MICHAEL KELLY The Marietta Times Representatives of organizations that received grants and members of the Women's Giving Circle talk at an awards reception held Thursday night at the Betsey Mills Club. The grants were the first awarded by the circle, which was established last year.

A group of about 25 Marietta women decided last year to establish a new fund as part of the Marietta Community Foundation. On Thursday night, they gave away $7,000.

Mighty Girl books, two new projects on prominent women, support for a children’s choir and help for new mothers were among the causes supported by the grants. At a reception in the Victorian parlor of the Betsey Mills Club, the organizations that won the grants talked about what they’ll do.

La Musee Rose – French for The Pink Museum – devotes its time to memorializing women who figured prominently in Marietta’s history.

“We’re looking for those hidden stories to inspire women,” Jenny Powers said. “These women give us strength and inspiration.”

The museum received an $800 grant to prepare exhibits on two of those women.

Gary Williams of the Ely Chapman Education Foundation said the $500 his organization received will be used to buy Mighty Girl books. The foundation holds an 11-week summer camp for children every year, he said, and one week this summer will be focused on “women who made a difference.”

Williams said about 150 children attend the camp at various times during the summer.

The Marietta Children’s Choir, with about 35 voices of children from grades four through eight, was organized three years ago, has practice space at Marietta College, and gives free public performances at community events. Tracy Perry said the $600 grant will help make participation in the choir possible for children whose families can’t afford the $200 annual tuition. The tuitions pay about half the choir’s expenses, she said.

“We don’t want that to be a barrier for children,” she said.

In the Washington County Youth Advisory Council, young people learn about causes and issues and then come up with projects to address them. Brittany Merritt said the council will use its $2,000 to build four free libraries and pantries – shelves with books to lend on one side and toiletries and other daily necessities on the other – for placement in the community, to be used by anyone who wants to borrow books and needs soap and other items.

Washington-Morgan Community Action received a grant to assist families with diapers and wipes, two items that aren’t covered by WIC or other traditional assistance programs. The assistance will go to 25 families in the agency’s Early Head Start program, director David Brightbill said.

The Mid-Ohio Valley Fellowship Home in Parkersburg offers transitional housing and help to men, women and families in distress, some of whom are in drug rehabilitation, others have just been released from prison. The grant received will help provide furnishings for living areas in the housing.

The Women’s Giving Circle was an idea taken from similar concepts used by other community foundations, said Carol Wharff, the group’s president.

“The women in this group have strong bonds to the community,” she said.

The group’s mission is to provide support to nonprofits that address the needs of women and children in the community, she said, but it is also meant to attract women in the area to philanthropy.

And regarding the grant awards, she told the reception group, “It was an easy decision when we saw what you do.”

At a glance

Women’s Giving Circle of the Marietta Community Foundation, first grant awards:

≤ Recipients: Washington-Morgan Community Action, Ely Chapman Education Foundation, Marietta Children’s Choir, La Musee Rose, Washington County Youth Advisory Council, Mid-Ohio Valley Fellowship Home.

≤ Grant totals: About $7,000.