The $10 Tuesday giving challenge for Southwest Washington women's scholarships
You know that feeling when you find a crumpled $10 bill in your winter coat pocket? That little surge of joy, like you've won a tiny lottery you didn't even know you'd entered?
Well, buckle up, because we're about to flip that feeling on its head and multiply it by about a thousand.
Starting today, Woman of Wonder, a Vancouver-based nonprofit supporting women's education throughout Southwest Washington, is launching the most deliciously simple giving challenge you'll encounter this season: Ten Dollar Tuesdays. And before you roll your eyes thinking this is another fundraising gimmick (we get it, your inbox is already drowning in holiday appeals), hear us out.
Here's the beautiful math
If you save $10 today, and then again next Tuesday, and the Tuesday after that, by the time #GivingTuesday rolls around on December 2nd, you'll have $50 to donate. That's it. No fancy algorithms, no confusing pledge systems, just five Tuesdays and five tens.
And here in Southwest Washington, that $50 goes even further. It’s the equivalent of paying for textbooks at Clark College, application fees at WSU Vancouver, or buying supplies for a single mother taking night classes at Lower Columbia College. Note: 100% of our scholarships go toward tuition; we’re illustrating that there are costs beyond just getting into a class. This means that your five Tuesdays of $10 bills become someone's pathway to college, even if it's just one class at a time (we fund part-time scholarships)—right here in our community.
But here's where it gets interesting.
#GivingTuesday started in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good, and has since grown into a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. #GivingTuesday is proof that small acts, multiplied across communities, create seismic shifts in how we care for each other.
Woman of Wonder has been doing this work since 2018, bringing more to women's lives through college scholarships right here in Southwest Washington. But we're not just handing out checks and calling it a day. We're investing in critical thinkers, community builders, and the kind of women who graduate and immediately start making Clark County, Cowlitz County, and our entire region a better place to live.
Think about the last time you met someone who made you think differently about something. Maybe they challenged an assumption you'd held for years, or introduced you to a perspective you'd never considered. That's the power of education. That's what happens when women get the opportunity to develop their minds, ask hard questions, and bring those critical thinking skills back to our community.
Our scholarship winners don't just get degrees. They become the business owners who hire locally from Vancouver to Longview, the teachers who inspire the next generation in our Clark County schools, the healthcare workers who treat your family with compassion at our local clinics, the engineers who build safety into Southwest Washington's infrastructure, and the advocates who make sure everyone's voice gets heard in our communities.
And it starts with $10.
Now, we could tell you more about the incredible things Woman of Wonder does (spoiler alert: there's a White Elephant Book Exchange that's legendary, Kindness Couriers sending encouragement to students, and scholarship funds that change lives in ways we can't wait to tell you about), but we're going to make you wait until next Tuesday for those juicy details.
Why Southwest Washington needs Ten Dollar Tuesdays
Here's something most people don't realize: the need for women's scholarships in our region is enormous. For every scholarship Woman of Wonder awards in Clark County, we receive applications from 12 other qualified women we can't fund. That's not a typo. Twelve women for every one we can support.
These aren't abstract statistics. These are your neighbors in Vancouver working two jobs while attending WSU. Single mothers in Longview trying to finish degrees they started years ago. Women in Camas and Battle Ground navigating community college while supporting families.
Ten Dollar Tuesdays is how we change that math—one Tuesday, one tenner, one community member at a time.
Here's something most people don't realize: the need for women's scholarships in our region is enormous. For every scholarship Woman of Wonder awards in Clark County, we receive applications from 12 other qualified women we can't fund. That's not a typo. Twelve women for every one we can support.
These aren't abstract statistics. These are your neighbors in Vancouver working two jobs while attending WSU. Single mothers in Longview trying to finish degrees they started years ago. Women in Camas and Battle Ground navigating community college while supporting families.
Ten Dollar Tuesdays is how we change that math—one Tuesday, one tenner, one community member at a time.
Your mission: Start saving today
Here's your mission, should you choose to accept it: Head over to Woman of Wonder's Washington Gives page right now and save the page to your browser, and set aside that $10 into our virtual tip jar. Set a reminder on your phone for next Tuesday. Do it again.
By the time December 2nd arrives, you'll be part of something that transforms a Southwest Washington woman's entire life trajectory. Perhaps she's a single mother at Clark College who has finally completed her degree. Maybe she's a Vancouver entrepreneur launching the business she's dreamed about for years. Maybe she's a Longview resident returning to school after raising her family. Whoever she is, she's from our community—and you helped make her success possible. And you did it one Tuesday at a time, probably while drinking your morning coffee and definitely without breaking the bank.
Save $10 today. We'll see you next Tuesday.
Start saving your weekly $10 for Woman of Wonder’s #GivingTuesday! Photo by Sasun Bughdaryan
“Next week: We’re spilling the tea on what makes Woman of Wonder different from every other scholarship organization, and trust us, you’re going to want to stick around for this one. (Hint: it involves books, kindness, and a board member whose legacy will make you reach for tissues.)”