by Carrie-Ann Jasper-Yearty
Over the past several years, I have had the privilege of serving local nonprofits by giving of my time, sharing my expertise, and investing financially. About three years ago, I invited my daughter, Ashley, into this part of my life by introducing her to Girls Invested in Volunteer Efforts (G.I.V.E.), an initiative of The Women’s Fund of Smith County. The G.I.V.E. program allows high school girls to experience the joy of collective giving and grant making by learning about philanthropy, becoming aware of community issues, and volunteering together.
Ashley joined G.I.V.E. to learn more about our community and the work being by different organizations, but she has continued coming back year after year because of the experience and what it has taught her. She better understands the numerous needs in our community and has an appreciation for the amazing work nonprofits are doing to meet those needs. She has enjoyed hearing from different nonprofits about what they do and about how they would use grant money to serve their clients. She has been impressed by the passion they have for the work they are doing and the care and love they have for the clients they serve. While fundraising for the G.I.V.E. grant, she discovered that raising money is hard work, but focusing on the end goal of being able to make a larger grant for a local nonprofit was very motivating. This past year, Ashley was able to use her talent of sewing to contribute to the G.I.V.E. grant and she learned about social entrepreneurship in the process. As she has performed community service, she has benefitted by being around other “givers” and has enjoyed working with and getting to know them.
As chair of this year’s G.I.V.E. program, my role has been to help high school girls realize how nonprofits impact communities and improve lives and how they can play a role in that, even at a young age. Each of us has something to offer to others and the women involved in this program are instilling generosity and selflessness by mentoring these young ladies. It has been rewarding to see Ashley and other high school girls grow throughout the school year as they participate, and my hope is that more girls would get involved in this program so we can continue to educate and empower the next generation to make a positive difference in their communities. I am grateful for the Women’s Fund of Smith County and so many other remarkable organizations that are on mission to serve and impact others.
Carrie-Ann serves as VP of People and Culture for Jasper Ventures, Inc. where she provides vision, leadership, and direction for her incredible team. Her team’s mission is to build people for God’s purpose, allowing them to use their God-given skills and abilities to solve problems for their clients in the oil and gas industry. Carrie-Ann currently serves on boards for Mentoring Alliance, Grace Community School, and NCF Texas, and invests time with Young Life Tyler committee. She is also a proud member of the Women’s Fund of Smith County and has been part of G.I.V.E. (Girls Invested in Volunteer Efforts) for three years. She encourages high school girls across Smith County to join so they can learn more about nonprofits and giving in our community. Please visit www.womensfundsc.org for information about membership and the G.I.V.E. program.