A Foundation for Youth event will once again connect girls in the community to women who can become their role models.
Great Girls, Wonderful Women is in its third year, offering women in the Columbus community a chance to support some of Foundation for Youth’s girls and their endeavors.
Each table at the event — from noon to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at Foundation for Youth — will include six women from the community and two girls from FFY programs, allowing adults and students to connect and create mentoring opportunities, said Brittany Gray, who is helping organize the event.
The keynote address will be delivered by Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer Maria Stack.
Stack, a 1980 Columbus East High School graduate, was named Indiana Miss Basketball after leading East to a state runner-up finish that year. She averaged 28.6 points a game and 12.7 rebounds during her senior year.
She went on to play for Gonzaga University, where she won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith award as the nation’s top player shorter than 5-8 in 1985. She holds a Gonzaga records for women’s basketball in scoring 707 points in one season. She was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Proceeds from Great Girls, Wonderful Women will benefit the Foundation for Youth Scholarship Fund and will provide girls with a chance to participate in FFY programming, even if registration fees are a barrier for a family, Gray said.
Among the programs the fundraiser supports are:
- Girls on the Run, for girls age 8 to 13, focusing on empowerment, responsibility and connectedness, as participants train for a 5K run.
- Smart Girls, for girls age 8 to 17, includes classes about healthy lifestyles and attitudes, programming includes group activities, field tips and being mentored by successful women in the community. Character, self-discipline and teamwork are emphasized.
- Big Brothers Big Sisters, providing a child with a one-to-one relationship to provide help in encouraging higher aspirations, educational success and better relationships.
- Boys and Girls Club programming, including activities that support character and leadership development, education and career development and opportunities in sports, fitness and the arts.
Title and Cornerstone Partner for the event is Faurecia. Additional Cornerstone Partners are NTN Driveshaft, Toyota Industrial Equipment and Reams Asset Management.
Tickets are $75 each and include a three-course meal prepared by Artisan Foodworks.
For more information about tickets or to become a corporate table sponsor, call 812-348-4558.
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To register for the Great Girls, Wonderful Women event at noon Oct. 24 at Foundation for Youth, 405 Hope Ave. in Columbus, visit foundationforyouth.com
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