Sunday Spotlight: A new blog series shining a spotlight on the relationships and partnerships that have allowed Prosperity Candle to grow and prosper.
Isn’t that a powerful message? Here at Prosperity Candle, we couldn’t agree more – what you do, what we do, right now, matters so very much. And it’s incredible to have partners that are true leaders in this movement. The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts (responsible for this banner), led by the visionary Carla Oleska, is one of these partners indeed.
The vision of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts is to empower women and girls to reach their full potential in a world that is just and fair for all. They focus on three major strategies to bring this vision to life:
- mobilize and support women’s philanthropy because philanthropy is a powerful tool for social change
- make strategic grants to nonprofit organizations that work with women and girls toward progressive social change in Western Massachusetts
- advocate for system improvements for women and girls through research, education, and collaboration
Since beginning their work in 1997, the Women’s Fund has awarded two million dollars in grants, funding nearly 100 programs and investing in more than 80,000 women and girls in four counties in Western MA. This is an impressive feat and one worth celebrating.
And celebrate they did! A little over a month ago, the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts held a beautiful evening gala in honor of their 15th anniversary, bringing together more than 650 advocates, supporters and champions of women’s rights within the greater Western MA community.
The theme of the evening was “Redefining What’s Possible” and during the program, they presented a set of Standing on Her Shoulder Awards, recognizing 16 local changemakers who have spent their lives asking themselves “what can I do right now to change the world?”
Prosperity Candle was honored to have the Women’s Fund select our pillar candles as a recognition gift for the awardees. The candles the Fund selected were handpoured by our women artisans in Iraq and then had dried flowers pressed upon them from a local artist in the Valley, creating a beautiful gift displaying the interconnected world we live in.
Carla even took time during the program to share the story of our candles and our broader mission, speaking eloquently to how the candles represent the global sisterhood that exists among us.
We love aligning our gifts with partners and events that have such a clear and proven vision for change.
Learn more about the Fund’s tremendous vision for change here:
And may we all take a cue from the Women’s Fund of Western MA this week, asking ourselves “what can I do right now to change the world?”
