In 2022-23, we distributed $74,000 from the Wildflower Fund (Wildflower Run registrations, corporate sponsorships, and individual donations) in support of education and equity for women and girls. Funds raised were directed to the following:

Provide scholarships to high school girls graduating from Morgan Hill Unified School District (MHUSD) schools.

Some of our 2023  Scholarship recipients helping at the 2023 Wildflower Run

2023 High School Scholarship Recipients

Provide “Re-Entry” and “Deferred Entry” to local women reentering college after a gap in their education. Recipients may include women who have taken a break during college, women who have taken a break after high school before entering college, and/or women completing their GED at the Morgan Hill Community Adult School and now entering college.

All 2023 Re-Emtry/Deferred Entry scholarships were awarded to Morgan Hill Community Adult School graduates.

L-R: Mellisa Figueroa, Selena Gonzalez, Samantha Jones, Juanita Salinas

2023 Students Receiving Re-Entry / Deferred Entry College Scholarships

Provide “Lauren Jenkins Healthcare Profession Scholarships” to college students from the Morgan Hill area who are pursuing a degree in a healthcare profession.

Provide supplemental Keeping In Touch (KIT) grants to previous scholarship recipients to support them as they continue in their field of study.

Provide a “Fritts Family STEM Scholarship” to college women from Morgan Hill or Gilroy who are already in college and planning to graduate from a 4-year school with a STEM (science, technology, engineering or math) degree.

This is an endowed scholarship providing a $1000 scholarship each year for 10 years. No qualifying recipients were identified last year, so two scholarships were presented in 2023.

NEW: Provide two “Judy Kinker Memorial Scholarships”, established in memory of AAUW Morgan Hill member Judy Kinker.

This is an endowed scholarship, with $10,000 provided by Judy’s four daughters and an additional $2,000 by friends. One or two $1000 scholarships will be given each year from this fund while money remains. Recipient selection will be from among students applying in any of the above scholarship categories.

Ria Deshpande, one of the Kinker scholarship recipients, was a member of AAUW’s Young Women Leaders and one of their conference organizers and presenters.

Provide funding and mentorship for “Young Women Leaders”.

The annual Young Women Leaders Conference, cancelled in 2021 and 2022, was reestablished in 2023. This conference, organized and run by AAUW Morgan Hill’s Young Women Leaders is offered to Morgan Hill teens.

We would like to acknowledge and thank Silicon Valley Clean Energy for their generous grant to assist with conference expenses.

2023 Young Women Leaders’ Conference

Provide Community Action Grants to local non-profit organizations for projects whose goals are consistent with AAUW’s mission.

Sponsor a college student from Morgan Hill to participate in NCCWSL (National Conference for College Women Student Leaders).

NCCWSL is an annual national leadership conference for college women. Funding includes travel expenses plus conference registration.

NCCWSL Chairs, Cinda Meister and Marian Sacco, with recipient Chinazom Ofobuike

Provide scholarships to send MHUSD Middle School students to Tech Trek, an AAUW-sponsored one week math and science summer camp  for middle school girls.

In 2021 and 2022 Tech Trek was a virtual event. This year we were once again able to send students away to camp, and a virtual camp was also offered. Since Stanford University–our usual camp of choice–was not a Tech Trek destination this year, we instead sent 5 campers to Sonoma State, 4 campers to Fresno State, and 2 additional campers to the virtual camp. We were excited to be able to offer the Tech Trek experience to a record 11 students.

2023 Tech Trek campers at the 2023 Wildflower Run

Fund Morgan Hill’s Second Annual Community Earth Day Celebration, organized by AAUW Morgan Hill’s Climate Education and Action Committee.

We would like to thank Silicon Valley Clean Energy for an additional generous grant which defrayed some our event expenses.

Sponsor a Morgan Hill woman’s participation in the Leadership Morgan Hill class of 2023.

Underwrite national AAUW priorities. These include graduate fellowships for women, community action grants, pioneering research, public policy advocacy, legal advocacy, and leadership programs.

The $75,000 “Morgan Hill Wildflower Run Research and Projects Grant Endowment” (#4403) was established in 2014 and funding was completed with proceeds from the Wildflower Run in 2019. It now provides funding annually for community action and career development grants.

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Another branch endowment, the $100,000 “Blaine/Cate Endowment for Graduate Fellowships” (#1802) was completed in 2001. It funds an annual graduate or postgraduate fellowship.

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