FRWRC award Dare to Dream Grants
The Front Royal Women’s Resource Center announced the recipients of their Dare to Dream grants.
A total of $10,100 was given to 10 local women with goals and dreams to better their lives.
Applications and support for future grants are found at the Front Royal Women’s Resource Center’s Website.
The 2021 Dare to Dream Grant Recipients
Hannah Derflinger is currently a sophomore studying psychology at Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg. As a first-generation college student, she values her education and understands how it will help her achieve her goals. Hannah is passionate about helping women who have been victims of violence and children in the foster system. She is looking forward to being able to give back to her community. The FRWRC is pleased to award $1,000 to Hannah to assist with tuition costs and her dream.
Diane Garber has had the dream to be a hairdresser since she was a little girl. As a single mom, Diane put her dream on hold until her youngest child started school. She is now attending beauty school and is looking forward to starting her career as a cosmetologist. She is putting in long hours to finish a 14-month program in under 12 months. Her future goals include becoming an instructor and teaching a class of her own and creating lots of beauty in Front Royal. The FRWRC is pleased to award $1,000 to Diane to assist with the cost of the cosmetology training.
Brittnay Johnson has a special love for her community and knows it well. She has worked for years at a local daycare center and currently works as a special education assistant in an elementary school. She also works part time for the Warren County Parks and Recreation Department as COVID-19 allows. Brittnay wants to continue her own learning and to start a podcast. The podcast will help her share her stories and those of others in the community. She wants to provide information and helpful tips about community services as well as provide a forum to discuss current issues. The FRWRC is pleased to award $1,000 to Brittany to help with education and startup costs for the podcast.
Viviane Knight is always learning and reflecting on her life vision. She describes “re-inventing” her career over the years from being a scientific researcher at a major pharmaceutical company to a quality assurance supervisor for a local plastics manufacturer. She was an owner/instructor of a Jazzercise Franchise and is currently a senior personal trainer at Fitness Evolution. She has also provided free fit-ness classes for women in a program she started in 2018. Wanting to challenge herself again, Viviane enrolled in the Kresser Institute ADAPT Functional Health Coach Training program. Her plan is to own her own business and serve others with a special passion for coaching women in the ‘silver season” of their lives. The FRWRC is pleased to award $1,000 to Viviane to help with tuition costs for her dream.
Becky Lanham is a Front Royal native who, after volunteering with Ameri-Corp in California and establishing a career in Chicago, came back home with her husband and son. She started her own massage therapy business in 2012. Through her continuing education courses, she found a new passion for holistic women’s health care and abdominal therapy. She currently offers abdominal therapy, womb centered health coaching and birth doula services. Becki is furthering her education to become a certified Reproductive and Sexual Health Educator and a Fertility Awareness Educator. She wants to be able to better serve women and offer local group workshops and classes. Becki is also writing a book about the menstrual cycle for teen girls and young adults. The FRWRC is pleased to award $1,000 to Becky to help with tuition costs.
Jillian Nemr is following her lifelong passion for science and a desire to help people as a doctor or nurse. She is on her way to achieving her dream as a nursing student at Lord Fairfax Community College (LFCC) while also working as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Warren Memorial Hospital. As a Registered Nurse, Jillian wants to work in the emergency room or the ICU. She plans to never stop learning and improving her skills. In the future, she hopes to work with the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders and be able to give care and comfort to those greatly affected by a lack of health care. The FRWRC is pleased to award the $1,000 Linda Taylor Memorial Grant to Jillian to assist with tuition costs. The Linda Taylor Memorial Grant is named for one of the FRWRC’s outstanding members and supporters who was a nurse in our community.
Jasmirah Roland‘s motto is “Tomorrow is a new day!” She is a single mom of two remarkable teen-age daughters who have inspired and motivated her to begin college again. Jasmirah is currently enrolled at LFCC in the Business Management Program while also pursuing her dream to become a successful writer. She is currently writing an autobiographical book in which she hopes to inspire women and help them understand their power to do anything they want. The FRWRC is pleased to award $1,000 to Jasmirah for the purchase of a computer and supplies to assist with her college work and her writing.
Toni Sauder and her husband own and operate the Bad Ass Pickle business. They currently sell their many flavored pickles at local farmers’ markets and events. Toni would like to see their business be able to expand into small stores. With growth, Toni knows she will need to keep better records and she plans to take a class on small business ownership and an accounting class. She would like to get an iPad to use for their POS system. The FRWRC is pleased to award $600.00 to Toni towards the purchase of an iPad and the growth of her business.
Jenny Statler grew up visiting Front Royal on weekends at her family farm. After managing a bar and starting a natural, biodynamic wine program in Manhattan, Jenny relocated to Front Royal, because of the COVID 19 pandemic, and is now following her dream to start a vineyard on her family farm. Using her work experience, extensive travel experience in the wine regions of Spain and Argentina, and her partnership with a business associate with nine years of experience in vineyard management and winery operations across the U.S., Jenny is aligning her creativity with growing a quality product for others to enjoy and to contribute to her community in Front Royal. She is currently writing local and federal grants to help get the vineyard off the ground. The FRWRC is pleased to award $1,000 to Jenny towards start-up costs for the vineyard.
Sophie Eackles is currently a junior at George Mason University studying communication with a concentration in media production and criticism. She graduated with high honors from LFCC and was in the top of her class at Skyline High School. She achieved all these milestones while battling a chronic illness, ulcerated colitis, for 11 years. After having surgery in March of 2020, Sophie required an ostomy bag. She began sharing her recovery experience while still in the hospital on her Instagram account, The Stoma Life, with the goal of helping others through the process and showing an example of how they can live happily and fully with an ostomy bag. The FRWRC is happy to support Sophie’s continuing studies at GMU with The Elaine Bromfield Memorial Scholarship of $1,500, presented annually to an outstanding Warren County woman pursuing higher education.
For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.
