A nod to local heroines, wherever they may be
There are so many women who spend a lifetime working for the cause of women and girls, yet you won't see them garner the public accolades of a national stage. They are all around us -- from the neighborhoods of our largest cities to the smallest hamlets of Appalachia. They freely offer the riches of their toil but would consider the giving itself as their greatest reward. Most of us are lucky enough to have known such women.
I was casually reading a paper from what used to be a familiar ground to me when I came across a story of a such a woman, recognized by her community as "Woman of the Year". If you read the article you'll soon realize why this remarkable lady was such a good choice. The list of her good works is simply too long to encapsulate in the short excerpt provided but I chose the one about the "peanut butter and jelly" lady because it brought back such vivid memories of my own childhood. I have to tell you it brought a tear to my eye.
Anyway, I'd like to introduce you to the "peanut butter and jelly" lady and thank all women like her, everywhere.
The Athens Messenger
Athens, Ohio
May 18, 2014
Athens Foundation gives first Woman of the Year Award
By SARA BRUMFIELD Messenger Staff Journalist
The Athens Foundation’s Women’s Fund presented its first ever Woman of the Year Award Friday evening to a local social worker who has had a big impact on children, particularly girls, in Athens County.
Kerri Shaw, field education instructor at the Department of Social and Public Health at Ohio University, was chosen for the inaugural award for her work in establishing the Girl Power group in Glouster and creating the Peanut Butter and Jelly Project to keep kids fed during the summer months...
... While working at Athens County Children Services, Shaw started the Peanut Butter and Jelly Project, which provided peanut butter, jelly and bread to children in the Trimble school district in the summer. Now the program is in every school district in Athens County. Shaw said that she became known as the woman with peanut butter and jelly and that children would chase her car down asking if she had any to share...
... Shaw also served on the board of United Campus Ministry Board, the Birth Circle, Big Brothers Big Sisters Board, and the Habitat for Humanity Family Selection Committee. This summer, Shaw will be working at the Athens Girls Rock Camp....
MORE at http://www.athensohiotoday.com/news/athens-foundation-gives-first-woman-of-the-year-award/article_c7403402-7b63-5b6c-994b-400c28356fc2.html