By Samantha Johnson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on April 19, 2023.
reporter@medicinehatnews.com Supporting women in education, the Philanthropic Education Organization has numerous scholarships it awards each year. The Florence E. Taylor Charitable Foundation Scholarship, worth $1,000, is awarded each year to students in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The local PEO chapter recently held an informal social to attract new members. Jan Dynes, corresponding secretary, said, “All of our scholarships are given out on an annual basis, and some have different times. March is the beginning of our new year and we have a change of the executive and a change of people who are working on the different scholarship committees.” They decided to hold the informal gathering for women who might be interested in membership or wanted to know more about the PEO. “People would want to join because we are supportive of the education of women, that is our main focus. We fundraise every year to contribute to the scholarships that are available to applicants. PEO is called a sisterhood because we support each other,” explained Dynes. The members get together informally for coffee and to celebrate birthdays. Their fundraising activities are often seasonal, selling chocolates at Christmas or the current gardening/flower one. Martha Munz Gue is the chair of the 2023 FE Taylor Scholarship committee and said two of the 2022 scholarship recipients were at the social to talk about their process. She plans to get the word out to local high schools about the scholarship, which is open to students in either their first or second year of post-secondary education. Applicants should be committed to academic goals, be involved in their school or community in some aspect and have a financial need for the award. For more information on all the scholarships the PEO offers, visit http://www.peoab-sk.ca or http://www.peointernational.org. 10