Dare to dream. That’s at the heart of the mission of the Ann Bancroft foundation.
Last week, the organization raised more than $157,000 during its annual fundraising celebration.
That money helps the non-profit provide more scholarships to girls across Minnesota. The Dare to Dream Grants fund art, cultural, leadership, educational, & outdoors/wilderness experiences for girls in grades 4 through 12, allowing them to begin exploring the outside world and begin recognizing their own abilities, values and strengths in the process. Other grants are for girls K-12.
I’Monie Mickey, 11, is one of grant recipients. She decided to empower herself after dealing with bullies in school.
“I was getting bullied a lot. I asked my mom if I could take karate,” she said. “Everytime someone tries to bully me I try to relax but I can’t. Karate helps me feel strong.”
Now that I’Monie has changed schools, she says the bullying stopped. And her mother, LaToya Surratt, said she still wants her daughter to operate with confidence and reach her goals.
“I just want to boost her confidence up as well as protect her. I wanted to find that place that would give her the confidence she needed to protect herself when I wasn’t there,” she said.
“It is very hard to know you can’t be on the bus with your kid. You can’t be there every minute.”
When I’Monies mom had to chose between bills and karate, her daughter was crushed.
“It got expensive. She kept saying, ‘mom I want to go back. Can I get to karate,’” she said.
That’s when a someone told Surratt about the foundation. She says, without the $509 grant her daughter would still struggle with self-esteem and confidence.
In 2018, the foundation awarded 171 Minnesota girls more than $81,000 to help fund their dreams during its fall grant cycle.
ABF accepts grant applications twice a year, in fall and spring. Applications are available at: http://www.annbancroftfoundation.org/grant-programs/