Brainerd Lakes Area Women’s Fund recognizes Women Making Waves and Ripples

Kaytlin Hart and Becky Twamley. — Kaytlin Hart, left, 2022 Ripple Maker Award recipient and Becky Twamley, 2020 Women Making Waves Award recipient.

By Dispatch staff report

April 23, 2022 at 9:30 AM

BRAINERD — The Brainerd Lakes Area Women’s Fund recently honored Becky Twamley as the 2020 Women Making Waves award recipient and Kaytlin Hart as the first ever 2022 Ripple Maker award recipient.
The Woman Making Waves and Ripple Maker awards recognize women who have significantly contributed to the field of philanthropy with their personal and professional contributions. Nearly 125 attendees gathered April 13 at Grand View Lodge to recognize these two dedicated women as well as award $30,000 in grants to nonprofits committed to supporting the educational, health and wellness, and financial empowerment of women and children in the Lakes Area.

Grant recipients include My Neighbor to Love Coalition for a supportive housing community helping low income and/or homeless; TheShop for their after school Girls Who Code program; Lakes Area Habitat for Humanity to assist with providing safety and self-reliance to a home build recipient; The Outreach Program of the Brainerd Lakes to help combat food insecurities; Advocates Against Domestic Abuse to provide housing and comprehensive services to those overcoming domestic violence; the Rotary Club of Central Lakes for the REHT concert event raising awareness around human trafficking; WeARE the Clinic to assist with reproductive health education; Smiles for Jake Movement to assist with raising mental health awareness; Women Who Lead to support entrepreneurial women; Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation for general support and grants; and the Northland Arboretum to empower women to lead and lean into nature project.

The Brainerd Lakes Area Women’s Fund was established in 2009 in part by the Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation to enhance the lives of women and children in the Brainerd lakes area. The Brainerd Lakes Area Women’s Fund “supports innovative solutions to the challenges facing women and children that improve our community and positively impact the future,” the release stated.

To date, the Brainerd Lakes Area Women’s Fund has provided over $125,000 in grants, supporting nonprofits supporting women and children including: Bridges of Hope, New Pathways Inc., Habitat for Humanity, the Rising Hope Foundation with support for women who are victims of sex trafficking, Central Lakes College, WeAre, HOPE, and Presenting Yourself.

By Dispatch staff report

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of "staff." Often, the "staff" byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

Hi, I'm the Brainerd Dispatch. I started working a few days before Christmas in 1881 and became a daily paper two years later. I've gone through a lot of changes over the years, but what has never changed is my commitment to community and to local journalism. I've got an entire team of dedicated people who work night and day to make sure I go out every morning, whether in print, as an e-edition, via an app or with additional information at www.brainerddispatch.com. News, weather, sports — videos, photos, podcasts and social media — all covering stories from central Minnesota about your neighbors, your lakes, your communities, your challenges and your opportunities. It's all part of the effort to keep people connected and informed. And we couldn't do it without support.