11.4.08
Volunteers of America receives $5,000 to fund
Transitional/Independent Living Program
Sheridan, Wyo. -- Volunteers of America Wyoming & Montana has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Wyoming Women’s Foundation (WyWF) to fund the Transitional/Independent Living Program.
The program addresses the vocational, educational, social and housing needs of women in need under the age of 25 in the Sheridan area. The grant will help develop mentoring and assistance in the areas of life skills instruction, educational support at both the secondary and college level, vocational opportunity and growth, budget planning, and goal setting while providing direct financial aid to meet emergencies and to enhance personal stability and safety.
“The Transitional and Independent Living Program helps empower women and it gives them tangible life skills to help them re-enter the community successfully,” said Jeff Holsinger, president and CEO of Volunteers of America Wyoming & Montana. “We are truly fortunate to receive this grant which will help us continue this needed service.”
Volunteers of America collaborates with the Sheridan College Financial Services Department, the Sheridan College Industrial Training and Education Center (ITEC), Wyoming’s Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Department, GEAR-UP, local businesses and resource centers to facilitate entry of young women into specific vocational training and educational tracks that will provide avenues to self-sustaining employment and open the doors to higher education.
The WyWF grant will be used to reach more women in the community through mentoring, assistance and services and will help deliver direct financial assistance. Additionally, the funds will help connect more women to partnerships in the program.
“This grant will increase our focus on long-term self-sufficiency for these young women while, at the same time, continuing to assist them through their immediate and potentially debilitating crises,” Holsinger said.
The Wyoming Women’s Foundation is a charitable organization that supports economic self-sufficiency and access to opportunities for women and girls in Wyoming by raising funds, making grants, advocating for change and providing leadership.
For more information on Volunteers of America and the Transitional/Independent Living Program or to donate, call Bill Lucas, director of development, at (307) 672-0475 or visit www.voawymt.org.