As hard as they try, some women are unable to achieve their personal goals as they fall "between the cracks" of assistance from agency services. Working to alleviate that problem and help these women, The Rosie Fund was established in 2004. It was chartered through the Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley, and its mission statement adopted:

"The Rosie Fund helps women in temporary situations conquer their problems to reach their goals of self-sufficiency and independence. You can help, and together, we can do it."

At the fourth annual Rosie Reception held Thursday, July 10 at the Kankakee Country Club, a total of $6,000 in grants for 2008 were distributed to five (5) area agencies.  Marilyn Turner (l. to r.), chief of staff for Rosie Fund chairman state senator Debbie Halvorson congratulated Renita Williams of the Center of Hope, Robin Savage of Harbor House, Julie Herscher of the John R. Tate Victims Assistance Center, Linda Engels of the New Life Center and Sharon Bartolameolli of KC-CASA on their grants and the work they do for women.