every weekday for anyone who walks through the door. With COVID-19 needs and changes to their program, it is now also providing rent and utility assistance of no more than $100 to families, one time during a two year period. 

Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina, Inc.
Fayetteville Foster Parent Recruitment and Appreciation Celebration
Amount awarded:  $5,518

Boys and Girls Home of NC, Inc., is dedicated to providing a comprehensive array of residential and  community-based services to meet the needs of vulnerable children by addressing their physical, emotional and spiritual development. The requested funding is to support recruitment and mandatory recertification of foster parents. This yearly event has 70% foster parents from Cumberland County and 30% from other Eastern NC counties. 

Child Advocacy Center, Inc.
Therapy and Intervention Services for Child Abuse Victims
Amount awarded:  $5,818

The Child Advocacy Center (CAC) provides onsite Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for abused children through individual counseling and two group therapy programs for boys and girls. Topics include healthy living, connecting with others, understanding more about their experiences, learning skills and coping mechanisms, and anger management. 

Children's Home Society of North Carolina, Inc.
Cumberland County New Foster Parent Recruitment Program
Amount awarded:  $5,518

The Children’s Home Society (CHS) has worked with Cumberland County foster care for over 10 years, actively recruiting and training new foster parents and providing other support services to foster families. Cumberland County leads the state in the number of children in foster care and there is a significant shortage of foster families. CHS has a recruitment goal of 80 new foster parent applications in Cumberland County in the coming year. 

Connections of Cumberland County, Inc.
Improving Quality of Life at Connections Day Resource Center 
Amount awarded:  $10,518

The Day Resource Center is a comprehensive care management system tailored to each client. The staff, to include interns enrolled in area social work programs, develop a stabilization plan with agreed upon task completion dates between the client and staff. Additional services include an online eBay store, staffed and run by clients with the assistance of volunteers, a women’s empowerment group, and a computer lab offering clients the means to seek employment or housing opportunities and develop skills. Due to COVID-19, most supportive services are offered remotely. 

Fayetteville Urban Ministry, Inc.
Literacy Essential Project
Amount awarded:  $10,518

Fayetteville Urban Ministry Adult Literacy & Education Center has been providing services to the citizens of Cumberland County since 1974. The Literacy Essential Project was created in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, which has provoked a need for workplaces to evolve at a rapid pace as we face challenges that directly affect the quality of literacy facilitation. Since the onset of the pandemic, they have doubled the numbers in almost every program to include the literacy program. This project will address critical needs for literacy essentials, facilitate the modernization of educational software, update books and resources and allow for increased client aptitude and employability.

Fayetteville Technical Community College Foundation, Inc.
Student Relief Fund/Childcare and Food Pantry
Amount awarded:  $10,518

Fayetteville Technical Community College Foundation manages the Student Relief Fund (also known as Barriers to Education) which provides assistance to FTCC enrolled students who have been adversely affected by COVID-19 or other emergencies. Eighty percent of students getting aid are women. Funds will be used to support urgent or emergent needs to include food and childcare for female students. A campus-based food pantry has been established to address the increased food insecurity among the student population. 

2020 Grantees

• Better Health of Cumberland County, Inc. – $8,814 to support the Fayetteville Fit Childhood Obesity which is a new clinical community-based program to address childhood obesity.
• Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina, Inc. – $8,986 to support an event for foster parents - “Foster Parent Care - Retention, Certification and Recruiting Event."   
• Child Advocacy Center, Inc. – $7,986 to support onsite Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for abused children through individual counseling and offers two group therapy programs for boys and girls.
• Children's Home Society of North Carolina, Inc. – $8,986 to support a Cumberland County Family Recruitment Fair for potential foster parents.
• Connections of Cumberland County, Inc. – $12,986 for the Day Resource Center (DRC) which offers one-stop access to supportive services designed to improve the quality of life of women and children who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
• Partnership for Children of Cumberland County, Inc. – $7,572 to support The Partnership for Children’s collaboration with the Diaper Bank of North Carolina (DBNC), whose mission is to assist low income families with meeting the need for clean diapers through existing safety net programs for women and children.
• The St. Ann Neighborhood Youth Center – $1,300 to support a biweekly after school tutoring program for students in grades 2-5 from low-income housing. 

2019 Grantees

Boys and Girls Clubs of Cumberland County, Inc. - $10,000 to support an after school program that is implementing SMART Girls at Spring Lake Middle School for low income girls.  

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Child Advocacy Center, Inc. - $11,811 to support onsite Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for abused children through individual counseling and offers two group therapy programs for boys and girls.

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Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina, Inc. - $8,800 to support an event for foster parents - “Foster Parent Care - Retention, Certification and Recruiting Event."   

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Friends of the Cumberland County Public Library - $12,148 for Cumberland County Public Library to partner with Clark Park to create a Story Walk at Clark Park to encourage children, caregivers and their teachers to experience reading, participate in physical activity, and explore nature together. 

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Connections of Cumberland County, Inc. - $11,811 for the Day Resource Center (DRC) which offers one-stop access to supportive services designed to improve the quality of life of women and children who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.  

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2018 Grantees: 

• Alms House, Inc. - $13,700 . 
• Connections of Cumberland County, Inc. - $18,784 
• The Salvation Army of Fayetteville - $10,000 
• Serving With Accountability and Teamwork (SWAT) - $5,596

  2017 Grantees: 

• Alms House, Inc. – $12,000
• Connections of Cumberland County, Inc. – $26,000 
• Fayetteville Urban Ministry, Inc. – $10,715 
• St. Ann Neighborhood Youth Center – $2,000 

2016 Grantees: 

• Cumberland County Coordinating Council on Older Adults – $17,000 
• Action Pathways/Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeastern NC – $13,500 
• Alms House – $13,354 
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Cumberland County – $5,000  
• St. Ann Neighborhood Youth Center – $4,000 

2015 Grantees:

• Connections of Cumberland County – $22,580
• Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center – $8,625 
• Ferguson-Easley Elementary School – $6,505 
• The Partnership for Children of Cumberland County, Inc. – $11,040

2014 Grantees:

• Fayetteville Urban Ministry – $30,000 
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast North Carolina – $25,000
• Child Advocacy Center – $7,000 

2013 Grantees:

• Better Health of Cumberland County – $25,000 
• Cumberland Interfaith Hospitality Network – $20,000 
• The Fayetteville Police Department – $3,000
• The Salvation Army – $6,050
• St. Ann’s Neighborhood Youth Center – $4,000 

2012 Grantees:

• CARE Center Family Violence Program – $15,000
• Cumberland Co. Coordinating Council on Older Adults – $15,000
• Cumberland Interfaith Hospitality Network, Inc. – $15,000
• Hungry Angelz – $5,000

 2011 Grantees:

• Fayetteville Area Operation Inasmuch – $25,000
• Cumberland Interfaith Hospitality Network – $15,000
• Grace & Mercy House, Inc. – $9,340