On Wednesday, Emerge Vermont, the state’s premiere organization that recruits and trains Democratic women to run for office, launched a new scholarship initiative aimed at eliminating financial barriers for women preparing to run for office.
The Lift As We Rise Scholarship Fund will support emerging women leaders by providing tuition assistance to program members in need.
“Emerge Vermont is dedicated to ensuring that any woman who wants to run for office has access to our essential training opportunities,” said Elaine Haney, executive director.
Women who train with Emerge Vermont often experience financial challenges not just in affording tuition, but also in taking time off work, paying for childcare, and traveling. Emerge Vermont’s signature training is a four-month, comprehensive program on the skills and tools necessary to run a successful campaign. In January the organization will begin training its Class of 2022.
“We believe no woman accepted into our program should be prevented from participating due to lack of resources,” stated Haney.
“Emerge Vermont is committed to increasing the diversity of the women who train with us, run for office, and get elected statewide,” said Cabinet member Kanika Gandhi. “Our scholarship fund will improve women’s accessibility to the skills and tools needed to campaign.”
Emerge Vermont Cabinet Members created the Lift As We Rise Scholarship Fund to support emerging women leaders training with Emerge Vermont by providing tuition assistance to program members in need. Their goal is to raise $10,000 to help remove financial barriers for future women leaders to get the training they need to run and get elected.
For more information about the Lift As We Rise Scholarship Fund visit https://vt.emergeamerica.org/lift-as-we-rise-scholarship-fund/.