I am honored to award this eleventh Cheap Therapy Pay it Forward Grant to the Believing is Seeing Program sponsored by the High Country Women’s Fund!   This inventive and effective program educates and supports women living in the face of adversity in Avery or Watauga County, NC.  Topics include self understanding & development, stress management, coping mechanisms, communication skills, goal setting and long term planning.

The Believing is Seeing Program will receive $500 with two small strings attached:  they’ll Pay it Forward to others and let me know about it.

I received more than 150 applications for this Pay it Forward Grant.  Choosing one winner was difficult, to say the least.   The original group was narrowed to 25.  That group was narrowed to five.

I’d like to thank and cheer everyone who applied.  I’d especially like to recognize these other four from the ‘top five’:

• YvonneBarady – a cancer survivor who now (in addition to many other things)creates wigs and enhances the lives of other people fighting the cancer war;
• Marie Wikle –  who works wonders through Spreading Joy Corporation;
• Vickie McMullen – who has a clear vision of establishing an agency to help children as they age out of the foster care system;  and
• Christina Sampson – a teacher turned personal chef who wants to do more to teach others to feed their families in a healthy way.

The next Cheap Therapy Pay it Forward Grant will be awarded January 1, 2010.  Find out more here.

On a personal note, this Grant process is an honor on so many levels.  Thanks to you all for all the ways you Pay it Forward.