WLS Foundation

The WLS Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation that provides financial assistance to qualified law students and local community organizations.

The Foundation conducts an annual fundraiser, the ArtFest, each Fall. The ArtFest includes dinner, live music, artwork from local artists and a silent auction. The proceeds benefit grants to local charitable organizations assisting women and children, as well as scholarships to outstanding law students in need.

MISSION STATEMENT

Women Lawyers of Sacramento Foundation is the charitable arm of Women Lawyers of Sacramento. This charitable organization seeks to address the unmet needs of women and children and raises funds to support legal educational opportunities and community programs that satisfy these needs.

CHARITABLE GRANTS

In 2011, the WLS Foundation awarded $5,500 in grants to non-profit community organizations for projects that support women and children. The following is a summary of the monies awarded:

California Coalition for Youth ($1,500):
$1,500 to the California Coalition for Youth to support
the expansion of its 24 hour crisis hotline to include
counseling on-line via instant chat services in order to
provide access to youth utilizing non-traditional communication.
The California Youth Crisis Line is a 24 hour hotline available
to provide emergency response to youth and families experiencing
homelessness, suicide, sexual assault/rape, domestic or
relationship violence, cutting, human trafficking,
LGTBQ issues, and other issues.

Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services ($1,500):
$1,500 to Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services to
support the Mother-Baby Program’s Cloth Diapering Project
to purchase cloth diapering supplies for
785 Sacramento area families.
The Cloth Diapering Project consists of a series of
parent education classes focused on the benefits of cloth diapers
and proper use in order to introduce parents to an
environmentally friendly and sustainable diaper option,
which assists low-income families to leverage
limited funds to use for other parenting necessities.

River City Food Bank ($1,000):
$1,000 to River City Food Bank to provide funds to purchase
healthy foods to include in its emergency food rations to
Sacramento’s hungry residents. River City Food Bank's
core focus is emergency food services which entails
a nutritionally balanced three-day emergency food supply
up to once a month to eligible clients.
River City’s mission was deterred last year
when their facility was the subject of an arson attack
which destroyed their building and 10,000 pounds of food.

Loaves & Fishes’ Maryhouse ($500):
$500 to Loaves & Fishes’ Maryhouse to purchase
all-day bus passes to provide homeless women transportation
to crucial medical and/or government assistance appointments.
Loaves & Fishes’ Maryhouse provides personal attention
to the immediate physical and emotional needs
of women over 18 who are in crisis and need assistance
identifying the reasons for their homelessness.

My Sister’s House ($500):
$500 to My Sister’s House to purchase gas cards and
other gift certificates to award to clients who
regularly attend the Women to Work program.
The 16-week Women to Work Program assists survivors of
domestic violence attain self-sufficiency through
gainful employment or a better work position
by focusing on topics including preparing for an interview,
resume writing, and dressing for success. The Committee
also intends for My Sister’s House to use the funds
to purchase the much needed lighter and more durable
presentation board described in its proposal.

Community Against Sexual Harm ($500):
$500 to Community Against Sexual Harm (CASH) to fund the
development and implementation of surveys to learn how
victims of sexual exploitation are able to make
positive changes in their lives and what facilitates
such changes. CASH is a community based program
that provides education and peer support to women who
have been victims of sexual exploitation, including a
drop-in center open three nights a week
to provide a safe place for non-judgmental support.

2012 Grant Information

The WLS Foundation anticipates that it will again award grants to non-profit community organizations for projects supporting women and children. Information regarding criteria and applications for these grants will be available in early 2012. Applications will be due in approximately April 2012 and awarded in approximately June 2012.

Any questions should be directed to the Grants and Awards co-chairs Rebecca Dietzen rebecca@farrelllawgroup.com and Amy Halloran amy@williamslawassociates.com.


Sacramento Child Advocates	Wellspring Women's Center	Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services

WLS SCHOLARSHIPS

Since it was founded in 1962, Women Lawyers of Sacramento has encouraged women to enter and excel in the legal profession. In furtherance of this goal, WLS provides various scholarships to deserving law students in the Sacramento area. Several scholarships are available to first and second year law students; while another is exclusively for graduating law students for assistance with expenses related to study of the California bar examination.

In 2011, WLS plans to award up to four scholarships with a maximum award of up to $1,500 each. The number of scholarships and the amount of funds per scholarship will be determined upon review of the applications received.

The WLS Scholarship
WLS awarded the first WLS Scholarship in 1966, when it awarded $250 to Barbara McCallum. Ms. McCallum was a student at McGeorge School of Law who later served as president of WLS. The WLS Scholarship is awarded to a financially needy first or second year law student whose achievements are consistent with WLS's goals of advancing the position of women in law and society, but who may not meet the criteria applicable for WLS's other scholarships.

Deadline to apply for the 2011 WLS Scholarship is September 9, 2011. For more information, please click here.

Virginia Mueller and Lucy Amerson
present Barbara McCallum with
the first WLS Scholarship in 1966

The Margaret A. Flynn Scholarship
In 1983, WLS established the Margaret A. Flynn Scholarship in honor of Sacramento County's first woman judge. Her appointment to the Sacramento County Municipal Court bench in 1964 was the result of WLS's first organized effort to get a woman appointed to the bench. A graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law, Judge Flynn served as Deputy Legislative Counsel, Principal Research Attorney and Clerk of the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District. Judge Flynn had a quick mind, an assertive manner and little patience for red tape detail. The Margaret A. Flynn Scholarship is awarded to a financially needy first or second year law student who has engaged in exemplary community service. Special consideration is given to candidates whose community service has benefited women and/or children.

Deadline to apply for the 2011 Margaret A. Flynn Scholarship is September 9, 2011. For more information, please click here.

The Frances Newell Carr Scholarship
In 1992, WLS established a scholarship in honor of Justice Frances Newell Carr. The daughter of migrant farm workers, Frances Carr often switched schools and quickly learned to take advantage of whatever educational opportunities were available. Naturally competitive, she learned to cut more grapes than anyone else by the time she was ten years old. She decided to become a lawyer because "all the important men were always lawyers." She worked her way through college and law school, graduating from Boalt Hall School of Law in 1948. She and another woman classmate had difficulty finding employment until they found a lawyer who offered to let them both work full-time for a single $200 a month salary. Frances Carr was a founding member and the first president of WLS. In 1975, she became the first woman appointed to the Sacramento County Superior Court. Five years later, she was elevated to the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, where she served until her death in 1991. The Frances Newell Carr Scholarship is awarded to a financially needy first or second year law student with an outstanding academic record. Special consideration is given to candidates who have overcome personal adversity.

Deadline to apply for the 2011 Frances Newell Carr Scholarship is September 9, 2011. For more information, please click here.

The Virginia S. Mueller Scholarship
In 1997, WLS established a scholarship in honor of Virginia S. Mueller, a trail-blazing Sacramento lawyer who has worked tirelessly to advance the position of women in the legal profession. This scholarship is available to third year (fourth year evening) students studying for the bar examination. Virginia Mueller has practiced law for over half a century, having become a member of the California Bar upon graduation from Cornell University Law School in 1946. In 1959, she was hired as the first woman Deputy in the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office. She was hired, District Attorney John Price recalls, in spite of her gender; she simply was clearly the most qualified candidate. Virginia Mueller was a founding member of WLS and served as its second president. Through her leadership positions in WLS, the National Asociation of Women Lawyers and many other organizations, Virginia Mueller has vigorously worked to end all forms of discrimination against women. Special consideration is given to candidates who have worked to expand opportunities for historically disadvantaged persons.

Deadline to apply for the 2012 Virginia S. Mueller Scholarship is March 20, 2012. For more information, please click here.

The Karen Pedersen Stevens Scholarship
In 2008, WLS established a memorial scholarship in honor of Karen Pedersen Stevens. A passionate advocate for women’s rights, Karen Pedersen Stevens was instrumental in helping the Senate Judiciary Committee draft California’s “no-fault” divorce law. In 1973, she graduated from McGeorge School of Law, and immediately began her involvement in promoting women in the profession. Karen Pedersen Stevens was a founding member of California Women Lawyers, and she later served as a president of Women Lawyers of Sacramento. Her service and dedication to the legal community included her involvement on the Attorney General’s Women’s Rights Task Force, State Bar’s board of governors, California Young Lawyers’ board of governors, and UOP McGeorge School of law board of directors. In 2007, SCBA selected Karen Stevens as the posthumous recipient of the Distinguished Attorney of the Year Award. The Karen Pedersen Stevens Scholarship is awarded to a financially needy first or second year law student who either has an interest in pursuing a legal career in family law and/or an individual who has provided assistance to women and/or children. Special consideration is given to individuals who have a desire to start their own family law practice.

Deadline to apply for the 2011 Karen Pedersen Stevens Scholarship is September 2, 2011. For more information, please click here.

DONATIONS

Donations may be made payable to "WLS Foundation" and sent to:

WLS Foundation
Women Lawyers of Sacramento
P.O. Box 936
Sacramento, CA 95812