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Stone Family: Investing in Wyoming's Future one Home at a Time
The Wyoming Women’s Foundation recognizes the unique contribution of the Stone Family Fund. The fund was first created from donations made by friends and family members on Julie and Jon’s wedding day, Nov. 25, 2006. “Having a charitable wedding made the event all the more meaningful,” Julie said.
The Stone Family Fund was created to financially support programs that help Wyoming families. “Too often, public and even non-profit program offerings provide immediate charitable response, but do little to alleviate limitations and barriers that keep families from achieving their goals and permanent self-reliance,” Julie said. That is why the Stone‘s are so excited about their most recent gift. The Stone Family Fund gifted their total earnings to the Wyoming Family Home Ownership Project in the winter of 2008. The gift helps seven Wyoming families with children to purchase their first homes. “WYFHOP is a testament to the power of public-private partnership, education and the importance of making tools available for families to own their futures,” Julie said. As a member of the WyWF’s Advisory Board, Julie said she is particularly proud to see the foundation delve into proactive advocacy. “The Wyoming Women’s Foundation is well positioned to spark dialogue that puts women's issues at the heart of how Wyoming strengthens communities, families and even the local economy. We can't simply wait for the chance to fund good ideas as they come along, we must also provoke and shape recommendations that otherwise wouldn't have been raised,” Julie said.
Although she currently lives in Colorado, Julie has a long history with Wyoming. “I am Wyoming. Raised out in the sticks east of Cheyenne, my family owned and operated Sapp Bros. Truck stop. I graduated from the University of Wyoming in 2002, and by a stroke of extraordinary timing and luck, was offered the opportunity to work for Governor Freudenthal upon his election in 2003,” Julie said. It was her work in the governor’s office that led to her current passion for the needs of families and communities, and in the end, what led her to the Wyoming Women’s Foundation.
In the future, Julie would like to see the WyWF reach a $2 million endowment. “While this may not be possible due to circumstances beyond control, the larger the endowment, the more effective and dynamic funding opportunities become long into the future,” Julie said. In the meantime, the Stone family and its fund will keep working for Wyoming families, through good times and bad.
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