Female students participate in Girls Granting

By Annie Schraa - Knight Writer

Student Journalist - Lourdes Academy

Seniors Sydney Kelly and Annie Schraa and juniors Ashley Holland, Nora Sammons, and Hannah Kettner were selected to participate in this year’s Girls Granting program.

According to the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation: Women’s Fund website, the Girls Granting program was established in 2001 by the Women’s Fund to give high school girls the opportunity to influence the financial support of an organization or program they feel passionate about. The program takes place every two years.

The website adds that girls from the Oshkosh area schools come together as a team and discuss vital issues that affect their lives and community. Organizations focused on that specific issue are invited to apply for a grant, and the girls ultimately choose one organization to receive the $10,000 grant. The money is provided by the J.J. Keller Foundation, according to the O.A.C.F. website.

During the program, the girls learn about grant making, team building, leadership, philanthropy, gender inequalities, and stereotypes. Lourdes counselor Carie Kollat said that the Girls Granting program is a great opportunity for Lourdes Academy girls.

“Being involved in the process of reading grants, observing presentations from different organizations, and discussing opinions with same-aged peers with a variety of backgrounds is an invaluable opportunity,” Kollat said.

Senior Sydney Kelly said she wanted to be a part of Girls Granting so she could help her community. She said she is excited to see how this project will help other girls in Oshkosh. Junior Hannah Kettner said that she wants to make a positive difference in her community and help women who don’t have the resources they need to live a healthy life.

Kettner said that she is excited to see what kind of difference she can make within the group. In addition, she said she is looking forward to being able to see her peers and her ideas go into the process.

Junior Ashley Holland said she wanted to be a part of the program so she can make a difference in her community, especially with fellow young women. Holland said she is most excited to donate the money to a deserving organization and to attend the Power of the Purse luncheon where she will meet and learn from powerful women in the community.

Junior Nora Sammons said that she wanted to be in Girls Granting so she can be a part of a project that can make a difference for her community. Sammons said she is excited to get to know all the girls in the group and to see what the different community organizations offer.

The girls met for the first time on Feb. 18 at the O.A.C.F. building. Holland said she liked how welcoming every girl was during the first meeting and found the conversations during the meeting very interesting. She said her goal for the group is to grow closer and to be able to learn from everyone’s differences regarding backgrounds and views.

Kelly said that she thought the first meeting was eye-opening because she heard about a lot of problems in the public schools that aren’t necessarily problems at a smaller, private school like Lourdes. She said her goal for this group is to make it easier for girls in the Oshkosh area to be successful in life.

Kettner said the first thing she noticed during the first meeting was how open and honest every girl was and how everyone seemed eager to make a difference.

“Being more of a listener, I really enjoyed seeing all the girls being honest and true to themselves and their ideas,” Kettner said. She said her goals for the group are to please everyone and let every girl express her opinions on the issues being discussed.

Sammons said she thought the first meeting was interesting, and listening to the perspectives of all the other girls was exciting. Holland said that her take-away from the first meeting was that she hopes to better understand and appreciate every kind of girl in her community.

The girls all had to fill out an application and explain why they wanted to participate in the group before being accepted into the Girls Granting program. Holland said the application process was fairly simple. “We mainly just had to answer why we wanted to be a part of Girls Granting and what we were hoping to achieve or how we would be making a difference for other girls,” Holland said.

Kelly said she found that the application process got her more excited and interested in participating in the group. Kettner said the essay part of the application helped her express why she wanted to be involved in this opportunity. She said that she felt the essay allowed people to see that her goal in life is to help others, and that participating in this group helps her to initiate that motive.

The Girls Granting program consists of four meetings, one of which takes place on April 8 where the girls will attend the Power of the Purse luncheon. At the luncheon, the girls will present their grant to the organization of their choice.