LEXINGTON, Ky. - The founder of an organization that helps empower low-income women in Appalachia feels she's just won the lottery after finding out she's the $10,000 grand prize winner of a national contest by AARP. Jane Stephenson founded the New Opportunity School for Women in Berea nearly a quarter-century ago, and a prize of ten grand was announced last week for her charity as part of AARP's Create the Good "Win and Do Good" contest honoring community service by or for people age 50 and older.

Stephenson says the sweepstakes has drawn great publicity to her cause, while reinforcing a key mission of the New Opportunity School for Women: volunteering.

"And, it ties in so well with one component of our leadership development, because we are encouraging the women that come through our program to volunteer."

The executive director of the New Opportunity School for Women, Lori Sliwa, is overjoyed by the exposure it's given the organization, as recruitment has been a major problem. The program gives middle-aged women in Appalachia tools to improve their personal, financial and educational circumstances.

"It is giving them back their own power. Self-esteem is key; it's a core component to what we do. And we really help women re-ignite that fire within and realize their full potential."

Nearly 700 women have graduated from the program in its nearly-25-year history. And within those numbers, Sliwa boasts, there's a lot to brag about.

"79 percent of our graduates are employed, in school, or both. And the really incredible statistic is that 80 percent have completed some form of higher education; everything from an associate's to a master's degree, and we even have, I believe it's two, with PhDs."

Mimi Castaldi, vice president for volunteer engagement at AARP, says Jane Stephenson's record of commitment with the New Opportunity School for Women is a model of volunteerism the national contest sought to recognize. Castaldi hopes stories like Stephenson's will inspire other older Americans to "create the good" in their own communities.

"She started it 24 years ago. She was just about AARP's membership age when she started, just a little bit under 50. And, she's been going strong every since. And, what a difference she has made in that time period."

The New Opportunity School for Women is a free three-week career and leadership development program that teaches essential workplace skills for low-income women in the central Appalachian region.

Stephenson had already won $5,000 in AARP's regional volunteer contest. There were 1800 total entries in the sweepstakes, and public on-line voting determined the grand prize winner.






get more stories like this via email

While many Iowa families gather through this weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving in traditional ways with food and family, thousands of people take to the streets in Des Moines' 8th Annual Turkey Trot.

Some 5,000 athletes from 38 states and three countries converge on Iowa's capital city on Thanksgiving morning to run in the Turkey Trot.

Michael Zimmerman, director of Rip Roar Events and the Turkey Trot promoter, said Thanksgiving is the busiest running event of the year in the area, based on the number of participants who enter. He explained every year, the event builds camaraderie among family, friends and fellow runners.

"Anytime you put on a running event on a holiday, especially a holiday that has also the highest caloric intake of any day of the year, like Thanksgiving, you bring people down, you do something, you sweat together, you maybe suffer a little bit while you're running," Zimmerman outlined. "And maybe it helps to justify a second helping."

Race organizers have partnered with local charities to collect coats for children on Des Moines' north side and are also working with cancer and youth charities.

The race promoters noted they have faced a unique challenge this year which has nothing to do with a more difficult course or the weather, which last year featured snow flurries and subzero temperatures. This year, Zimmerman pointed out, everyone who finishes the race receives a mug of hot chocolate, and the key word is "hot."

"The biggest challenge that we have had with this year's race is figuring out how to heat 350 gallons of water and mix in hot chocolate to it," Zimmerman stressed. "So, I kid you not, our team is going to be boiling water, 10 gallons at a time on a six-burner stove, and we're going to be mixing in 240 pounds of hot chocolate, and serving it all within 45 minutes."

Every year, the event consists of three options for racers, a 5k course, a 5-mile course, and a shorter event for kids, called the "Tot Trot."

Two military veterans were honored this week for their community service at the Kentucky Veterans of the Year annual banquet, hosted by the Epilepsy Foundation of Kentuckiana.

Brownsville resident Mike Stoyonovich and Jo Ann Orr of Louisville each received a 2022 Veteran of the Year award. Guest speaker and the first Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame inductee, the Rev. Dr. James Thurman, said many veterans return home after honorable service only to see their fellow veterans struggling to meet basic needs. He said homelessness continues to be a top issue among vets.

"What really prompted me was to see those veterans on the street, sleeping in cardboard boxes and begging for food," said Thurman, coordinator with Kentucky State Veterans and a volunteer for AARP Kentucky. "After having served their nation, it just didn't seem right to me."

Kentucky veterans without shelter should call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-424-3838 for assistance. Those without phone or internet access can visit their closest VA medical center. According to the Housing Assistance Council, military veterans make up nearly 8% of Kentucky's population.

Advocacy groups across the state also are working to increase suicide-prevention resources. A 2019 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that on average, 17 veterans a day chose to end their lives. Thurman said he wants them to know there is support available. He encouraged them to research local chapters of the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

"We work with all of those organizations to help file claims for veterans," he said. "We work with homeless veterans. And here in the City of Lexington, we even formed a Veterans Service Commission."

This year, AARP also launched a new publication, called Veteran Report, that aims to raise awareness about issues facing vets and their families.

For some Minnesota small businesses, it's been harder to fully recover from major events of the past two years. A state grant program has a new round of funding for capital improvements, and partners say the goal is to get the money to areas of high need.

Minnesota is in its latest phase of the Main Street Economic Revitalization Program, established last year. One partner in distributing funding is the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, with a key focus on commercial corridors in the East Metro affected by the pandemic, civil unrest and other challenges.

Claire Thomas, economic development program manager for the East Side Neighborhood Development Company, said business owners of color have particularly struggled.

"A lot of those lifelines that were put out to businesses during the pandemic, like PPP loans, they really were able to help a lot of businesses," Thomas acknowledged. "But for a lot of micro businesses, BIPOC-owned businesses, those programs were still pretty tough to access."

Eligible businesses can apply for grants of up to $750,000 if they have had economic struggles going back to March 2020. They are required to secure matching funds, and the Foundation can assist with those needs.

State officials say in some cases around the state, the program helps Main Street corridors still reeling from events like natural disasters.

Brandon Toner, director of the office of small business partnerships for the Department of Employment and Economic Development, said while a large manufacturing plant might create a lot of jobs for a community, the impact of small businesses cannot be overlooked.

"These are places that make a city, or Main Street or a town, a place where people want to live, people want to spend money," Toner contended.

Three out of every four jobs in Minnesota are in businesses with fewer than 500 employees. In diverse communities in the East Metro, Thomas pointed out the locations have purposes which go beyond sales and service.

"So, whether it's a place for community members to gather, for them to get their basic needs met, or to be able to celebrate together," Thomas noted. "We have a lot of cultural and community centers."

Community partners are facilitating grants for targeted corridors elsewhere in Minnesota, including other parts of the Twin Cities, as well as communities like Worthington.