Every year, Women In Focus, Inc. awards thousands of dollars in scholarships to deserving college-bound students of color in the greater Madison area. Back in April, Women In Focus awarded a record number of scholarships, 30, worth $2,500 each, at its annual Women In Focus Scholarship Reception at the Goodman Community Center.
“We do give out a lot of scholarships and we are proud of that. We have grown so much over the years and we have definitely supported a lot of Dane County youth over the years and we feel like we’ve been able to make an impact,” Women In Focus, Inc. President Kendra Gassner tells Madison365. “We are really proud of our scholarship winners and you can see that they are really proud of themselves.”
Founded in 1983, Women in Focus Inc., a long-standing organization of women focused on promoting educational excellence and the healthy development of children of color in the Madison area, has been providing scholarships to students of color for almost four decades.
Gassner is encouraging seniors and returning students of color to be ready to apply for the 2025 scholarships.
(Photo supplied.)
“Our scholarship application will go live on our website on Nov. 1, and it stays open until Feb. 14. The scholarship is available for high school seniors who will be going to any sort of school in the fall of 2025 so it could be a four-year school, it could be a technical school,” she says.
“We also have a scholarship for a returning student, so that’s an adult student who may have started college right out of high school and then dropped out because of circumstances out of their control,” Gassner adds.
Gassner, who became a Women in Focus member in 2016 and has been president of the organization for the last year, says she enjoys meeting students and families in the whole scholarship process when they are selected by the Women In Focus Scholarship Review Committee.
“It’s really cool to read through all of the applications for these scholarships … these students are all amazing, and we want to give every single one of them a scholarship, honestly,” Gassner says. “I’m always just blown away by the kids that submit applications and their essays, and what they have been doing in school, the work that they’re doing and the community stuff that they have been doing already at just age 17 or 18 years old. It’s impressive. I really love that part of it.
“The selection process is also fun as we as an organization go through the applications and determine which applicants fit our scholarship best,” she adds. “Then, of course, meeting the students in person is the best part because then, yes, you did get to see them and meet their families, and see how their parents are so excited and proud of them. Often, the counselors at the schools have reached out, as well, and shared in the excitement. So I think that’s that’s always a really proud moment.”
Since 1986, WIF has given out 458 scholarships totaling over $825,000 making it one of the top organizations in Dane County for delivering scholarships to students of color. But that’s not all they do in the Madison community.
“Women in Focus is a great organization with a wonderful history. I really love all the women and the work that we do,” Gassner says. “We feel it’s very important to be involved in and to help our community. We have a literacy program that we write grants for to support our literacy program in the past. And so with the grant money, we are able to buy supplies to do activities and get books for students. We worked with Fifth Street at YWCA for many years, and we did a program where we worked with the moms and the kids.”
The WIF literacy program’s purpose is to promote reading as a positive activity and experience for young children, to support and encourage parents to read and learn together, support school readiness and to provide age-appropriate and interesting books to families.
(Photo: Women in Focus Inc.)
“We’ve been working with the Salvation Army, and we have been going in monthly during the school year and doing a literacy program there,” Gassner says. “This year, we might consider some new partnerships with the WIF literacy program that we’re working on and excited about. Of course, we do like to hit the Juneteenth picnic, and like the Urban League [Unity] picnic … any opportunity that we can be out in the community giving out books, we want to be there.”
Since 1986, Women In Focus Inc. has hosted its “I Have A Dream” Ball in January at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center every January and all of the funds raised at the event go towards college scholarships for students of color including scholarships in honor of Jan and Al Studesville, Ms. Gloria Jones-Bey and Dr. Virginia Henderson. “The support of our Women In Focus family of ball guests, donors and sponsors is the reason we can do this important work,” Gassner says.
The 39th Annual “I Have a Dream” Ball in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be at the Monona Terrace on January 18, 2025. For people who cannot attend the ball, there are still plenty of ways to help Women in Focus raise money to award scholarships.
“People can go to our website to donate towards the scholarships or to contribute auction items for the ball which will be on Jan. 18 to start the year. The ball will be back at the Monona Terrace which we are very excited about,” Gassner says. “Any support any time of the year will be much appreciated. We want to keep continuing to grow the number of scholarships that we can give to students each year.”
If you would like to donate an item to the I Have a Dream Ball Scholarship auction, send a description of your item(s) to [email protected], with attention to Ann.
