One of the most generous ways one can support Women Walking West (W3) is by creating an endowment fund in honor or memory of someone. An endowment fund is a long-term commitment.
The minimum endowment fund is $25,000. The endowment will be funded through annual gifts (amount is determined by the fund donor) until the minimum is reached. The fund is to be a perpetual fund only dispersing dividends and interest income. The principal amount, $25,000, will remain intact and be invested for long-term growth. All funding allocation will be recommended by the Scholarship Committee and approved by the Women Walking West Board of Directors.
If you are interested in starting an endowment fund with Women Walking West, please contact info@womenwalkingwest.org.
We would like to acknowledge and thank those who have chosen to start endowment funds with us.
Mary Alice and George Leasure Endowment
The Leasures have always believed in helping and serving the community they live in. They believe in people and nothing is more satisfying than helping educate a person and their family. Mr. Leasure is the co-founder and chairman of GMi Companies, a growing family owned manufacturer of visual communication products. The Leasures are residents of Lebanon, OH.
Kathleen Stolle Endowment
Kathleen is a philanthropist that is supportive of many non-profit organizations in the area. One area of interest to her is diversity in the workforce. She believes that contributing to Women Walking West will allow for a more diverse population of women to be educated and enter the workforce. Ms. Stolle is a resident of Lebanon, OH.
Dr. Hatamzadeh Endowment
Dr. Hatamzadeh’s family started this endowment to honor their father’s vision to always be kind to humanity, always seek knowledge and share that knowledge, and to use language as a tool rather than a barrier to achieving these goals. He believed that regardless of nationality, gender, or socioeconomic status, education is essential to success and promotion of the well-being of mankind. The Hatamzadeh family are residents of Cincinnati, OH.
Mr. & Mrs. Yad Singh Endowment
Mr. Singh believes that “As many claim, investing in a girl’s education is investing in a nation. And here, by supporting Women Walking West, we are all investing in our nation to be brighter and better. Education is proven as the most effective way to empower women for lifelong success. Not only does education open the door to better employment opportunities, it also teaches a woman to make positive choices that will help her and her children.” The Singhs are residents of Mason, OH.
Minka Endowment
Ms. Noack started this endowment in honor of her mother. She says, “My mother Milena Sestakova (Minka) always believed in me and my sisters. She gave up her own education to be a mom, but she made sure all three of us obtained education to better ourselves. She also encouraged us to believe in ourselves, never to give up, and to help others. This fund is to honor the greatest woman I’ve known as my mother and as a grandmother to my daughter. This fund is for all the women who want to better themselves.” Ms. Noack is a resident of Florence, KY.
The Hurtado Family Endowment
The Hurtado family started this endowment to their grandmother. This is what they had to share about her. “Our grandmother arrived to America from Mexico in the 1920’s with little access to help and no financial resources. It was a struggle for her to raise her children in a new country, but she persevered and those children have been instrumental to the success of their own communities. It is our family’s goal to financially and emotionally support women as they become productive American citizens and to build their lives and families in a new part of the world. We have personally experienced the benefits of a strong family and community support system that has enabled each of us to reach our personal and professional goals, and we’d like to help other women reach their own goals. We believe that mentorship and education are crucial to success; through our endowment we hope to provide this foundational support through Women Walking West.” The Hurtado family resides in Springboro, Ohio.
The Said Eyada Endowment Fund
Mrs. Eyada started this endowment in honor of her dad. She says, “My dad has been my greatest empowerment throughout my life, ever since I was a little girl. His acts of kindness were not random, they were frequent and faithful. He has been my backbone and support throughout each and every step of the way to get to where I am and to be whom I’ve become. I can stand up and be absolutely proud of myself. His provision, trust and faith were boundless. I know that making him the center of attention like this would not be his idea of fun but his years of hard work, love and dedication must be credited back. He has always been quietly supporting me and my siblings and helping us all in the background with huge affection and a kind, gentle humor that is still there today. I was always assured that if one day I would fall, he would be the first hand to reach out and pick me up. Even now as a grown woman with kids of my own, his tender care has never lessened. As a matter of fact, I feel it keeps growing as time goes by. This is why I have chosen to honor my Dad with an endowment to Women Walking West.” Mrs. Eyada is a resident of Mason, Ohio.
The Dovich Family Endowment
The Dovich Family Endowment was created to help women. In today’s world there are still many occasions in which women are discriminated against and in some cases even persecuted. The fund is used to recognize these inequities and provide women a safe platform to achieve their goals, provide a platform to encourage and feed their confidence and an opportunity to succeed. Mr. Dovich is a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Mary Glancy Endowment
Marian Glancy started this endowment to honor the life of her mother. Mary Glancy was born in County Donegal, Ireland in 1918. Her education consisted of a one room school house until the age of 15. She left Ireland in her 20’s looking for work and met her husband in Edinburgh, Scotland. They married and had six children in nine years! Mary instilled in her children the empowering force of education. Education was a priority in the household and all of the siblings grew to understand how education created opportunity – and they have as a family all derived great benefit from the opportunities through their individual life journeys. Sadly, Mary passed away in March 2019 just shy of her 102nd birthday. Mary was a powerful influence in her children’s lives and her profound belief in education is something the entire family has carried with them throughout their lives. Ms. Glancy is a resident of Yellow Springs, Ohio.
The Yong Chang + P&G Endowment
My family’s story is an American Dream story. It’s one common of immigrant families who chose to leave everything and everyone familiar for the chance of a better life and future for their children. In 1969, my father came to the United States from our home in South Korea to find a place where we could make a start. There was real struggle and great uncertainty, but to look inside our home you would have only seen the determination and commitment to learn by the women of my family and, specifically, by my mother Yong Chang. Decades later, I would graduate magna cum laude with a Bachelors of Science in Chemical Engineering and Mathematics and have contributed to a myriad of innovations in the STEM space and the growth across 9 of Procter & Gamble’s billion dollar brands in the global market. Every achievement in my life always blows my mind, and with every one I feel responsible to pay it forward in gratitude for what others and my mother have done for my family and for me. As I came across Women Walking West, I was called to serve. My mother Yong carried me on the plane in 1973 and still carries me in my life to this day. Without her I would not be the leader and person I am.
Cincinnati Muslim Women Endowment
Cincinnati Muslim Women believes the group’s collective giving to local charities allows members to connect with their city and the surrounding region in meaningful ways. The group was founded in 2008 and has given over $186,000 in its 14 years to diverse causes—from medical research initiatives to food banks to women’s shelters. “CMW’s consistent contribution to authentic community needs forms a natural synergy with the goals of Women Walking West,” says founding member Shabana Shakir Ahmed. “By establishing this endowment, CMW expresses its support of W3’s mission to provide women with the resources they need to succeed in school and professional life.” Ahmed, along with cofounders Sufia Sultan and Zakia Hyder Hasan, has a clear vision of what drives the group’s 80+ members: “We are Muslim. Women. Professional. Compassionate. Cincinnatian.” Collaborating with W3 through an endowment fund is one way that CMW members will reach a larger group of women beyond their own membership to make a difference that will matter to women and to Cincinnati.
The Association of Pakistani-American Ladies for Social Welfare (PALS) was started by a group of Pakistani-American ladies in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2012. PALS believe that women have a great ability to be peacemakers. Their common interest in the well-being of their families, particularly their children, allows them to transcend boundaries of race, ethnicity, and religion to collaborate with each other to create a peaceful world. PALS is a nonprofit, tax-exempt volunteer organization which has been established to mobilize individuals with an interest in the welfare of disadvantaged people of Pakistan and the United States. Since 2012, PALS have donated nearly $200,000 to projects promoting peace, education, and coexistence
