Great news!!!

This past summer I worked very hard putting together a grant application for the Zions Bank Smart Women Smart Money Grant. They award only 5 grants a year, $3,000 each. The applicants are from Utah and Idaho and range from business grants to service-oriented grants.
I received the phone call this afternoon informing me I was one of those 5 winners! I will be awarded the grant on Sept. 27th at the Smart Women Smart Money Conference in Salt Lake City. They plan on doing a video about each of the winners to play at the conference--so that part will be interesting.
Part I of the application was to write a mission statement based off the Smart Women Smart Money theme. Here's what I submitted:

Mission Statement:

“Zions Bank’s Smart Women Grants help support the efforts of everyday heroines who strengthen women, children and their communities.”

My application for the Smart Women Grants is focused on the goal I have had to find a way to help the children who enter the walls of the Washington County Children’s Justice Center.

I first learned about the center when I moved to the St. George area two years ago. I worked as a reporter for the local newspaper and my coverage assignments were the cops beat and other municipality news. While working closely with the local law enforcement agencies, I quickly discovered that the community had a growing problem of child abuse.

When I first heard about the Children’s Justice Center I was appreciative to learn that there was a home environment created for children taken out of abusive situations that needed to be questioned by law personnel. What was alarming was how many children were being served in such a small place. Since the numbers of people coming in and out of the center were increasing, keeping their anonymity was becoming problematical.

The Children’s Justice Center has recently begun construction of a bigger home to accommodate the growing number of children being brought in. The expansion will help create an improved environment for the children who come to the center. There will be additional interview rooms built to help serve more children in a timely manner.

It is my goal to help strengthen the children who come to the center after experiencing horrific ordeals to feel that they are in a shelter of love, trust and support.

It is my mission to use the grant money to adopt an interview room at the Washington County Children’s Justice Center and create an environment that will help bring serenity to a tender soul.

The children of this community are the teachers, leaders, etc. of tomorrow. They are also the mothers and fathers of tomorrow. If we can create a place of love to help them through their terrible trial, we can help break the cycles of abuse and help them understand that a community loves them.

My Zions Bank Smart Women Grants application is the vision of the mission statement—this grant will impact thousands of children, influence hundreds of communities in which these children will live and will help mothers like myself give to those children what they need most—love.

Needless to say, I was more than elated to receive that phone call this afternoon. I have been wanting to find a way to be more involved in the community, especially with the Children's Justice Center. I look forward to making these rooms in the new center a very special place for the children who it will serve.

I also want to say a very special thankful to my sweet husband who supported me through this whole process and encouraged me to be involved with this passion of mine!