15th Year of Wagy Awards Honors Five Community Organizations

AAUW-KC members and guests joined together on Dec. 1 to honor these community organizations for their work in advancing education and equity for women and girls:

DeLaSalle Education Center – $2,525 for a High School Seniors Seminar to help students understand and prepare for success beyond high school and into careers.  This grant is the first Leadership Memorial grant, funded through the membership contributions to recognize the AAUW leaders who have recently passed.

Front Porch Alliance – $2,000 for Dream Street Design, a T-shirt silk screening business that teaches students entrepreneurship and business skills while helping them earn money to help them develop skills to be successful, contributing members of their community.

Green Works in Kansas City – $2,525 for Girls Lead, a program for alumni of the Green Works school program that will train 10 girls to work with business entrepreneurs in the inner city to coordinate environmental and energy efficiency audits to help businesses understand opportunities for savings and implement best practices.

Niles Home for Children – $2,950 for a Financial Literacy Initiative, the grant will fund a cap stone weekend retreat for ten students, where the students will plan and run a mock retail area to apply all financial the skills they have learned, from budgeting for all expenses, including purchasing and preparing food for the group, to managing their mock funds and businesses.

United Inner City Services, St. Marks – $3,000 for TEAM (a Teacher Education and Mentoring Program).  This program will be used to train women from within the community to help them exceed basic requirements for teacher and teaching assistant services for children attending St. Mark’s pre- and elementary school.  Employment within the community served, as well as improved student teaching, are the target outcomes.