[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 70 (Friday, May 17, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E698-E699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN HONOR OF MARIANNE M. JONES ON HER SERVICE AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF 
               THE NEW HAMPSHIRE WOMEN'S FUND SINCE 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANN M. KUSTER

                            of new hampshire

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 17, 2013

  Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the tenth 
anniversary of Marianne M. Jones' tenure as the Executive Director of 
the Women's Fund of New Hampshire. Ms. Jones and the Women's Fund have 
long been synonymous, and it is with great pride and respect that I 
join others in honoring the person and the organization she has led.
  Marianne Jones joined the Women's Fund with extensive leadership 
experience in philanthropy and nonprofit management. She has brought 
her grant making, fundraising, and long-range, strategic planning 
expertise to the organization, enabling it to establish such innovative 
strategies as Giving Circles, Venture Philanthropy, and sophisticated 
media relations.
  The Women's Fund was founded in 1999, inspired by a desire among 42 
generous women and men to transform philanthropy from charitable giving 
to strategic investing in New Hampshire's women and girls. The Women's 
Fund originated in a passion to address the serious challenges facing 
women and girls in New Hampshire: a lack of child care and elder care, 
homelessness, domestic and sexual abuse, low wages, lack of access to 
comprehensive healthcare, and little job training opportunities. Over 
the last 15 years, the Women's Fund has grown to award over a million 
dollars to more than 250 non-profit programs throughout the state.
  The Women's Fund creatively brings together change-makers and grant-
makers to support solutions to these societal challenges. As a public 
foundation focusing all of its resources on New Hampshire's women and 
girls, the Women's Fund impacts over 25,000 residents of New Hampshire 
each year.
  One of its particularly inspiring commitments is to assist ``justice-
involved women'', those women who encounter the criminal justice 
system, whether in half-way houses, county jails or the state prison. 
To assist these women in taking steps towards fulfilling, productive 
lives, the Women's Fund recently published a comprehensive resource 
brochure that contains community information on a host of topics. The 
guide contains statewide contact and other information on services such 
as child care, clothing and food, crisis centers, recovery, housing, 
health care, transportation and others. While originally conceived as a 
resource guide for women upon their release from incarceration, the 
brochure is useful to a number of female populations, such as single 
mothers, women in the process of divorce, unemployed women, among 
others. Therefore, the Women's Fund entitled it: Community Resource 
Guide: Services for New Hampshire Women in Transition.
  Marianne Jones has been a tireless leader in encouraging philanthropy 
and in targeting the public's generosity to improve the lives of

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women and girls in New Hampshire. She is an advocate for social justice 
and a pioneer in bringing creativity and expression to those women, 
children and families in New Hampshire who represent the majority of 
people affected by poverty, domestic and sexual violence, unequal pay, 
job discrimination and a lack of access to adequate health care. She is 
a role model for all of us and a treasure to the State.

                          ____________________