Women’s Fund partners with art students to create card design

Joe Lyons • March 8, 2023

ASHLAND – Members of Ashland High School’s National Art Honor Society enjoyed the design challenge of creating art for specific purpose, based on the needs of a real client, on a deadline.

The approximately two dozen students who attended the afterschool session had an hour and a half to design and create artwork that could be featured on a greeting card for the Mother’s Day Card Initiative of the Women’s Fund of Ashland County Community Foundation. Women’s Fund Steering Committee members will select a winning design for use on this year’s Mother’s Day cards.

Each year at Mother’s Day, the Women’s Fund of Ashland County Community Foundation invites donors and community members to honor or remember special women in their lives with a gift to the Women’s Fund.

During the initiative period, which runs through April 20, donors can make a contribution in any amount and designate one or more honorees. Then the Women’s Fund sends a card to the women being honored, or the families of the women being remembered, the week of Mother’s Day.

These cards have become an annual tradition for many Ashland County families, symbolizing the power of women supporting women and men honoring women.

Through last year’s Mother’s Day Card Initiative, 333 women were honored or remembered, and $17,350 was placed in the Women’s Fund.

In past years, the artwork on the front of the cards was created by Sue Shafer, a local artist and a founding member of the Women’s Fund Steering Committee.

When Shafer decided to step down from her role as card artist for the initiative, she encouraged committee members to feature a variety of new and emerging local artists.

This sparked the committee’s idea to involve local art students in the card’s creation. Connie Marble, a retired teacher and a member of the Women’s Fund Steering Committee, made arrangements with AHS art teachers Cameron Dedrick and Nancy Boyer to make the project a design contest for the NAHS students.

“I always think it’s great to get students involved in community activities, for them to be aware of what we’re doing,” Marble said. “And it’s a source of pride for our community that our students’ talent never ceases to amaze.”

Marble worked with the art teachers to select six pieces of student artwork. Members of the Women’s Fund Steering Committee will choose from the finalists’ designs.

The Women’s Fund’s card designs are traditionally kept secret until they are distributed. This allows recipients to be surprised when they open their card the week of Mother’s Day. The winning student’s name and his or her card design will be announced publicly in May, after the cards are mailed.

For more information about the Mother’s Day Card initiative or to honor or remember a loved on with a Mother’s Day gift to the Women’s Fund, visit www.ashlandforgood.org/mothers-day-initiative.

About Ashland County Community Foundation: Ashland County Community Foundation advances philanthropy and improves the quality of life in Ashland County by connecting people who care with causes that matter. ACCF has awarded over $25 million in scholarships, grants and distributions.

About the Women’s Fund: The Women’s Fund is a permanently endowed fund held at Ashland County Community Foundation and managed by the Women’s Fund Steering Committee. Annual fund distributions are used to make grants and provide scholarships that build community among women, promote women’s advancement and strengthen Ashland County women.