WRC
establishes scholarship
with FLC Foundation to celebrate
Center’s 25th anniversary in 2012
Tiffany, a young
woman with three kids, recently came to the Women’s Resource
Center seeking help with overdue rent and utility bills. She had
married when she became pregnant at 17, and two additional children
quickly followed. When her husband left her, he took all the money in
their bank account leaving her without resources. Because she had no
education and no job skills, her family’s future looked grim.
Tiffany (not her real name) had no choice but to turn to government
assistance to survive. She was only 21 years old.
We think Tiffany’s children deserve more.
That’s why the Women’s Resource Center will start a new
Educational Opportunities Program for women and girls in 2012. We know
that a good education is the key to economic self-sufficiency. The more
education a woman attains, the greater her chances will be that she
earns a sustainable income. In turn, a sustainable income allows her to
purchase a home, accumulate assets to pass on to her children, and
ensure that they stay “out of the cycle of poverty” and
remain in “the cycle of opportunity” for future generations.1
The WRC Board of Directors voted in October to endow a Women’s
Resource Center scholarship at Fort Lewis College with $25,000 in cash
assets developed during the past 10 years from private donations,
proceeds from the sale of its former headquarters five years ago (now
Eno next to Cyprus Café), and investments.
The funds will be invested by the Fort Lewis College Foundation, with
interest used to provide scholarships and build the endowment. The more
money in the endowment, the more revenues generated – and the
more scholarships we can award.
Our long-term goal will be to establish three funds: One for a La Plata
County high school graduate who plans to attend Fort Lewis; another for
a non-traditional (older) La Plata County student who will attend Fort
Lewis; and a third Educational Opportunity Fund for women who could
benefit from training or classes they otherwise couldn’t afford.
A committee of WRC board and community members will determine
scholarship qualifications, and we expect to offer the first
scholarship to a Fort Lewis College student in Fall 2012 as part of our
25th anniversary celebration.
“Time and again, we see women whose primary barrier to economic
self-sufficiency is a lack of education and training,” said
Executive Director Liz Mora. “With our new Educational
Opportunity Fund, we can provide one more powerful resource to help
women overcome that barrier and, we hope, affect future
generations.”
Parenting studies consistently have found that a woman’s
educational level has a profound effect on her children’s
education and career goals, especially those of her daughters. If mom
goes to college, her daughter is more likely to go to college. And a
college degree is key to earning a livable wage.
A 2007 study called Overlooked and Undercounted: Struggling to Make Ends Meet in Colorado2
shows how powerful education can be. Eighty-seven percent of Colorado
women who completed a bachelor’s degree or higher earned a wage
above the self-sufficiency standard while only 60 percent of women who
had a high school diploma earned a self-sustaining wage for themselves
and their families. Only 36 percent of women who dropped out of high
school earned a livable wage.
A livable wage is defined as the amount of money a household would have
to earn to cover all major budget items faced by working adults:
housing, childcare, food, health care, transportation and taxes. In
contrast, the Federal Poverty Level is based only on a 1960s food
budget updated for inflation.
“Clearly, if we want to fulfill our mission and empower women to
achieve economic self-sufficiency, we need to help women with their
educations,” said Mora. “The WRC board agreed in its
strategic five-year plan to establish the Educational Opportunity
Program, and it’s fitting that we start the program in our 25th
anniversary year. An endowed scholarship at Fort Lewis College, along
with the Educational Opportunity Fund, will create a Women’s
Resource Center legacy that will have a positive impact on women for
generations to come.”
For more information about the Educational Opportunity Fund, contact Mora at 247-1242 or director@wrcdurango.org.
1 The “Cycle of
Opportunity” is a phrase coined by the Bell Policy Center of
Colorado to identify those factors that allow families to attain
economic self-sufficiency and pass along assets to the next generation
so that it may also remain economically self-sufficient. Factors
include a safe and healthy pregnancy, a stimulating early childhood,
and an education that prepares young adults for the world of work,
among others. See bellpolicy.org.
2 See study on the Women’s Foundation of Colorado Web site at wfco.org. |
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