Dissolving professional group donates remaining funds for McHenry County College scholarships

A women’s professional group that dissolved earlier this year decided to donate its remaining funds to the Education to Empowerment fund at McHenry County College, the college said.

Comprised of 30 women in business, the former Women in McHenry County group presented the fund with a check for $10,000, which will be used to fund a Education to Empowerment scholarship next year, according to a news release.

Education to Empowerment is a scholarship and mentoring opportunity for women offered through the Friends of MCC Foundation. The scholarship provides $10,000 in funding for each student that can be applied toward tuition, books and fees for a recipient’s last year at MCC and first year at an accredited four-year institution.

“We are very fortunate to have been able to give our remaining scholarship funds to another organization, Education to Empowerment, that shared in our vision to financially assist women looking to advance their education,” Kristine Breneisen, former president of WiM3, said in a statement.

Education to Empowerment, or E2E, began in 2013 with the goal of bringing together 100 influential women in McHenry County, according to the release. Each woman donates $1,000 each year. To date, the program has awarded $420,000 in scholarships to 47 female MCC students.

“We’re so thankful to Women in McHenry County for their generous donation to the E2E program,” said Jessica Rizza, Friends of MCC Foundation’s development coordinator. “The $10,000 donation will be used to fund one additional scholarship in 2022, meaning that one additional woman at MCC will have her second year funded and will be supported at her transfer institution. It truly will change a woman’s life.”