Stories: Women's Endowment Fund Stories

The Women's Endowment Fund celebrated a record nearly $60,000 raised during its SHEro campaign throughout the month of April. Helping surpass our fundraising goal by nearly $10,000, 36 local ambassadors committed to raise at least $1,000 each through their...

Accentuating her lifelong commitment to empowering women and girls in our community, the highly anticipated Judith A. Read Tribute Award commemorative sculpture is complete and on display in the lobby of Akron Community Foundation. Created by gifted local...

An idea sparked in the early 1990s by six women ignited a 25-year legacy of uplifting local women and girls. Through the years, founding mothers Jody Bacon, Marie Covington, Carrie Herman, Norma Rist, Ilene Shapiro and Laurie Zuckerman have seen the Women's...

Nearly 25 years ago, as the founders of the Women's Endowment Fund were recruiting their first donors, they met with generous women from all corners of the community. Business executives, grassroots volunteers and city leaders alike joined forces to support...

In 2017, the Women's Endowment Fund convened a group of nearly 100 health and social service professionals to discuss issues related to infant mortality in Summit County. The 2017 Forum on Women and Girls, held at the American Red Cross in Akron, brought...

By Stephanie L. LangguthAssistant Director of Advancement CommunicationsKent State University Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million U.S. adults age 18 and older – 18 percent of the U.S. population....

It’s 2 p.m. and Amanda is just waking up. She’s been sleeping a lot lately – sometimes 12 or more hours a day – and she can’t seem to find the energy to care for her young children. She knows she needs help, but it isn’t until a home visitor from...

A few short years ago, Gabrielle Blackshear was a single mom struggling to support her family. Like many young women, she had poor credit and did not understand how to live on a budget or manage her finances. All of that changed, however, when she found...

Imagine waking up at 3 a.m. every day to get to work. This is a reality for many of the clients at H.M. Life Opportunity Services in Akron who have recently escaped homelessness and have no individual method of transportation. To get to work, these clients...

Sept. 11, 2007, is a day Akron resident Nikki Washington will never forget. It was on this day that Nikki took back her independence and walked through the doors of the Battered Women’s Shelter with her five children. From the outside, Nikki looked like a...