Vital Impact currently distributes scholarships annually to mature women, aged 35 or older, embarking on a career transition. Just a few examples of how they’ve made a difference:
• We’ve helped a single mother and domestic abuse survivor through her process of shifting from stocking shelves on the night shift at a local department store to being enrolled in an Administrative Information System Program at a local college.
“Returning to school as an adult has been both extremely rewarding and very challenging. The financial constraints of being a full-time student can sometimes be difficult to manage, and the demands of maintaining a student work load can feel overwhelming at times. That’s why it is very meaningful to me to have my hard work recognized and rewarded by the SSWBN Educational Foundation. I truly appreciate your support, not only from a financial perspective, but also from the viewpoint that this award demonstrates your faith in me to accomplish my goals. As a woman going into a non-traditional career field, I appreciate having the support of other women, and I remain dedicated to my goal. Thank you all so much, and I look forward to exceeding your expectations.”
– 2009 Recipient, Transitioning from Textile Designer to Biomedical Engineer.
“Coming to this country 11 years ago with the sole purpose of providing a better life and a better education for my children, never did I think that I would be able to be in school again, but life is full of unexpected turns. Working as a bookkeeper at the USS Constitution Museum for the last four years, I have earned the respect of my peers and superiors through my hard work and caring nature. Though glad of my accomplishments at the workplace, my life long goal to earn a college degree has not been fulfilled. Growing up in Albania, I was a hard working student who always aspired to do the best that I could, but living in a country governed by communists and being from a persecuted family, I knew that I could never go to college no matter how well I did in school. This is exactly what happened. Though earning honor roll grades through all four years of high school, I was not given the opportunity to attend college but instead was sent to work in a salt field. Now, even at my older age, I want to fulfill my adolescent dream and make worthwhile all my sacrifices. I am currently enrolled in Curry College and am taking accounting and financing classes, slowly working my way to my college degree. For this, I have to thank the United States for the freedom it has given me, my family for its support, and the South Shore Women’s Business Network Organization for granting me this scholarship and allowing me to continue my education. Thank you.”
– 2009 Recipient, Transitioning to Business Management for Non-Profits
- A 38 year-old mother who, for over 20 years, had supported herself and daughter as a playground aid, cafeteria worker, and teaching assistant, was able to get her degree in Special Education and is currently teaching full time.
- A 32 year-old woman who had minimal business skills has completed her studies by getting a degree in Computer Sciences and is well on her way to a more fulfilling career.
The 2010 Educational
Foundation scholarship recipients are as follows:
Martha Gallego
fueled by her passion for teaching children how to be fit, is studying for
her degree in Physical Education at the Urban College of Boston.
Yinghong Mei
is taking her current hospital interpreter job to a new level. She is
learning how to help people through their health issues by becoming a
Physical Therapy Assistant at Bay State College.
Vicki Netzke Doyle
is going for her
Master’s Degree at Drexel University, to teach nursing so she can make an
impact on the shortage of nurses in our healthcare system.
Sonja Pelari
is striving to
reach her goal of getting a degree in business management and accounting at
Curry College so that she can be better equipped to help non-profit
organizations.
Adela Perez
knows that children are our future and wanting to give them good learning
habits at a young age. She is pursuing a degree in Early Childhood
Education at Urban College of Boston.
Tuyen Tiet
wants to help people in the business world with her set up networks and work
on computers so she is obtaining a certificate in electronics and IT at Bay
State School of Technology.
Feng Qing Wang
has been inspired by her own child and is shifting from a marketing career
to work towards and Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education at Urban
College of Boston. Her goal is to open her own daycare center.
Thanks to all of you who have contributed. Without you we would not be able to support these amazing women and their dreams.
