Happy Black Philanthropy Month!
On this final day of Black Philanthropy Month, the Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County (WGC) would like to express our sincere appreciation to all 31 inspirational women who participated in our first “Our Giving, Our Stories!” philanthropist profile series.
The WGC is proud to be a financial supporter of Black Philanthropy Month which is observed every August. "We are excited to continue our support of National Black Philanthropy Month" said Hina Naseem and Judy Smith, co-Chairs of WGC's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. "Informing, involving, inspiring and investing in Black philanthropic leadership and giving are among the goals of this annual celebration and we are committed to advancing this important work in philanthropy, both in our community and across the country."
One way we are doing this is through WGC's "Our Giving, Our Stories!" daily philanthropist profile series that began on August 1 and ended today. We have shared daily profiles of Howard County philanthropists in celebration of Black Philanthropy Month, and have enjoyed highlighting these inspirational stories of women in our community who discussed what moves them to give their time, talent and financial resources, when they started giving to issues that are important to them, and what advice they have for those interested in giving back.
As we end Black Philanthropy Month today we are excited to provide an enhanced “Our Giving, Our Stories!” profile of Mrs. Vivian C. (Millie) Bailey. We’ve chosen her as our final honoree for her many years of philanthropy and service to our community, and our country. With Millie’s profile, we “saved the best ‘til last.”
“I am thrilled to have lead the WGC’s “Our Giving, Our Stories!” Profile effort for Black Philanthropy Month” said Malynda Madzel, philanthropist and former WGC Advisory Board Member. “As a long-time supporter of the WGC, I’m excited to have elevated the voices of women in our community who give back in so many ways, and in particular, I am honored to end our profile series with Millie Bailey, a matriarch of Black philanthropy in our community.”
As an early donor to the Women’s Giving Circle, her generosity helped to establish the foundation upon which we built our organization. We are very fortunate to have her as our own—a philanthropist who is both a local and national role model and living treasure that has served our country, state and county in multiple roles at various stages of her life.
At age 102 and six months, she is the epitome of a life dedicated to service and a force to be reckoned with. Her life is one that instills a great sense of awe of accomplishment to those that know her as she is - an inspiration to those women who are now finding their individual passion and who are reaching through barriers to connect, support and serve our community.
We look forward to many more years of Millie’s wisdom and compassion as we move forward with our efforts and follow her example to make Howard County a better place to live for all our residents, and especially - women and girls. Please read Millie’s enhanced profile here, and the 30 other “Our Giving, Our Stories!” profiles here.
The WGC will continue to celebrate all women's giving, in all forms, by all races, ethnicities, ages, and geographical locations in our community as we strive to lift up the voices and stories of women philanthropists in Howard County throughout the year. We believe that women's philanthropy is boldly shaping a better world, and that elevating the important stories of how all women are giving is important as we work to engage others in collectively addressing critical issues in our community and across the country.
As we continue to elevate diverse philanthropic voices of women in the community throughout the year in a variety of ways, we hope to learn of other opportunities to promote and celebrate women's giving in Howard County. Do you have a story to share? We would love to hear it!
We hope you have enjoyed "Our Giving, Our Stories!" as much as we have!
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