Bucks
Bucks County Woman Fund
Dear Friends,
Good morning. You remember the famous Chinese parable: “If you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day; if you teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime.”
The Bucks County Women’s Fund has a variation on this parable. “If you give a woman a fish, she will feed her family and she may go hungry. If you teach a woman to fish, she will fish until her fishing rights are taken away or somebody pollutes the lake. But if you help women buy the lake, they will feed their families, keep the lake environmentally clean and have something to pass on to future generations.”
Recently, I met Kathleen Beveridge, the Executive Director of Bucks County Women’s Fund (BCWF). She’s impressive, and not because she stands 6’ 1” in her stocking feet. (She gave those vital statistics when I inquired.) I tried to interest her in rowing because she has such remarkable leverage.
But I stray.
According to Gayle Goodman, the President of the organization’s board of directors, Kathy Beveridge is a woman on a mission. Beveridge’s been with BCWF for only two years but has made a big difference
In a separate interview, Goodman told me there are 120 Women’s Funds in America and they all have the same goal. End poverty in the world. She says that the most efficient method is to help women, which helps families, which ultimately will eliminate poverty.
Goodman says that BCWF has three top priorities: (1) Promote self-sufficiency for women. (2) Involve girls who are the next generation, and (3) Provide access to information for women and girls. “To achieve those priorities,” Goodman began, “We need advocacy, education, grant making and coalition building. If we address the needs of women and girls, we’ll get societal change.”
Beveridge told me that BCWF spent a year listening to Bucks County women and organizations to learn what is needed to empower them. Last October, BCWF published “A Report to the Community” and held a meeting of 100 movers and shakers to share their findings. Affordable housing, one-stop shopping for information on community services, health care, access to financial literacy education and the training and transportation necessary to compete for livable wages topped the list.
Beveridge believes that Pennsylvania should build a 211-communication system where women can easily obtain information. Unfortunately, she says that there are only three states, which do not have a 211 program, and Pennsylvania is one of three. She’s had conversations with State Senator Chuck McIlhinney who predicts that the legislature will make 211 a reality. Stay tuned.
“How many women need economic self sufficiency,” Beveridge asked? “How many need self reliance?
“All of us,” she answered.
“There’re not enough people to buy the lake,” she quipped, referring to the lake parable.
Beveridge thinks that girls should become involved in philanthropy as a way to encourage them to support charitable causes, which address societal problems. “We should start with girls in middle school,” she told me, “about ages 12 to 14. The fourth grade is where girls stop being equal to boys.”
I was fascinated with her observation about how society relegates girls (and women) to second place status. “Girls pick up the culture about how girls and women should behave,” Beveridge continued. “For example, girls are not supposed to excel in math or science. They’re not encouraged to speak up in the classroom or question their teachers.”
Beveridge handed me a book, which I read that very day. The title confirmed what I’ve been preaching for years. “Why Women Should Rule the World” by Dee Dee Myers is thought provoking. Written by former President Bill Clinton’s Press Secretary, Myers makes it perfectly clear that we men have been complicating the world for 5,000 years…plus.
“Research confirms that both Republican and Democratic women are more likely than their male counterparts to initiate and fight for bills that champion social justice, protect the environment, advocate for families, and promote nonviolent conflict resolution,” Myers writes.
There’s no doubt in my mind that if women filled the halls of congress, 50 state legislatures and executive branches…quality education, affordable health care, environmental problems and equal economic justice would be cured within a decade.
Beveridge believes that initiatives that change ideas, assumptions, attitudes, and behaviors that are harmful to women and girls or impede their ability to achieve their potential are crucial. She’s right.
One of her immediate strategies is to find 100 women to give $500 each year for three years. $50,000 added to the yearly budget of $100,000 will help raise the awareness bar for Bucks County women. It will also increase BCWF’s grant making capabilities.
Friends, you can help. Call her at
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith