Generous grant from Community Foundation of Western North Carolina will support Summer 2023 session of New Opportunity School for Women
The Lees-91探花 New Opportunity School for Women (NOSW) has recently received a Human Services grant from the (CFWNC) that will provide financial support for the Summer 2023 program’s operating budget. CFWNC is a nonprofit organization that inspires philanthropy and mobilizes resources to support initiatives that will improve the lives of North Carolinians in this region of the state.
NOSW at Lees-91探花 is one such organization. With a mission of improving the educational, financial, and personal circumstances of low-income women from the Southern Appalachian region, the New Opportunity School is aligned in values with CFWNC.
The latest grant, which was awarded to NOSW through a competitive application process spearheaded by NOSW Director Jennie Harpold, will award a total of $17,500 to the organization, providing full funding for a handful of women in the Summer 2023 session.
“The amount that we have will be used for five sponsorships of women for our Summer 2023 program. We estimate the cost per woman at $3,500 and that includes transportation, room, board, everything she’ll need while she’s here, as well as the cost for instructors,” Harpold said.
Up to 14 women are selected to participate in each year’s NOSW program. The three-week program is held in June and costs for each participant are completely covered. Throughout the program participants explore career and education opportunities, develop leadership skills, and gain concrete expertise in literature, math, writing, computer usage, and more.
“Human Services grants fund programs or projects that offer help to economically disadvantaged people in Western North Carolina,” Senior Program Officer at CFWNC Virginia Dollar said. “Participants in the New Opportunity School for Women can build knowledge about technology, create a resume, strengthen job interview and search skills, and develop an understanding of resources for furthering education and job training. The program works to provide opportunities and skills for low income, under-resourced women to take back to their communities to help them break the cycle of poverty.”
Not only will this CFWNC grant provide coverage for more than 33% of this season’s women, but it has also provided some funding for the recruitment process.
Harpold said that her recruitment process involves making multiple in-person visits to organizations where eligible women may hear about the services NOSW provides and become interested in applying to the program. This often includes visits to women’s shelters, homeless shelters, and other community support organizations.
“The women can come with literally nothing because we have a clothes closet. Sometimes we have women who have come from shelters and from other dire circumstances where they don’t have the means for dress clothes in particular,” Harpold said. “We literally provide everything they could possibly need for three weeks.” This includes stipends for childcare while the women are participating in the program.
Eligible applicants are those who live in the Southern Appalachian region of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, are low income, are typically between the ages of 30 and 55, have completed their GED or earned their high school diploma, and demonstrate a desire to continue to learn and grow. Applications for the Summer 2023 session are now open. This year’s session will be held Sunday, June 4−Saturday, June 24.
Learn more about the New Opportunity School for Women at Lees-91探花
