The Athens chapter of the Philanthropic Educational Organization, or P.E.O., hosts ample fundraisers throughout the year to provide scholarships to women for their academic goals.
The P.E.O.’s goal is to raise scholarships both nationally and internationally for women to financially aid their academic pursuits utilizing the message of “women helping women reach for the stars.''
Whether that be women in high school planning to attend a four-year university, women hoping to study in graduate school or women going back to school after being in the workforce, P.E.O. is there to help.
“Women help women reach for the stars, and that’s our whole goal to help them in any way we can,” Caryl Kiser, the president of the P.E.O. Chapter DD in Athens, said. “Throughout the years, they continue to do that. Different chapters do it in different ways, but the whole goal is to start these scholarships.”
Kiser said seven women who were in college over 150 years ago tried out for a sorority but some of them didn’t make it. They decided to create their own philanthropic organization and created a doctrine that P.E.O. still uses today.
There are two chapters of the organization in Athens because Chapter DD split from Chapter G in the 1960s Vice President of Chapter G, Martha Sloan, said. Chapter DD, which has over 20 active members, offers five local scholarships for women and they received over 20 applications in 2021.
Each chapter is allowed to nominate one of its applicants to be reviewed by an International Committee for international scholarships.
Internationally, P.E.O. scholarships tend to be rather competitive. This past year, there were over a couple of hundred applicants.
Since the creation of the P.E.O. scholarship program, they have proudly provided over 32 million dollars in support of 2,730 women in the U.S and Canada.
Each chapter can participate in a four-year planning process to host a convention at its chapter’s epicenter, where other chapters and guest speakers are invited. Chapter DD and G combined to host this event successfully in 2019.
Around 500 P.E.O. members from across the state attended the convention and all members in attendance were encouraged to raise money for My Sister’s Place in Athens. At the convention, the members raised over $1,500 for My Sister’s Place.
Asserting the positive benefits of said scholarships, Shawn Wilson, a former P.E.O. scholarship recipient, defined P.E.O. as an organization focused on empowering women through education.
“P.E.O. empowers women through support and financial assistance to obtain an education, achieve their goals and ultimately realize their potential,” Wilson said in an email.
Wilson heard about the organization after her daughter received a scholarship from P.E.O. after graduating high school, and a member of P.E.O. suggested to Wilson that she also apply for the current academic year.
Wilson completed her application and wrote a letter to the scholarship committee as well.
“As a single mother working full-time and completing a bachelor's degree, this scholarship has helped greatly with tuition costs for my last academic year,” Wilson said in an email.
Wilson said she plans to give back after graduating next spring as she believes P.E.O. is a wonderful organization that helps women like her.
Both of the chapters from Athens expressed the importance of turning in application information early because scholarships from previous recipients do not carry over into the next year without reapplication.
Sloane and Wilson agreed they want to share the resources P.E.O. has to offer to introduce women to potential financial and educational opportunities.
Kiser was adamant: P.E.O. creates a sisterhood that will last a lifetime.
