Summerlin Club hands out annual grants for women on the rise

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams," Eleanor Roosevelt once said.

The nonprofit Women's Club of Summerlin is helping Las Vegas women achieve their dreams through its annual Dare to Dream grant program.

Five valley women were recently awarded grants worth $1,000 each and intended for use in furthering their education, skills training or business development.

The grants are needed "especially in this economic condition that we're in," said Sylvia DeChandt, chairwoman of the Dare to Dream committee. "I think women really need to be supported to achieve their goals, their dreams ... Someone said you can't achieve things in life unless you have a dream. As we're watching the Olympics, those people had dreams, and, rightly so, these local women have dreams."

One of this year's recipients is southwest Las Vegas resident Jesse Basinski, an Army National Guardsman who was in Iraq until about six months ago. She is studying civil engineering at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"That's why I did the military; I wanted to go to school full-time," she said. "I had tried to go to school before, working full-time and going to school. It was really tough, especially civil engineering, so this is helping to support me so that I can finish and hopefully stay in Las Vegas and see that Las Vegas has better roads, better bridges and buildings."

She had originally been employed as a field engineer on the East Coast. There, she expected to work her way up to a civil engineering position. But after she moved west, she learned requirements were stiffer here, and she needed a degree to work in that capacity.

"So, the five years experience I had from before meant nothing," she said. "It was kind of sad and depressing, but then I said, 'You know what? This will give me a chance to go back to school.' "

Being in the National Guard was a calculated move toward that goal. It helps pay for her schooling, but Basinski said the grant was a big help.

"If it wasn't for groups like this, it would not be as encouraging for women to complete college, and not just college but degrees that are male-dominated like civil engineering," she said. "The fact that a professional group wants to support women ... makes me endeared to this group."

She was so endeared, Basinski said she plans to join the Women's Club of Summerlin when her career is established.

Another grant recipient is northwest Las Vegas resident Maria O'Brien, a single mother and a student at the College of Southern Nevada with a dream of teaching second grade. The money will go toward her tuition.

She said teaching would help her provide a better life for her 2-year-old daughter and newborn son.

O'Brien is a cocktail waitress at the Golden Gate, 1 Fremont St. A co-worker, Barbara Wolfe, suggested she apply for the grant. Wolfe was on the Dare to Dream committee and knew that O'Brien was aiming for a degree in education.

O'Brien was also pregnant and close to her due date. Between work, school and caring for her daughter, she found it difficult to carve out time for the grant submission, which required an essay on how she would use the money.

"It was kind of funny because I didn't have time to type it up, so I had handwritten my essay," she said. "I want to be a teacher, a good role model for my daughter and my unborn child. I think it's really important ... I think if you educate a woman, you educate your community."

She gave birth to a baby boy about the time the grant money was awarded.

Grant recipient and Spring Valley resident Julia Graves is working on completing the Alternative Routes to Licensure program with the Clark County School District and is teaching special education at Cashman Middle School, 4622 W. Desert Inn Road. Her dream is to complete her master's degree in special education at UNLV and ultimately purchase a home.

As a substitute teacher, she sometimes filled in for her mother's special education class, and that experience cemented her goal, said her mother, Maria Martin.

"She always thought that after high school, she wanted to be a teacher, but it wasn't until she was substituting, I think, that she knew exactly whether she wanted an elementary or general ed classroom," or some other category, Martin said.

Martin said it made her feel good that her daughter was following in her footsteps.

"We enjoy talking shop," she said.

Other grant recipients are: Marina Alves-Ideue, who attends Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts and is studying to become a pastry chef; and Lana Licata, who plans to take her life in a different direction after attending New Horizons Computer Learning Center with a position at the Nathan Adelson Hospice.

The Dare to Dream program is only one of the good deeds the Women's Club of Summerlin does. Since its inception in 2001, it has raised funds for groups such as Baby's Bounty, S.A.F.E. House, Child Focus, the Muscular Dystrophy Family Foundation and The Rape Crisis Center. To date, the club has donated more than $375,000 in cash and items.

The Women's Club of Summerlin Inc. plans to host its annual fundraising event at 6 p.m. Oct. 18 at the JW Marriott, 221 N. Rampart Blvd. This year's proceeds will benefit the Dare to Dream grant program. Female grant applicants must be 21 or older and reside in the Las Vegas Valley.

Attendees will enjoy an evening of dancing and entertainment by Shades of Sinatra. Expect a raffle and a silent auction of select high-end items. A wide array of heavy hors d'oeuvres will be served.

Tickets to the event are $75 for individuals and $700 for a table of 10. To purchase tickets, visit womensclubof summerlin.org or call 804-5188.

Contact Summerlin/Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.