Anna Minnis of St. John was one of over 260 attendees at the 108th annual convention of Kansas State Chapter of the P.E.O. Sisterhood held in Wichita. This years theme was “Wild, Wonderful Women Making a Difference”.
“It’s a wonderful, wonderful organization”, Minnis said. “I really enjoyed the convention.”
P.E.O., the acronym for Philanthropic Educational Organization, whose mission is promoting educational opportunities for women was founded in 1869 in Iowa, and has chapters in the U. S. as well as Canada.
Philanthropies sponsored by the P.E.O. international organization are:
Educational Loan Fund - a revolving fund that has made over $121 million in loans
Cottey College - a fully accredited two year liberal arts college for women located in Nevada, Mo., fully owned and operated by the P.E.O. Sisterhood since 1927 with 8,000 graduates
International Scholarship Fund - providing more than $24 million in scholarships for international women students to pursue graduate study in the U. S. and Canada
Program for Continuing Education - more than $32 million in need-based grants for women to resume their studies to support themselves and/or their families
Scholar Awards - With over $11 million in merit-based awards for women pursuing a doctoral level degree or engaged in postdoctoral research
Star Scholarship - providing over $600,000 in just two years to high school senior women wishing to pursue a post-secondary education.
In addition to these projects, Kansas State Chapter of the P.E.O. Sisterhood sponsors two state projects:
Sunflower Grants - provides one-time grants to any Kansas resident who needs financial assistance and may be unable to secure help from other resources
Kansas Cottey College Scholarships - providing scholarship funds for Kansas women who attend Cottey College.
In 2009-2010, Kansas P.E.O. in 265 chapters across the state gave more than $250,000 to the projects.
For more information, contact Anna Minnis 549-3420.
