Clark State Community College will host the second annual Women’s Giving Society Power of the Purse dinner event on February 23 at the Hollenbeck Bayley Creative Arts and Conference Center.
The Women’s Giving Society (WSG) was launched in 2017 and is an affiliate of the United Way of Clark, Champaign and Madison Counties. The WGS strives to build and strengthen philanthropy–both time and talent–in women, engage all generations and backgrounds and support women to be more intentional with their giving.
The Power of the Purse event will benefit the Dolly Parton Imagination Library: a unique book gifting program that promotes early childhood literacy.
“As a result of the great success of the Power of the Purse along with other generous funders within the community, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library currently sends age-appropriate books to the homes of over 1600 children between the ages of birth to 5 years old in Clark County,” said Kerry Lee Pedraza, executive director of United Way of Clark, Champaign and Madison Counties.
The 2017 Power of the Purse event raised more than $17,000 and 280 women attended. Clark State President Dr. Jo Alice Blondin will be the keynote speaker at this year’s event.
“Literacy is at the heart of community prosperity, economic development and a healthy future,” said Blondin. “Research shows that early achievement in literacy impacts students positively for the rest of their lives, whether in educational attainment, income levels or health and wellness. Clark State wants to ensure early literacy as well as draw a direct path to higher education and a career. We are proud to sponsor this important event.”
The Power of the Purse event will begin at 5 p.m., Friday, February 23 at the Hollenbeck Bayley Creative Arts and Conference Center in downtown Springfield. DJ Chill will provide the entertainment.
Tickets are still available for the Power of the Purse event and can be purchased online at www.uwccmc.org or by calling the United Way office at (937) 324-5551. The tickets are $40 each, with $25 of the ticket purchase price sponsoring a child for a one-year enrollment in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
Additional corporate sponsors include Security National Bank and Speedway, LLC.