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Mayor Davison Commemorates Jeannette Rankin Foundation Success
by Katie Sciortino  photo by Katie Sciortino Left to Right: Jeannette Rankin Foundation Executive Director Sue Lawrence, Mayor Heidi Davidson, Reita Rivers. Nearly 90 years after women earned the right to vote, new gender boundaries continue to break. Even as recent as this year's State of the Union, President Bush became the first President to address the Speaker of the House as "Madame." This would not be possible without the many women who paved the way. One woman of special significance to this community, Jeannette Rankin, was the first woman elected to congress before women even secured the right to vote. In honor of her contributions, the Jeannette Rankin Foundation was born in 1976 and lives on today along with Rankin's legacy right here in Athens. The Foundation celebrated reaching their $1 million milestone at City Hall Wednesday with a proclamation by Mayor Heidi Davidson. Over 500 low-income women over the age of 35 have been awarded scholarships to further their education, thanks to the JRF. In honor of this accomplishment, Mayor Davidson declared March 7, 2007 Jeannette Rankin Foundation Day. Mayor Davidson highlighted the importance of this grassroots organization in breaking the cycle of poverty. Partners for a Prosperous Athens, a new community group aimed at eliminating poverty, strives to correct some of the problems that JRF has been on the frontline of for many years. "JRF addresses these issues at the root," Mayor Davidson said. "Education gives us the choices and advantages to do things. With education, opportunities are vast." Sue Lawrence, Executive Director of the Foundation, said that some times the poverty issue seems too big too handle because of the problem's complexity. "However, it is not too big to tackle if there is a will to change," Lawrence said. For Lawrence, the million-dollar sum seems so large and hard to grasp since the Foundation began with only the seed money, $16,000, from Rankin's estate. Little by little, the fundraisers and donations added up. In 1978 JRF sent one woman to college at Athens Tech. Today, over 50 scholarships are rewarded annually to women across the country in states such as New Mexico, Washington, and Maine. Two of the five original founders of the foundation, Rieta Rivers and Margaret Holt, were present as the proclamation. Rivers worked with Rankin during her years as an undergrad and described it as "a once in a lifetime experience." Jeannette Rankin was an advocate for women and children as well as a human rights activist. Lawrence presented Rivers with a flag that was flown over Congress on the 90th anniversary of Rankin's election to congress. Rivers accepted the gift, too overcome to comment at first. She remembered the early years of the foundation when they came up with 10 reasons to donate. One of her reasons: "When you educate a woman, you educate a family, you educate a community." Comments [post a comment]Comments are closed |
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Thursday, May 17, 2012
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