In 2018, the leadership of MVWC realized that it had grown beyond its roots as a Garden Club and needed to formalize the charitable aspect of the membership. As a result, the MVWC board created an ad hoc committee. This committee eventually applied in 2019 for an IRS 501(c)3 designation for the MVWC Service Project and it was awarded. This designation allowed us to expand our opportunities for donations.
The early committee members, Roseanne B, Pat C, Nancy D, Mary H, Michael H, and Sandi K developed the protocols to be used for the legal process of soliciting grant proposals and awarding grants to groups.
The most important aspect of the granting process is the Member Sponsor requirement. All grant applications must be initiated by a MVWC member. This means every MVWC member can sponsor a deserving group for funding. The large variety of sponsorships received reflect the interests of the ever evolving and active membership.
Recently, with the goal to grant more awards, the MVWC Service Project program award money has grown. Since its inception in 2019, the MVWC Service Project has awarded over 20 grants totaling in excess of $54,000. We all should be very proud of these significant gifts to our community.
Many of the previous grant awards have provided food, clothing, holiday gifts to nearby at-risk families and to provide local schools with the funds to initiate new educational programs. More recently, when Covid arrived, $7,000 in emergency funds were allocated to the Area Agency on Aging and the Desert Mission Food Bank. It is humbling to realize that hundreds of our local community’s adults and children have benefited from our charitable efforts.
The Service Project is currently in the process of selecting five new members for the 2022-23 board. They are looking forward to new faces and fresh ideas to continue with the legacy of the Service Project. Please feel free to contact the nominating committee if you have any questions about open positions, interest in serving or know another club member who could be a good fit. Members of the nominating committee are Gwen G, Audrey S, Pam G and Michael H.
Information on all the many grants awarded by the MVWC Service Project may be found on the Service Project member pages on the MVWC website.
