Here’s how these Southern Utah women are helping other women and girls thrive

Three Corners Women's Giving Circle grant recipients and grant committee members, St. George, Utah, November, 2021 | Photo courtesy of Three Corners Women's Giving Circle, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — There is strength in numbers. That’s the philosophy behind the Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle which has pooled its money to provide more than $300,000 in assistance to non-profit organizations benefiting women and girls in Southern Utah.

Women to the rescue

Many people are accustomed to making small donations to various organizations, not really knowing how their money will be used or if it will even make a difference. In 2013, a group of women from Southern Utah decided to put all their charity funds in one pot with the idea that larger amounts would exponentially increase the impact. Each member of the Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle donates $250 annually, then helps decide which groups receive grant money.

The Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle allocates up to $8,000 per year to non-profits serving women and girls. Martha Heuer heads up the grant program, noting that many of the groups they fund are able to use the donations as seed money for new programs.

“We like it when they have a new program,” Heuer said. “It’s more money than most people would donate.”

In 2021, The Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle issued $40,000 worth of grants to six non-profits organizations in Southern Utah. Next year, the group will have $68,000 to work with because even more women have joined in the effort. Funding decisions are made by a grant committee which sorts through the numerous applications they receive.

Martha Heuer, Grant Committee Chair for Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle, St. George, Utah, December, 2021| Photo by Adele Park, St. George News

This year, groups receiving funding from the Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle include the Canyon Creek Women’s Crisis Center, Creek Valley Health Clinic, Kane Education Foundation, Moab Valley Multicultural Center, Memory Matters and Girls on the Run.

Heuer said her group does a lot of research on the organizations they support to ensure their donations are being used wisely.

“When we award an organization with a grant it is given for the program they specified in their grant application,” Heuer said.

In January, non-profit applicants will make presentations to the Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle. More than two dozen groups are vying for grant money next year.

Helping Survivors

Statistics show that one in three women will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime. Canyon Creek Services in Cedar City aims to help those victims achieve emotional and financial stability so they can be independent from their abusers. Canyon Creek Development Director ReAnne Reimschussel said 99% of people in domestic violence relationships are also abused financially. Thanks to an $8,000 grant from the Three Women’s Giving Circle, Canyon Creek Services is able to offer a Financial Healing course. Reimschussel said this is important because abusers often use money to exert power and control over the victim. This can include ruining the credit of their victims, or not letting them have access to money even when they have a job.

November 2021 meeting for Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle, St. George, Utah, November 2021 | Photo courtesy of Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle, St. George News

“Money is how we achieve independence so a perpetrator will generally try to control that,” Reimschussel said. “The perpetrator controls all the finances and will do things to purposely ruin the credit of their victim.”

The Financial Healing course is conducted on a case by case basis. Canyon Creek Services recently started offering the program to inmates at the Iron County Jail. Reimschussel said 90% of women who are incarcerated are victims of sexual abuse, sexual assault or domestic violence. The course focuses on budgeting, job searches and how to build good credit. Reimschussel said those who successfully complete the course are given between $200 and $300 to use for things like refinancing a car or paying off bills.

“The money we receive from Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle goes directly to the client for finishing that course,” Reimschussel said.

Healthy Communities

Rural communities such as Hilldale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona, are often challenged when it comes to medical services. The recently opened Creek Valley Health Clinic works to fill that gap by providing low cost health care. In 2021, more than 3,200 patients received treatment at the Creek Valley Health Clinic. Quality and Compliance Director JoAnne Zitting said prior to opening their doors, patients had to travel long distances to see a doctor or physician assistant.

Creek Valley Health Clinic Quality and Compliance Director JoAnne Zitting, St. George, Utah, November, 2021 | Photo courtesy of Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle, St. George News

“Unfortunately, many of the providers in Utah do not accept Arizona Medicaid which is the number one insurance payer in our area,” Zitting said. “When patients couldn’t travel the long distances for specialty or primary care in Arizona, they often times wound up in the emergency room at St. George Regional Hospital which isn’t the best or most cost effective way to render services.”

Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle awarded a $8,000 grant to the Creek Valley Health Clinic to fund screening programs such as pap smears, mammograms and cervical cancer testing. Zitting said they were able to provide well-child, well-woman, preventative care and other important screening services to more than $1,800 women and girls in 2021.

“We work to educate the community on the importance of preventive services and bring access to a group that hasn’t adequate access or exposure in the past,” Zitting said. “The Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle is one of those private organizations that pushes our mission forward.”

Zitting said health care services benefit everyone because we’re all connected. When people have access to preventative health care, it lowers the cost for everyone.

Getting it done

Recognizing that everyone is busy, the Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle only meets four times a year. There are no fundraisers, with members donating an annual fee of $250. By combining resources, the Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle is able to take individual donations and convert them into big programs benefiting women and girls in Southern Utah. For more information about the Three Corners Women’s Giving Circle, visit https://threecornerswgc.wordpress.com.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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