Women's giving circle invests in community

FINDLAY — Findlay-based Handbags that Help celebrated its 17th year of giving this month with a grant awards ceremony at the Findlay Trojan Club. During the ceremony the women's giving circle announced its 2024-25 grant recipients, showcasing the group's support of charitable initiatives across Hancock County. This year's grant recipients include: Cancer Patient Services: Funding for blenders and meal supplements to aid patients that are struggling with nutrition during cancer treatments. City Mission/Martha's Home: Funding for playground equipment to improve the backyard for children staying at the mission's new facility, Martha's Home. Owens Community College's Early Learning Center: Funding to update educational materials. Welcome to a New Life: Funding to create a clothing closet for incarcerated people reentering society, and providing clothing during and after incarceration. Hosted by the Community Foundation, HTH is a group of 140 women from diverse professional backgrounds. Since 2008, the group has invested over $771,000 in grants into the community. "We feel that women collectively can make an impact that may be larger than you can make on your own," said HTH Communications Chair Laurie Poland. "Our purpose is to build strong families in Hancock County by cultivating women philanthropic leaders. We make change by pulling our resources, identifying community needs, and then celebrating their impact on our community" Originally, the group consisted of women in more executive-level positions later in their careers. Now, the group welcomes women from all backgrounds, professions and ages. "The ladies involved in handbags are all professional women of some sort. It's a wide range of organizations, a wide range of backgrounds, and a wide range of ages," said Poland. The group also serves as an educational platform for women to learn together about their community and philanthropy. "A lot of nonprofits know each other and what each of our services provide to the community," Poland said. "I have learned a lot in Handbags because I've learned more about those entities than I knew before. I think as somebody serving our community, that's important for all of us." HTH's grant process includes reviewing applications, conducting interviews and visits, followed by a recommendation from the group's grant committee and a group vote. "What we're looking for is: are these new programs? Is this something that's going to improve the quality of life here in our community? And is it sustainable?" Poland said. She said the awards ceremony was more than just a celebration, but an opportunity to reflect on the efforts HTH has made over the years. "It's really humbling to award the money to the recipients because you can see the true appreciation on their faces," she said. "It's also nice for those of us that are members of Handbags That Help to get together and be able to celebrate the impact that we're making on our community."