| The Women of the Year Foundation |
The Women of the Year Foundation was established in 2001 by the Women of the Year Lunch. It was born out of a desire to make a tangible commitment to the women of the future – those who we hope will be joining us at the lunch in years to come. The Foundation offers women financial and practical support, giving them a chance to fulfill their dreams and ambitions.
Recent Success Stories:
Over the past year we have helped a number of young women across the UK through a series of grants to fund new businesses:
- Sisters Amelia and Katie Smith were awarded a Women of the Year Foundation Grant in order to help them start up their fashion accessory business, Angel Jackson
- 2003 Grant Winner Bethan Hughes charmed the audience at the assembly with her beautiful harp music, and received the third UK award. With help from a Foundation grant, Bethan undertook a postgraduate course in harp therapy, enabling her to develop her work - helping people through the healing power of music.
- In 2001, funding was awarded to Grass, a charity that aims to help women in rural areas of India break out of the poverty trap by training them to weave and supplying them with looms and thread. 'Grass was seen as a wonderful way of encouraging a significant number of women to help themselves and their families, and the charity also assists with marketing their goods,' says Foundation trustee Joanne Gubbay. 'These women would otherwise be at the mercy of sweatshop owners who pay such low wages that they can't break free and better themselves.'
Recent Foundation News:
- Mentoring: We have worked with the Prince's Trust to find a way in which the Women of the Year can use their experience and expertise to provide mentoring help. We now have an informal arrangement where we see if we can 'match up' one of our volunteers with one of the Trust's female clients, who can provide support and advice. With the incredible breadth of skills represented by the Women of the Year, we think we can make a real difference.
- Grants: Claire Bertschinger winner of the 2005 Women of the Year Window to the World Award, applied to the Foundation to make a one-off donation to A-CET, a small educational support charity. This organization aims to improve educational facilities and fund individual scholarships for over 2,000 vulnerable youngsters in Africa, principally in Ethiopia. The Foundation grant will go towards the establishment of a third centre in Northern Ethiopia, which should be completed by the end of 2006.
The Women of the Year Foundation is a registered charity 1090866
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