The Womens Fund of Central Ohio

                                                                   Theresa Bowers 
Theresa Bowers was a powerful advocate in the Columbus community during her 78 years of life and it is in that spirit that we hope to keep her legacy alive. Theresa passed away on September 20th, 2020 and all that knew her miss her deeply. On what would have been her 79th birthday this past November, her family began thinking of ways to honor her memory and nothing fit more than giving back to the community she loved so dearly.  
 
With that sentiment in mind, we decided that raising grantmaking funds for The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio would be a perfect way to honor Theresa’s legacy as a strong mother, grandmother, colleague, and friend. The Women’s Fund’s mission is to transform the lives of women and girls by mobilizing the collective power and passion of all people working together. Through its work, The Women’s Fund strives to create a climate of equality and empowerment and one of the major ways it does this is by investing in grant partners who create social change in our community every day.  
 
Over the last 20 years, The Women’s Fund has made nearly $4 million in grants to fund programs that reflect Theresa’s passion for supporting women and girls. For example, The Women’s Fund recently made a grant to  support a nonprofit coalition that is working collaboratively to advocate for public policy solutions that will give all Ohio women the opportunity to lead safe and economically secure lives. It also recently funded a grant to a neighborhood-based leadership program for girls in under-resourced middle schools.  
 
To pay tribute to Theresa Bowers, we would like to raise $5,000 for The Women’s Fund’s 2021 grantmaking. Please help us to amplify our collective power and honor her memory by contributing to this impactful organization!  
 
Please click on this link to learn more about The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio: https://www.womensfundcentralohio.org/. 
  
Andrea Pfaadt, Daughter 
 

I want to celebrate my mom’s life and everything she taught me. My mother raised me to be a strong independent woman who should always be able to take care of myself and my family. She raised myself and my 4 siblings all on her own and made sure we always had food on our table and access to proper education with all of us being able to go on to obtain college degrees. Having an education was very important to mom because she didn’t have the opportunity to pursue higher education for herself and she wanted everyone to have the ability to take classes and develop a future.  
 
Mom was 4’11- very tiny in stature but strong willed and filled with opinions. She taught me to have a voice and to fight for what I believe. Mom was always a natural advocate for women and now is the time to pay tribute to her by participating in our fundraising. I want to ask all family, friends and those who love her to make her proud by carrying her legacy forward and investing in The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio – an organization that I am very passionate about and currently serve as an acting Board Member. My mom was so proud of me when I was asked to join the Board back in 2018. As she always said,” never forget where you came from and always remember to help others in our community.”   
 
Along with her work in advocating for women, Mom cared deeply about The Ohio State University and worked as a dedicated Buckeye for 42 years – she LOVED EACH AND EVERY MOMENT. She not only had her family at home, but she formed her own work family and was very passionate about both. Anyone who knew mom thought of her as caring and loving and would do whatever she was asked to with the best of her ability, as she would say “you do something 100% or don’t do it at all!” On February 11, 2019 Mom was honored with The Barbie Tootle Buckeye Spirit Award which recognizes those individuals who have demonstrated unconditional loyalty and support of athletics at The Ohio State University. That was a very proud day for mom and her family and friends! 
 
Mom liked working with young people at The Ohio State University and she would encourage them to stay focused on their academics, family, and faith. She would always push you to be the best person you could be - never hide behind your fears, address them head on! Mom was not aware of the influence she had on others. She was a progressive thinker for her generation and accepted all she encountered with open arms. I remember when I was growing up, we would be having one of our typical talks about the nuisances of being a teenage girl and although she was a compassionate listener, she would remind me that complaining or whining was not the right approach to life – she would say “What’s wrong with you Andrea - you got a voice so use it!” reiterating to me not to just sit on the sidelines - get engaged and try to make a difference.  
 

Renee Kasun, Theresa’s Daughter and Andrea’s younger sister 
 
I have sat down a million times and tried to write about my mom...the kind of woman she was and the impact she had on me and many other women throughout her life.  I am not going to lie - it is hard.  My mom died 9/20/2020 and I miss her more than I ever imagined.  Then I really thought about the number one thing my mom exemplified...GRIT.  I hate to use a "popular" word like grit, but the word does define the type of woman Theresa Bowers was and the legacy she passed on to all who knew her. My mom did hard things - raised 4 children as a single parent, made sure each child had the best opportunities and attended the best schools possible, worked multiple jobs to keep food on the table...she did HARD things.  I am also not going to lie and say she did all these things with a huge smile on her face.  She worked-she provided for her family-she slept very little-she endured.  She may not have walked around with a smile, but she did always walk around with faith and love in her heart.  My mom always had a purpose and her purpose was to have her children succeed.  
 
We did succeed.  She fulfilled her vocation and taught her children and grandchildren that anything worth having is worth the work required to get it.  So, when I sat down to write about my mom, I realized I could do it because "I can do hard things" just like my mom. She is smiling on us all now. 

Elyse Gleeson, Granddaughter and Andrea's Daughter
 



I always remember my Grandma T as being one of the most influential people in my life. If she taught me anything it was how to be strong and fend for yourself. She was fiercely independent and represented what it means to be a woman of the new era. I can remember growing up as one girl with six boy cousins. Of course, I always wanted to play with the boys instead of the dolls. One time we were playing basketball and none of the boys would pass me the ball. Somehow, I ended up inside crying and who came to my rescue? Grandma T. She marched me outside and lined us all up to preach about equality. In that moment she taught us all that nobody is better than anybody else because of the way they look, it is all about how you treat people. This was the way she lived her life.  
 
We hope you will join us!
We want to create a legacy that lives on in memory of Theresa Bowers by funding grants that empower women economically so that they don’t face the same struggles that she did. We want to create a better world for young girls to grow in confidence and be future leaders in our community. 
 
Please share your stories and memories of Theresa here:
We know that she has impacted so many lives and we want to hear from all of you. Thank you for supporting Theresa and her family over the years and thank you for keeping her memory alive!