Pearls of Empowerment shattered their annual meeting attendance record Thursday, November 13th, as they celebrated The Magic of Giving at First United Methodist Church Family Life Center. Jane Simpson, President of the Davie Community Foundation, welcomed the ladies and recognized the four women from the Foundation Board whose dedication and vision were key in organizing Pearls of Empowerment. A round of applause broke out for Marlene Carter, Gladys Scott, Marlene Shamel, and Elizabeth Sparks. Following a delicious lunch, ladies were entertained with the magic and comedy of Glenn Strange. The highlight of the celebration was $32,168 in grant awards presented to local Non-Profits to have an impact on the lives of women and children in Davie County. Awards were presented to the following
Davie Domestic Violence Services was awarded $5,000 for Legal Representation for Victims of Domestic during the 50b process.
Dragonfly House Children’s Advocacy Center received $3,000 to fund a Psycho-educational Teen Survivors Support Group.
Advocacy Center received $5,000 to financially assist the Invisible Generation of women.
Mocksville Woman’s Club received $3,750 funding for Art Education Enhancement for Central Davie Academy.
Keys of Faith Outreach Ministry was awarded $5,000 for Back 2 School Empowerment Day.
Davie Family YMCA was awarded $1,045 for their Bright Beginnings Project.
Hillsdale United Methodist Church received $5,000 for Heavenly Bags.
Smart Start of Davie County received $4,373.38 funding for Parents as Teachers Teen Parenting Program.
Pearls are a group of women with a BIG vision for Davie County operating under the direction of the Davie Community Foundation. These women pool their annual contributions to make grants to non-profit programs that benefit women and children in the community. In its first 5 years Pearls has made 35 grants totaling $132,962.74.
Jane Simpson commented “as women we give of our time, talent, and treasure differently, and in diverse ways… making each of us a unique “Pearl”. We want to give back to our community… we want to continue learning and growing so that our lives reflect a true “luster” as part of a lovely strand of pearls.”
All women in the community are invited and encouraged to join Pearls. Each lady contributes $1 per day; just $365 annually. The $365 gets divided into three parts: $300 goes directly toward grant making, $35 is contributed to the Pearls endowment and $30 goes to the operating expense fund. To become a Pearl, send a check made payable to Davie Community Foundation (with “Pearls” in the memo) to PO Box 546, Mocksville, NC 27028 or go to www.daviefoundation.org, click on Donate Today and select Pearls Annual Dues dropdown.
