The Chester County Fund for Women and Girls has responded to COVID-19 through innovative programs to raise awareness about the pandemic’s impact on local women and girls.

First, CCFWG invites all high school girls in grades 9-12 to attend its second annual Girls in Action Summit on Monday, May 18 from 3-5 PM. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CCFWG will be hosting a virtual Summit.

Inspired by CCFWG’s award-winning Girls Advisory Board’s grantmaking and leadership program, the Summit engages high school girls throughout Chester County for an empowering afternoon of action. Attendees will learn about the deep and varied needs in their communities while engaging in strategic grantmaking.

As a Summit participant, each girl will have the chance to:

• connect virtually with fellow teens throughout Chester County
• hear from leaders of local nonprofits about how COVID-19 is impacting the women and girls they serve
• be inspired by keynote speaker Mo’ne Davis
• give back to the community by helping award two $500 grants to local nonprofits
• learn about local girls with their own businesses and other resources for girls

Click here to register.

For the first time in its 15-year history, the CCFWG Annual Making a Difference Luncheon is going virtual. It will no longer be held as an in-person event while stay-at-home restrictions remain in place, and will instead become a virtual event hosted on Friday, June 5 from 12:30-1:45 PM. Click here to register.

The virtual Luncheon program will feature award-winning keynote speaker Dr. Janet Dewart Bell, a social justice advocate, renowned speaker, and author of Lighting the Fires of Freedom: African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement. Her accomplishments include an Emmy for outstanding individual achievement and programming for National Public Radio that was honored with a Peabody award. Dr. Bell will speak to the connections among the Suffrage Movement, the Civil Rights Movement, and our current climate today.

Additionally, CCFWG will honor local unsung hero Patricia Yoder with its Kitchen Table Award for her work on behalf of mothers and children as the Chester County Health Department’s maternal-child health supervisor. Each year, the Kitchen Table Award honors local women who have made substantive contributions through service and/or philanthropy through their own time, talent, or resources. Yoder has played a critical role in minimizing barriers to care and connecting families to much-needed resources.

Downingtown native and Broadway actress Mary Kate Morrissey will also provide exciting entertainment to virtual attendees. Morrissey stars in the national tour of Mean Girls. In the past, she also starred as Elphaba in the national tour of Wicked.

Finally, CCFWG will continue its celebration of the centennial of women’s right to vote at the luncheon this year by encouraging all virtual attendees to snap a selfie of their white or purple attire in honor of the early suffragists who fought to secure voting rights for women. Supporters are encouraged to post selfies on social media and tag CCFWG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter at @ccwomenandgirls.

All proceeds from this event support programs at CCFWG that aim to bring about gender equality, a key ingredient to the whole community’s ability to grow and thrive.

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