Whitefish P.E.O. touts mission to assist women

Members of P.E.O. work to raise dollar after dollar to assist women in higher education, and they often do it quietly and without much notice.

“P.E.O. is a silent hero,” Joanne Jackson said. “They do their own thing and stay out of the way.”

But that’s changing for the international group known as P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) and also for the local Chapter D of Whitefish. The group recently joined a host of other service organizations with more recognizable names when it placed its own sign on the “Whitefish Welcomes You” sign on U.S. Highway 93.

Jackson said the change comes with the goal of attracting new members.

“It’s getting harder to attract new members,” she said. “There’s more competition between organizations as women make choices for where to put their service hours. We want to be more visible.”

P.E.O. was founded in 1869 in Iowa and has grown to almost a quarter of a million members in chapters in the U.S. and Canada. Its mission is to promote educational opportunities for women and offers a number of scholarship and grant programs based on that goal.

Several P.E.O. funding programs focus on different areas of need. One program is designed to assist women seeking to continue their education after it has been interrupted, while another looks to assist woman who are pursuing education at a doctoral level.

Locally, the Whitefish Chapter D was founded in 1915 and currently has about 50 members. A second group known as Chapter BR was also formed in 1992. Jackson said it’s not unusual for a community to have more than one chapter to keep membership smaller in each.

One of the principals behind P.E.O. is the power of women working together for a common goal.

“There’s strength in numbers,” Jackson said. “There are several thousand chapters and we all pool our funds. It makes us stronger. We all raise money to help candidates.”

The amount of money a chapter raises doesn’t impact the amount that can be given out to recipients in that chapter’s area.

“It’s really nice for the smaller communities,” Jackson said. “Every chapter does its best to raise funds.”

Chapter D’s main fundraiser is to sell pecans during the holidays. Chapters often sell greeting cards, hold rummage sales or host card parties.

There’s also a P.E.O. bed and breakfast network that allows member to stay in each other’s homes while traveling. They pay a minimal fee and the money goes directly to P.E.O.

P.E.O. membership is similar to a sorority and its not unusual to find generations of women who are members or even belong to the same chapter.

“For many women its a mainstay of their life,” Jackson said. “Friendships are maintained over years and we take care of each other. If you’re sick or need something, the group is there for you.”