United Way Women's Leadership Council Offers GRACES Grants

GRACES Grants are available for up to $1,000 from GRACES, the Women’s Leadership Council of United Way of Southeast Missouri. The grants are open to any group with a project or service that supports United Way’s mission of building a stronger, healthier community and falls within the organization’s focus areas of education, income and health. The grant deadline is Friday, Feb. 5, 2016, at 5 p.m.

GRACES stands for Giving Responsibly, Advocating for the Community, Excelling in Service. The GRACES Grants, which are funded through membership dues and donations, are designed to further the mission of United Way to unite people and resources that build a stronger, healthier community. GRACES members will determine which projects or organizations will receive grant money.

Elizabeth Shelton, Executive Director of United Way explains, “All women in the area who want to network with other women committed to improving our community are encouraged to join GRACES. Our membership includes women of all backgrounds and ages. We are very excited about the grants and the opportunity they bring to the community. We hope these grants will help introduce more women to GRACES and more organizations to United Way.”

Women who are interested in learning more about GRACES and the grants the GRACES members will vote on are invited to a ‘Potluck Appetizer Party’ on Thursday, February 18th. The event will be held at United Way, 430A Broadway, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Beverages will be provided, but attendees should RSVP and bring an appetizer. Information and registration for the event, along with GRACES Grants guidelines and application, can be found at www.UnitedwayofSEMO.org/GRACES or by visiting Graces of SEMO on Facebook or calling (573) 334-9634.

United Way of Southeast Missouri is able to connect community members with resources thanks to the support of donors and volunteers combined with corporate gifts and sponsorships. The major sponsors for the 2015 campaign are SoutheastHEALTH and Montgomery Bank with additional support from The Bank of Missouri and Drury Southwest.

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About United Way of Southeast Missouri

The Mission of the United Way of Southeast Missouri is to serve as the leader in uniting people and resources to build a stronger and healthier community. We focus on the building blocks of a strong family and a good life: Education, Income and Health. Our proactive methods create lasting change in the community that will continuously reduce the need for emergency services. We envision a community that LIVES UNITED by Giving, Advocating and Volunteering to improve this wonderful place where we live and work. For more information please visit www.UnitedWayofSEMO.org or call 573-334-9634.

About United Way Worldwide

United Way of Worldwide (UWW) is an international organization dedicated to leading the United Way movement executed by 2,000 locally governed United Ways in the United States and 46 countries and territories around the world. Building on more than a century of service as a preeminent community-based fundraiser and facilitator, UWW mobilizes more than 2.5 million volunteers and raises $5.2 billion worldwide. Together, the system will build stronger, healthier and ultimately more sustainable communities. For more information about UWW, visit www.liveunited.org.