ROCK SPRINGS — Sweetwater County’s four P.E.O. (Philanthropic Education Organization) Sisterhood chapters were honored during a proclamation reading celebrating its oldest chapter’s anniversary Thursday morning.
The P.E.O. L Chapter in Rock Springs was founded on Sept. 24, 1921 and celebrated its 105th anniversary Thursday. The other chapters in Sweetwater County are the AE Chapter in Rock Springs, founded May 27, 1925; the AY Chapter in Green River, founded April 4, 1981, and the BC Chapter in Rock Springs, founded Jan. 19, 1991.
The organization has 65 chapters throughout Wyoming, with approximately 3,000 members throughout the Cowboy State. In total, the organization boasts a membership of 190,000 women.
One of its core values is supporting women’s education by offering scholarships and other support. Past State President Pam Ostdahl said the local chapters help women attending Western Wyoming College while offering grant programs and low-interest loans to women seeking undergraduate and graduate degrees. She said the P.E.O. Educational Loan Fund provides women with a 2% interest loan that they pay back once they complete school and find a job. She also said the organization supports an International Peace Scholarship that brings women from foreign countries to U.S. colleges and universities, allowing them to complete degrees and return to their home countries.
Outside of those programs, Ostdahl said the organization supports Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri. The college was founded in 1884 and has been owned by the P.E.O. Sisterhood since 1927. The organization itself was founded in 1869 and has provided approximately $432 million in financial assistance to more than 125,000 women.
