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Twenty-seven years ago, a small group of women in
Chicago’s South Suburbs found a recipe to help their
neighbors - women and children in need... From 1985
until today, the Abby Foundation’s mission has remained
constant: raise money and distribute it to established
nonprofit organizations, who
apply for a grant that help women and their
children and fund scholarships for both young women and
returning women.
In its early years, Abby women asked friends and
neighbors to join them at focus groups which eventually
grew into formal luncheons. It was a simple recipe;
spend a little time and money and help a neighbor. The
first luncheon raised $2,000 that was quickly donated to
two established domestic violence shelters, the Crisis
Center for South Suburbia and the South Suburban Family
Shelter.
Purchase tickets for our August 17th Women Together
luncheon.
 A board of directors and a membership component were
soon formed and as
luncheon attendance grew, breast
cancer awareness joined domestic violence prevention as
Abby beneficiaries. At the same time, a
scholarship
program was initiated, helping women reach their
potential through scholarships.
The Abby Foundation is again offering scholarships to
women who need assistance to attend college next fall,
either as graduating high school seniors or women
returning to college. We are able to offer $1,000
scholarships to both undergraduate and graduate students
attending a four-year college/university and $500
scholarships to those attending a two-year community
college. Minimum GPA requirement is 3.0/4.0.
Applications for the 2012 scholarships are due March
1, 2012. Recipients will be announced in April 2012.
New athletic scholarships will be awarded in 2012 for
Athlete of the Year. To apply for an athletic
scholarship, print the scholarship application and
submit (must be post marked) no later than March 12,
2012. Abby Athlete of the Year 2012 - Scholarship
Application Form -
PDF Application -
WORD Document Application.
Abby’s original 20 members became almost 100 in 2009 and
the board of directors hopes to continue growing that
membership so that more nonprofit organizations will
receive financial help. In its 27 years, the foundation
has distributed more than a million dollars through its
programs.
Membership is easy: Donate $100 per year
for an individual membership to the
foundation and attend the luncheon which features a
keynote speaker, a raffle, an exhibit area for local
businesses and nonprofit organizations, an informational
program book that contains an A to Z listing of
organizations. Business memberships are also available
and include a business listing in the program book and
ticket to the
Women Together luncheon.
Abby’s success since 1985 has been strengthened by the
support of the South Suburbs’ local newspaper, today’s
SouthtownStar.
The newspaper has yearly covered Abby’s story with both
editorial content and regular advertising space.
We invite you to click through our website and learn how
YOU can help your neighbors.
Quick Links:
Scholarship Application I
Grant Application I
Woman of the Year Nomination
I
Women
Together Luncheon
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