BATH — A benefit to raise funds for the non-profit WISE-Women’s Initiatives that Strengthen and Empower, working in western Zambia, will be held Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bohemian Rose Boutique, 106 Front St., Bath.

Bohemian Rose owner Michelle Tibbetts will donate 10 percent of the day’s proceeds to WISE, according to WISE Board member Joanne Low Bollinger, who will be at the event with hand-crafted baskets and information about the WISE project.

Bollinger recently returned from her second trip to Zambia this year.

WISE began as a charitable organization in 2005 with its roots in Maine.

WISE’s scholarship program, which supported 102 scholarships in 2017, provides education to rural “bush” students who have no opportunity or funds for education beyond seventh grade. Six hundred dollars per year covers tuition, room and board, and incidentals for one high school student.

Due to an increased demand, the WISE Board has committed to 150 scholarships beginning in January 2018, with 75 percent of the awards reserved for girls due to the high incidence of early marriage in remote villages. Six WISE students are now in colleges and universities throughout the country, including two in pre-med.

The Times Record Sustaining Sponsor
We believe a community must be informed to thrive. bowdoin.edu