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By John Darling
Sometimes young women who are smart and motivated to go to college don't get on track because their family has a background of poverty, unwanted pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse or an attitude that no one in the family has ever gone to college and it's probably going to stay that way.
Five years ago, a small group of elderly local women set out to change that. Retired teacher Cornelia Tomes kicked in $60,000 and, with the help of nurse Peg Bowden and historian Carol Barrett, set up the Fairy Godmothers - older women helping pay the tuition of young Jackson County women through the first two years of college.
"We look for a spark when we interview the girls," said Faye Hutchings, 68, chairwoman of the Fairy Godmothers. "When they come in the room and you look at them, somehow you just know."
The Godmothers value decent grades and SAT scores, but the focus is on "what kind of person this is," said member Bea Badley, 86.
To learn about the girls, the Godmothers ask them to write answers to such questions as, "When I try to talk about things that are important to me, I ..." and "If I didn't have to worry about my image, I would ..."
Tomes set up the fund because she realized that while she'd had a wonderful life as a professor largely because she'd been able to get through college, many young women's opportunities are cut short, Hutchings said.
Tomes set up the Godmother fund within the Rogue Valley Manor Foundation. After her death, the other Godmothers embarked on fund raising at the Manor and in the community, resulting in creation last year of an endowment now topping $25,000. Many donors are leaving bequests to the Godmothers in their wills.
The administration of the program is done entirely by volunteers, so administrative overhead is virtually nonexistent - meaning all the money goes to the girls, said Hutchings. Donations may be made to the Fairy Godmother Fund at Rogue Valley Manor Foundation, 1200 Mira Mar Ave., Medford, OR 97504.
So far, 62 scholars have received a total of $160,000. To keep getting the awards, averaging about $1,500 a year, recipients must maintain at least a "C" average, carry 12 units, go to college in Oregon, avoid becoming pregnant and stay off drugs.
Godmother scholars have graduated to such fields as business, nursing, engineering and environmental studies. Many are nurses and teachers in the Rogue Valley now.
Local Godmother scholars speak of their mentors in near-reverent tones.
"It gave me the greatest opportunity and I met the most wonderful people through it," said Jaime Kinstler, 22, finishing her master's degree at Southern Oregon University and headed for a teaching career.
"I knew when I was a senior at Prospect High that I was going somewhere in life. I just didn't know how. I was shy. No one in my family had ever gone to college. But my mom and all the people who helped me - I want to live up to their standard."
When her scholarship ended, Kinstler became a Godmother herself, serving on the board of directors and mentoring Joanna Vitale-Land, 20, a graduate of Eagle Point High and now a sophomore at SOU studying journalism and elementary education.
"I have five sisters at home and we're in the lower income range," Vitale-Land said. "But I was very determined to go, to do it on my own as much as possible and to make my parents proud of me. The Godmothers have given me unbelievable support and motivation and I love the circle of women."
The Godmothers' work goes beyond getting a better education and careers. It's a bond reaching from one generation of women to another, members say.
"It's such a lovely age," reflected Hutchings. "This fund has been my passion and I count all these girls among my friends. I feel that, through them, I can have an impact on the future."
Badley nodded. "It's tremendously rewarding. It feels good that these are the people we're going to turn the world over to."
This article appeared in the Medford Mail Tribune in late January, 2003.
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