Walmart Challenge for $100,000

Vermont Works for Women is one of FIVE non-profit agencies striving for a $100,000 through Walmart's Foundation. The winner will be chosen by the Walmart associates. We're excited for this opportunity, and hope you can help us. Do you work at Walmart? Know someone who does? Please share our story, send them to our website, tell them all the amazing work that happens here.

We welcome any Walmart associates who have made it to this special page and have placed a brief overview of our work here for your reference. Please don't hesistate to contact us if you have any questions or need more information.

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“I’m the perfect example of why Vermont women need this program. It’s changed the course of my life. Without it, I would have had to settle for $8.00 an hour, doing something I don’t find fulfilling. I feel confident and know I have the skills I need to succeed.”
Robin, crew member, correctional facility modular home program           

Mission
Vermont Works for Women helps women and girls recognize their potential and explore, pursue and excel in work that leads to economic independence.

• Nearly one-third of women who are single parents in Vermont live in poverty – in spite of the fact that they work full-time.
• Over half of women living in poverty are single women with no children.
• 23% of Vermont girls do not graduate with their high school class.
• The median annual salary of a female high school dropout is $10,000 less than that of her male counterparts.
• Seventy percent of all elderly people living in poverty are women

Imagine if all Vermont women were able to earn enough to support themselves and their families. 

At Vermont Works for Women, we’re addressing this social challenge with innovative solutions.  Our unique programming helps girls and women, ages 11 to 60 and from a wide diversity of backgrounds, engage their passions, live up to their true potential, and start on a path to sustainable economic independence. 

Why it matters.  Nontraditional jobs for women tend to offer higher wages, better benefits, and clearer opportunities for advancement than traditionally female jobs.  And research proves the link between job training and lower poverty rates. Investments in training can put Vermont women to work -- reducing dependency on government services and raising tax revenue.  Clearly, investing in girls and women is good for our communities and the economy.

Vermont Works for Women’s programs offer opportunities to explore different interests, to build confidence through mentoring or coaching, and to perfect skills through hands-on training.

For women
Some of our programs focus on non-traditional careers – building trades, renewable energy and efficiency, and law enforcement. Others support women new to the workplace with part-time transitional jobs, mentors and life skills classes.  For women coming into the community after incarceration, we provide a range of services that allow participants to form long-term relationships with a volunteer mentor, learn new skills and develop a plan for supporting themselves upon their release.

For girls
Eleven-year-old girls and economic independence?  Children develop opinions about their abilities at an early age. Our Rosie’s Girls Summer Program, a day camp for girls entering 6th to 8th grade, and other programs such as our annual Women Can Do conference for high school girls, introduce young women to technical activities and the skilled trades.   Our aim is not necessarily to encourage girls to choose a specific career but rather to help them develop the capacities and confidence to go forward in the world with eagerness and self-confidence – and with a sense that they can be or do whatever they wish.

Building confidence … teaching  skills … changing  lives.  Achieving economic independence is not a one-step process.  It’s a progression over time.  At Vermont Works for Women, we’re committed to supporting and inspiring women at every step along the way. Over 80% of our program graduates find jobs.  Good for them, good for their families and good for Vermont.

Dynamic, collaborative…anything but static.  Our programs reflect what’s happening in the marketplace and address the changing needs of women and girls.  Understanding these trends informs how we create new programs and adapt existing ones.  Working in partnership --  with local schools, businesses, public agencies, other non-profit organizations, program participants and parents -- is critical to our innovative culture.  We are fundamentally collaborative – it’s how we manage ourselves, how we approach program development, and how we engage with partners, public and private funders, and donors. 

“I noticed a huge increase in confidence.  She was excited and no longer fearful to try new things. This program is a huge confidence builder for young girls.”
Parent of a Rosie’s Girls participant

We need you! 

We invite you to partner with us in our efforts to build self-sufficient futures for Vermont girls and women.   Your support can make a difference … in the lives of women, their children and families, and our communities.

• Collaborate with us on a new program initiative
• Provide scholarship support for a Rosie’s Girl camper
• Become a mentor to a woman transitioning back to the community from a Vermont correctional facility
• Sponsor our annual Women Can Do conference
• Hire a program graduate
• Provide financial support through a tax-deductible contribution
• Share your ideas … we want to hear from you

Please join us.  Together, we can make Vermont Work for all women!