ISSUED: 15 April 2016
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Women Investing in Shepherd (WISH), a women’s giving circle sponsored by the Shepherd University Foundation, will hold its annual spring reception on Thursday, April 28 from 6-8 p.m. at Erma Ora Byrd Hall at Shepherd University. The reception is being hosted by Mary J.C. Hendrix, Shepherd University president and WISH member, and is sponsored by John Wolff, Capital Fiduciary Advisors, Inc. The event is free and open to the public, and RSVPs are required by Friday, April 22. Heavy hors d’oeuvres and wine will be served.
The evening will include presentations by the 2015 inaugural nonprofit and Shepherd learning program recipients, the Advanced Wound Care Initiative and the Seeding Your Future Initiative.
Sponsored by Panhandle Home Health, Inc., the Advanced Wound Care Initiative addressed the critical need for wound care certification in Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan counties of West Virginia. In 2013, wound care was provided to 346 patients with a total of 733 wounds, and in 2014 this number doubled.
Lisa Bivens, of the Advanced Wound Care Initiative, will speak on how the WISH grant provided training to six nurses, thus helping meet the goal of decreasing suffering of all patients with wounds, speed recovery time, and decrease the need for re-hospitalization.
Dr. Jordan Mader and Dr. Sytil Murphy, both professors in the Shepherd’s School of Natural Sciences and mathematics, will speak on the Seeding Your Future Initiative, which strives to increase girls’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
The WISH grant helped expand the number of registrants to more than 100 for the Seeding Your Future conference, a one-day event for students in grades five to eight. It also allowed the program to offer monthly workshops for high school students, covering topics ranging from Dangerous Drugs on Your Money, which examined the contamination of currency by drug molecules, to You Spin Me Right Round, which explored how to build an efficient and functional wind turbine.
WISH inspires, educates, and develops the potential of women’s philanthropy through high-impact grant-making. Members pool their $500 annual contribution, which is then divided between the two grant entities. A one woman, one vote process determines the grant recipients in each category. Membership for 2016 is being accepted until December 31.
To RSVP for the event, to learn more about becoming a member of WISH, or about the organization, visit www.shepherduniversityfoundation.org/get-involved/women-for-su/women-investing-in-shepherd/, or contact Meg Peterson at 304-876-5021 or mpeterso@shepherd.edu.
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