Jane P. Wilkie honored at Spirit of Women’s Philanthropy breakfast

The Delaware Community Foundation’s Fund for Women presented its 2011 First Founders Award to Jane P. Wilkie at a breakfast event Oct. 19 at the University & Whist Club in Wilmington.

Through her hands-on volunteer work and her community outreach, Wilkie has helped increase charitable giving and grow services to Delawareans in need at many organizations, including Epiphany House, Survivors of Abuse in Recovery and the YWCA.

At the Epiphany House, Wilkie volunteers as a cook and a mentor to homeless women.

“The women who reside at Epiphany House are beginning the difficult work of rebuilding their lives after years of chaos and abuse,” said Marcy Perkins, director of women’s ministry at Epiphany House’s parent organization, Friendship House. “She enthusiastically affirms their hopes and dreams. She is a good friend and faithful supporter of these women who often have very little support in their lives.”

Wilkie has singlehandedly recruited dozens of donors and raised thousands of dollars for both the Fund for Women and the YWCA, said Maria Taylor, a Fund for Women founder and member of the YWCA board. Over the past three years at SOAR, Wilkie has raised more money than any other individual or corporation, Executive Director Valerie Marek said.

“SOAR has doubled in size and budget over the past six years, growing from serving 1,000 victims per year to serving 2,000 victims per year. Jane’s energy, dedication, leadership and fundraising efforts have been a catalyst to enable this,” she said.

Wilkie taught English as a second language at Delaware Technical Community College for 29 years before retiring in 2007. Upon retiring, Wilkie started building an endowment fund at the Delaware Community Foundation, donating each year until it was large enough to support a scholarship for international students.

In March 2010, Ojong Bate, a biotechnology major and native of Cameroon, was awarded the first Jane P. Wilkie Endowment Scholarship for International Students at the Stanton/Wilmington Campus. The $500 award helped Ojong cover the cost of tuition, fees and books that semester, and the scholarship was renewed this fall.

Now in its 18th year, the Fund for Women channels the collective philanthropy of women to support programs benefiting women and girls in Delaware. To accomplish its work, the fund has recruited more than 1,200 founders, who commit to giving $1,000 to the endowment fund, which may be spread over five years. The Fund for Women has surpassed its original goal of recruiting 1,000 founders to establish a $1 million endowment and has established a new goal of $2 million. For more information or to become a founder, visit www.delcf.org/ffw.

Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, the Delaware Community Foundation manages charitable funds for individuals, families, businesses and organizations, and distributes income from the funds as grants to humanitarian, educational, health and cultural entities throughout the First State. With more than 1,200 funds, $225 million in assets and annual grants of about $15 million, the foundation provides a lasting source of charitable funding to benefit Delawareans today and for generations to come.

For 25 years, the foundation has been connecting people who care with the causes they care about, helping to make Delaware a better place to live and work. For information, call 302-571-8004 in Wilmington or 302-856-4393 in southern Delaware or visit www.delcf.org.