Red Bluff women win Girls Inc. awards
Two Red Bluff women, Kim Berry and Amy Schutter, were honored at a May 17 award ceremony for Girls Inc. of the Northern Sacramento Valley at the Strong, Smart Bold Brunch at Riverview Golf and Country Club in Redding.
Berry, along with Pat Allison and Danielle Brewster, was named a recipient of the 2015 Strong, Smart and Bold Community Service Award. The awards are given to community members whose personal, professional or volunteer contributions have benefitted youth, women or both, according to a Girls Inc. press release.
Berry is the founder of The Back to School Project, which started in Tehama County in 2004. It has ensured that more than 2,000 children have gone back to school with pride, dignity and self-worth.
Income-qualified children are partnered with a mentor, who takes them back-to-school shopping with $100 for new clothing, shoes and backpacks. Free haircuts and photos are provided for all children.
Berry was inspired to create the Back to School Project after struggling as a single parent. To serve even more children, she and her organization developed The Ultimate Spelling Bee Challenge — a fun-filled adult and youth spelling bee — in 2014.
“It was awesome,” Berry said of receiving the award. “I’ve received some recognition in the community before and I’m honored by each, but this one was special because of what I’ve overcome in life. I’d had things working against me and with what (Girls Inc.) stand for and what they are trying to do, it makes this even more awesome.”
While applications will go out June 8-10 at Lariat Bowl, the organization is proud to announce that it has funding to take about 300 children shopping in 2015, Berry said.
Schutter, the recipient of the Barbara McIver Award, is the Shasta College Director of Grant Development and a founding board member of Girls Inc. of the Northern Sacramento Valley. She has served as Girls Inc. NSV’s Board Treasurer and Board President, and devoted countless hours to the local non-profit’s development, according to the release.
Schutter always had a clear vision for Girls Inc. in its infancy and was instrumental in thinking through its policies and procedures.
In addition to Girls Inc., Schutter has been key to advancing the newly formed grants office at Shasta College, gaining an impressive amount of funding. Her grant work experience has included the Career Pathways Trust, Trio Student Support Services and the Prevention of Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence on Campus.
Previously, Schutter was the Director of Student Support Services for the Tehama County Department of Education. Schutter is also one of the original founders of V-Day Tehama-Shasta, a group of women who annually put on a local production of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues.” The performances raise money for local non-profits like Girls Inc., which help end violence against women and girls.
“I am honored to be recognized by Girls Inc., particularly for this award which is named after my good friend, mover and shaker Barbara McIver,” Schutter said. “Growing up in Tehama County, I really wanted to be a part of building an organization and a movement that helped our girls value themselves and realize their potential in life, both within and beyond the boundaries of our small communities. Girls Inc.’s mission of inspiring girls to be strong, smart and bold really speaks to my heart.”
Girls Inc. NSV has provided empowerment skills to girls in Shasta and Tehama counties since 2006. Its programs teach girls media literacy, economic literacy, leadership and community action, stress management, self-defense and healthy relationships.