Catonsville Women's Giving Circle Distributes $8,000 in Grants to Community Organizations

A yoga program for girls at ome. An industrial sink for . Reimbursement for expenses involved in a trail clean-up for .

These are just some of the few things that the first round of grants distributed by the Catonsville Women's Giving Circle paid for in the community.

A year after forming, the organization has wrapped up its first ever grant distribution program totalling $8,000.

The group was started in Catonsville with the purpose of pooling resources together to help fund worthy projects in the community.

The idea is modeled after similar groups in Howard and Baltimore counties. To join, Catonsville women pledged an intial $250 that would go towards the distribution of grants.

The women hoped that by putting funds all in one pot, they could have a greater impact in the community.

According to some of the grant recipients from this year, those checks will make a huge difference in the services they offer.

On Thursday of this week, two women from the organization formally presented a check to the staff at the Children's Home. The $1,500 grant will go towards paying a yoga instructor and building a bench in a courtyard.

Gail Lee, director of development and Dorenzer Thomas, a program director at the Children's Home, said the funds are a huge help.

Many girls who come to the Children's Home through their crisis intervention services program have experienced trauma and don't know how to control their bodies.

What yoga will allow them to do is be aware of their bodies' phyiscal reactions to stress and respond to it by calming their breathing or focusing their minds.

The staff also requested funds for a bench to be built in a courtyard for girls to sit on when they are spending time outside.

The 90-day program is the only one of its kind in Maryland for girls ages 13-19 years old. Without small grants like this from other organizations, the Children's Home wouldn't be able to fund items like these, Lee said.

MaryAnn Manning and Marjorie Wax, two members of the Women's Giving Circle who presented the check on Thursday, said they have enjoyed learning more about all the work nonprofits are doing in the community.

"You think to yourself, what good is [$250] going to do," Manning said, referring to the initial fee to join. "And then you look at the whole sum, and it's amazing."

Many women were familiar with the organizations that they were helping, Wax said, but now have a deeper understanding of their impact on the community after the grant process.

"We have a real opportunity to connect in the community," Wax said. "Every group is more amazing than the next."

The group distributed six grants to the Children's Home, , ., Catonsville Rails to Trails, The Samaritan Women and NeighborSpace.

The tagline of the organization is "giving to grow a stronger community" and the women hope that in 2012 they will be able to give back even more.

The organization is accepting new members and starting the planning for grant distribution in 2012. For more information, visit the website.