(May 22 - Asheville, NC) – Award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa was the featured speaker at the 14th Annual Power of the Purse®.
Hinojosa's address documented her journey from Mexico City to Chicago to New York City's Barnard College to becoming the first Latina correspondent for NPR, CNN and PBS. She challenged the crowd to love, to be inclusive and to be careful with language. "Words can be dehumanizing," she said. "Slaves were enslaved people, and the word minority is disempowering."
In reference to recent immigration arrests, she asked attendees, "What does it mean to you personally to know that due process can be violated just because a person wasn't born in this country?" "It's hard to look at our own history," she continued. "We all have to open our eyes and talk to people in our community. At the core of our democracy is dialogue."
A highlight of the afternoon was the announcement of a $450,000 Women for Women Collaborative High Impact Grant to The Buncombe Partners in Prevention, a group effort of Helpmate, Mountain Child Advocacy Center, Our VOICE and Pisgah Legal Services. Partners in Prevention will concurrently address domestic abuse, sexual violence and child maltreatment in a community-coordinated effort. Each collaborating organization will take on specific aspects of the plan, which leverages skills and resources and utilizes best practices.
The grant announcement is historic. It is the largest award from the giving circle and the largest single competitive grant approved by The Community Foundation. With this year's grant, the Women for Women giving circle has awarded nearly $3.5 million to nonprofits supporting WNC women and girls since 2006.
The 2018 Power of the Purse® benefits The Women's Fund, a permanent endowment at The Community Foundation. Proceeds from The Women's Fund are distributed through the Women for Women grant program and this year provided $44,310 to the grant pool. The giving circle always welcomes new members.