Dick and Betsy DeVos support the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women through $100,000 sponsorship
March 9th, 2010 Posted by adminDick and Betsy DeVos support the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women through $100,000 sponsorship
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – MARCH 9, 2010 – The Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women has announced the renewal of Dick and Betsy DeVos to its Presidential sponsorship level with a donation of $100,000.
“The DeVos family’s generosity has been invaluable to the Institute,” said Terry Neese, founder and CEO of the Institute. “Because of them, women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Rwanda are expanding their businesses and creating more jobs for Afghans and Rwandans. Dick and Betsy are truly helping rev the engine of these countries’ economies.”
The Institute, a 501c3 organization, created the PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS program, which provides long-term business training to female entrepreneurs from Afghanistan and Rwanda. Education is provided in both countries, as well as in the United States. Since the program’s inception in 2006, 150 women have been directly trained and educated.
The Institute partners with Northwood University, an entrepreneurial school, to implement the program. The DeVos family has been longtime supporters of the university.
Afghan women participated in the program on Northwood’s Michigan campus in ’07 and ’08. In 2009, the program relocated to the Northwood University Dallas campus. The 2010 students will be in the United States for training June 4 – 24 in Dallas, Texas.
“We are proud to support the empowerment of women through entrepreneurship programs like PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS,” Betsy DeVos said. “Meeting the students and hearing their stories and the challenges they have overcome as women in war-torn countries is both inspiring and motivating to continue our fight for peace worldwide.”
Betsy DeVos serves as PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS chair, as well as chair of the Institute’s Corporate Advisory Council, both through which she provides counsel and guidance into the program’s development.
PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS is divided into three phases:1) In-Country Education, an intensive eight-week business course for 30 women in each country that culminates in the development of a business plan; 2) Leadership Development, where 15 students from each country are selected to travel to the United States for higher-level business and leadership training, as well as a weeklong mentorship with an American woman business owner and an International Women’s Economic Summit, a two-day conference focusing on the strength and contribution of women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Rwanda, the obstacles they face, and the free economy solutions to peace; and 3) Pay it Forward, where each student is committed to paying forward for one full year the blessings and knowledge she has received through the program to her fellow countrymen and women.
