Women’s Giving Circle has strengthened families, children

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald
   It’s been an interesting year for philanthropy.
  
   Money awarded to nonprofits in 2020 to expand or improve programming became a godsend for recipients to create online sessions when COVID-19 prevented or reduced in-person events and “social distancing” and “limited capacities” became watchwords.
   
   What to do in 2021? The 163 Catholic Community Foundation’s Women’s Giving Circle donors will focus its giving efforts this year on the educational, emotional and spiritual formation and support of children and families facing tremendous challenges in all aspects of their lives.
  
   At their kickoff event March 18 at the Archdiocese of New Orleans Retreat Center, the women gathered for a Mass celebrated by Father Andrew Rudmann, parochial vicar of St. Clement of Rome Parish in Metairie, and had lunch outdoors while discussing and deciding which 20 nonprofits will receive 2021 grants.
  
   Women’s Giving Circle co-chair Jane Harvey explained her joy to be together as a group and share their faith in Mass. (The 2020 kickoff was a Zoom event pushed back to June, and other events were either by Zoom or socially distanced in smaller numbers.)

   “Even as we begin to imagine life after COVID-19, our work as Women’s Giving Circle members remains more important than ever,” Harvey said. “Not only are life-giving nonprofit ministries receiving funds that are directly needed, but also our members are reaping the rewards of understanding how they can effect real change in our community. It’s a win-win.”

Joining resources
   The Women's Giving Circle “brings together Catholic women from diverse backgrounds with one common goal: to bring about change through the power of grants that transform lives and build the body of Christ.” The circle promotes philanthropy that “empowers women, compels action and glorifies God.”
   Women contribute money annually, then become educated and vote on local nonprofits that have a Catholic-oriented mission to award grants.
   Harvey expressed gratitude for members’ willingness to return personal blessings from God to others “as an amazing example for all women.”
   “By keeping (our shared) faith at the center of our philanthropy, we believe that we can make a meaningful impact, no matter what challenges arise,” co-chair Jan Tate said.
   Since its founding in 2016, the Women’s Giving Circle has presented $711,500 in grants to nearly 50 organizations. After this year’s additional $163,000 grants are distributed, members can be proud of administering $900,000 to local nonprofits.

Speaker touts literacy

   Steering and Grants Committee member (and past co-chair) Jane Nalty introduced keynote speaker Raymond Arroyo, an author, journalist and producer who is EWTN news director and lead anchor. Arroyo also is author of the “Will Wilder” children’s book series,”The Spider who Saved Christmas” and “The Thief Who Stole Heaven” – the story of Dismas, the good criminal next to Jesus on the cross.
  
   Arroyo was encouraged to hear that the Women’s Giving Circle focused on children, families and literacy in 2021. Citing Department of Justice statistics, Arroyo stressed the literacy crisis facing America today: 21 million Americans cannot read; 45 million are marginally illiterate; 20% of high school graduates can’t read their diplomas; 67% of fourth graders lack proficiency in reading and two-thirds of these children end up in jail.
  
   He considers fiction “an important lens by which children make sense of the world. It’s how they process and relate to the mysterious things happening before or about to happen to them, and it’s how they understand others.”
  
   Today, instead of children reading books and hearing stories that impart truths or turning to the faith truths taught by their parents, society and the media have become the storytellers.
 
  “Too often, we allow the imaginations to get abused,” with media, stories of no consequence and graphic novels, Arroyo said. “We become what we behold,” he quoted Marshall McLuhan as saying.

   “First, we make our tools, and later our tools make us. That’s what reading a book is. A book is a tool; movies and music are tools.”
  
   As children are isolated as never before, not exposed to enchanting stories of truth, not uplifted or challenged, their sense of wonder is removed, and “we’re seeing the sad results of this. Every young person deserves a good story.”

Membership is open
   The Women’s Giving Circle has several more events this year: a virtual Sip & Learn April 13 (with round two of voting on grant recipients open until April 20), and an in-person (at St. Francis Xavier Church, 444 Metairie Road) and livestreamed celebration Mass and a brunch April 27 with grant presentations. The annual fall bus tour to visit grantee recipients will hinge on COVID conditions. Last fall’s in-person tour was postponed and became a Jan. 20 Mass with video updates from grant recipients.

  Catholic Women’s Giving Circle: https://ccfnola.org/womens-giving-circle. To join, call Kathi Zimmerman at [email protected] or (504) 527-5794.
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