Watertown Women & Giving Event Connects Donors With Local Nonprofits and Scholarship Recipients

Chelsey Borkhuis (far right) from Watertown Area Foster Closet shares with Women & Giving supporters about the immediate need for school clothes, pajamas, and basic hygiene supplies for children and teens taken into foster care

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - More than 80 women gathered Thursday at the Redlin Art Center Pavilion for the Watertown Area Community Foundation’s annual Women & Giving Coffee & Conversations, an event designed to connect supporters directly with local nonprofits and scholarship recipients.

Held in both morning and afternoon sessions, Coffee & Conversations replaces traditional speeches with small‑group discussions, allowing attendees to meet face‑to‑face with organizations supported through Women & Giving grants and scholarships. Representatives rotated among tables of six to eight participants, sharing their missions, answering questions, and discussing the work they do throughout the Watertown area.

This year’s conversations featured a wide range of recent grant recipients, including:

·         Brothers & Sisters Behind Bars

·         Community Transit of Watertown/Sisseton

·         Watertown Regional Library

·         Watertown Middle School’s Girls Night Out

·         Watertown Area Foster Closet

·         Goss Opera House

·         Bramble Park Zoo’s Girls Rule program

·         Town Players

Nonprofit leaders offered firsthand insight into challenges facing local families and the support systems helping them move forward. Stacy Hendricks, Executive Director of Brothers & Sisters Behind Bars, emphasized the importance of providing a safe, sober community for individuals returning from incarceration and working toward recovery.

“Recovery doesn’t happen alone,” Hendricks said. “When someone has a sober place to belong and people around them who understand what they’re going through, it gives them a better chance at sobriety.”

Women & Giving Advisory Committee Chair Chris Carter opened both sessions by acknowledging the demands on women’s time and thanking attendees for dedicating part of their day to learning about local organizations and building relationships.

Watertown Area Community Foundation Executive Director Cammie Mengwasser said the event’s conversational format is what makes it special.

“This is one of my favorite events because it creates real conversations,” Mengwasser said. “Women & Giving supporters sit next to the people doing the work every day. They ask questions, build relationships, and leave with a better understanding of both the needs in our community and the people working to address them.”

Over the past 23 years, Women & Giving has invested more than $550,000 in grants and scholarships benefiting women, children, and families throughout the Watertown area. Its endowment fund, now approaching $275,000, will continue supporting local programs for generations.

Women & Giving is a program of the Watertown Area Community Foundation. More information is available at wacfsd.org.

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