New Hope resident Andrea Kaminoff and her daughters, Perri, Nikki, and Mia, in collaboration with the Bucks County Women's Fund (BCWF), today helped engage local girls in a grantmaking program to improve their community through leadership and philanthropy. More than ## people attended the garden party called "Mothers and Daughters Helping Mothers and Daughters” at the Kaminoff residence on Old Windy Bush Road.
The girls in attendance, ranging in age from 12 to 19 years, were alerted to the fact that, in spite of numerous career and educational opportunities now available to them, considerable inequities remain – including a significant gap in wages paid to women as compared to men. In the United States, women are paid only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men for the same work. In Bucks County, the number is closer to 70 cents on the dollar. As primary caregivers for their families, women are less likely to save as much for retirement as men, which helps explain why elderly women are 70 percent more likely to be poor than elderly men – in the U.S. and in Bucks County. And women are far more likely than men to end up as single parents raising children, responsible for meeting all of the financial and care giving needs of the family on 30 percent less income for the same work.
"The Bucks County Women's Fund wants to change this reality and improve the lives of women and girls in Bucks County,” said BCWF Executive Director Kathleen Welsh Beveridge. "We hope to teach and inspire girls to be leaders in our communities because girl leaders become women leaders who are more likely to tackle these inequities in their work, family, and public lives. Giving girls hands-on experience in philanthropy is another strategy to build a culture of philanthropy in Bucks County that will benefit women and families in the future.”
The Kaminoffs encouraged their guests to sign up for several fundraising activities, the proceeds of which will be used to fund girl-focused grants to be directed by the same girls who raise the funds. The BCWF will offer training in leadership and grantmaking and provide the structure in which these girls can consider and evaluate real grant proposals from nonprofits serving girls in Bucks County.
Speaker Vikki Carrel of Two Balance Inc., author of "Switching Lanes: A Woman's Road Map to Balance and Joy,” and the soon-to-be-published "Chloe's Closet” with Shelley Ashby, addressed the inward and outward empowerment of girls and encouraged the girls in attendance to get involved in community leadership activities like those proposed by the BCWF.
Special guests included Bucks County Congressman Patrick Murphy and Jennifer Safford Murphy, Esq., a member of the Board of Directors of the BCWF, with their young daughter, Maggie. Both Murphys encouraged the girls in attendance to lead in their communities and consider careers in public and community service. Also in attendance was State Representative Marguerite Quinn.
The Bucks County Women's Fund is a nonprofit public foundation, managed by women, and dedicated to raising money to fund and support programs and policies that impact, empower and improve the lives of women and girls. The Fund also educates the community about the needs of women and girls, and it part of a global network of women's funds with this common vision.
Managed by women and incorporated in 1990, the BCWF has awarded grants totaling more than $212,000 to 36 area organizations serving women and girls.
For more information, please call 215.345.5440 or contact info@bcwf.org.
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