(L-R) Cuivre River Electric Cooperative (CREC) Director Denise O’Mara, Sparrow’s Nest Founder/Executive Director Carissa Figgins, and CREC Manager of Finance and Accounting Susan Dollins celebrate a $10,000 Sharing Success grant from CREC and CoBank. Funds will help provide housing outreach for young women who are pregnant, parenting, and displaced or homeless.
CUIVRE RIVER ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.
Member Newsletter September 2016
The Sparrow’s Nest in St. Charles County has been nominated by the Cuivre River Electric Cooperative Board of Directors, and recently selected to receive a $10,000 “Sharing Success” challenge grant sponsored by CoBank of Denver.
The grant is jointly funded by Cuivre River and CoBank, a financial partner who seeks to recognize and support the work of non-profit organizations across the United States.
“The generous grant will have a positive impact on our young women and their babies – one that words simply cannot describe,” says Sparrow’s Nest Founder/Executive Director Carissa Figgins. Through their Sharing Success partnership, Cuivre River and CoBank each contributed $5,000.
Funds will help the Sparrow’s Nest provide long-term housing outreach to aid young women who are still growing up themselves, yet are displaced or homeless while pregnant and parenting.
“The Sparrow’s Nest provides a Christ-centered shelter for young women during their pregnancy, as well as up to a year after their baby is born,” says Figgins. “We become an extension of a young woman’s family while she continues her education, explores her faith, and volunteers back into the community as she strengthens her parenting skills.”
Young mothers and mothers-to-be continue their education while living at the maternity home and learning other life skills. “The Sharing Success grant will help us in our mission to provide these young women with a wide range of services that empower them to make positive and healthy life decisions for themselves and their babies,” says Figgins.
