P.E.O. Sisterhood supports women’s education
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As an annual fundraiser, P.E.O. ladies sell desserts at the Shakespeare in the Park event held each summer in Charlo.
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Fran Coover, center, is an out-of-state P.E.O. recipient who met local P.E.O. members while at the Shakespeare in the Park last summer. Local P.E.O. members selling desserts at the event are, from left, Ruth Ann Bunnell, Marlena Burden, Shirley McDonald and Barbara Lyons.
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POLSON — Since 1995, the month of March has been designated as Women’s History Month in the U.S. It is a time to celebrate women’s contributions and achievements which are often overlooked.
The theme of 2014 Women’s History Month is “Celebrating Women of Character, Courage, and Commitment” and honors extraordinary and often unrecognized determination and tenacity of women.
One women’s organization that “flies under the radar” locally is the P.E.O. Sisterhood, a Philanthropic Education Organization devoted to promoting educational opportunities for women. P.E.O. was founded in 1869 by seven students at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Today, P.E.O. has grown from that tiny membership of seven to nearly 250,000 members in 5,989 chapters throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The first Montana chapter was organized in Glendive in 1910. Today there are 87 chapters in 33 Montana communities with a total of 3,583 active members. Four of those chapters are here in Lake County: Chapters AI, BY, and CA are located in Polson and Chapter BS is in Ronan/Charlo. Combined membership is 141 in Lake County.
The P.E.O. Sisterhood sponsors six international projects designed to assist women with their education goals. More than 90,000 women have benefited from these grants, loans, awards, and special projects:
P.E.O. Educational Loan Fund, established in 1907, makes low-interest loans available to qualified women who desire higher education and are in financial need. More than $143.6 million has been awarded in ELF loans. In 2012-2013, fifteen Montana women qualified for an ELF loan.
P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship was established in 1949 to provide scholarships for international women students pursuing graduate study in the U.S. or Canada. Recipients are required to return to their homelands where they use their education to make a difference. Since 1949, IPS has awarded scholarships to 5,481 women from 174 different countries for a total of almost $30 million. This year an IPS student is working on her doctorate degree in fish and wildlife biology at the University of Montana.
P.E.O. Program for Continuing Education, established in 1973, provides need-based grants to women in the U.S. and Canada whose education is interrupted and who then find it necessary to return to school to support themselves and their families. More than $43 million has been awarded in PCE grants. Montana had 40 successful applicants in 2012-13.
P.E.O. Scholar Awards was established in 1991 and provides substantial merit-based awards for women of the U.S. and Canada who are pursuing a doctoral level degree at an accredited college or university. Since its inception more than $16 million has been awarded. Montana had one successful recipient in 2012-2013.
P.E.O. STAR Scholarship, established in 2009, provides non-renewable $2,500 scholarship to exceptional high school graduating women to attend accredited post secondary educational institutions in the U.S. or Canada. More than $2.6 million has been allocated. Montana had three successful applicants in 2012-2013.
Cottey College is a fully accredited private liberal arts and science college for women with two-year and selected four-year programs. Located in Nevada, Mo., the College has been owned and supported by the P.E.O. Sisterhood since 1927. Cottey College graduates, including several from Lake County, number 8,500. Four young women from Montana are currently attending Cottey.
An example of determination and tenacity among P.E.O. members is the success of a 5-year capital campaign launched in 2005 with the goal of raising $35 million to enable Cottey College to transition from a two-year liberal arts and science curriculum to a college offering four-year degrees. Not only did they meet their goal, but they surpassed it by nearly $3 million. Some of these funds will be used to construct a new $9 million fine arts building, and $10 million will establish a scholarship endowment to provide additional financial assistance to Cottey students.
There’s no magical way local chapters raise funds to support P.E.O. projects. Some examples: selling See’s Candy at Christmas, organizing a Next-to-New Sale of lightly used items contributed by members, other yard sales and rummage sales, organizing the Crab Crack event for the community, assisting with Parade of Homes, serving dessert at Shakespeare in the Park performances, raffles, silent auctions, etc.
However, P.E.O. members say the greatest satisfaction comes from finding local women who qualify for these educational opportunities, helping them with the application process, and seeing the positive changes in their lives because education opens new doors.
Through it all, special bonds of love and friendship grow, and P.E.O. members have the satisfaction of knowing their efforts exemplify the motto, “Women Helping Women Reach for the Stars.”
