Left to Right: IU First Lady Laurie Burns McRobbie with honorees Hope Peer, Shyanna Pasay, Katelyn Brown, Ashley Brown and IU East Chancellor Kathryn Cruz-Uribe.

On Thursday, April 9, 2015, four Indiana University East students were honored with the Women Helping Women: Honoring Student Volunteer Leadership award by the Women’s Philanthropy Council (WPC) at Indiana University.

Students Ashlee Brown, Katelyn Brown, Shyanna Pasay, and Hope Peer, received the awards from IU First Lady Laurie Burns McRobbie, founding co-chair, Women’s Philanthropy Council, Kathryn Cruz-Uribe, chancellor, and Jason Troutwine, vice chancellor for external affairs. The awards program began in 2012 honoring three students from IU Kokomo for their volunteer service.

“Continuing this great tradition of recognizing and celebrating women’s volunteerism at IU, the Women’s Philanthropy Council is proud to honor these four exemplary female philanthropists. Their commitment to actively serve a wide range of IU East communities is an inspiration for all of us and their work is testament to the rich culture of civic engagement here at IU and in the Richmond community itself,” said McRobbie.

“I am delighted to recognize each of these women for their remarkable altruism and charitable spirit,” said IU East Chancellor Cruz-Uribe. “Their leadership and dedication to serve others is a wonderful example of the service IU East aspires to achieve. As stewards of place, our students, faculty and staff are committed to furthering community initiatives, programs, and growth throughout the region.”

“Ashlee, Katelyn, Shyanna, and Hope are wonderful examples of women’s leadership in action. Through their philanthropic motivations, these women help advance IU’s mission to build dynamic relationships in their communities to the benefit for us all,” said Women’s Philanthropy Council member Janet Smith.

Each of the honorees received a certificate and a monetary donation to her volunteer organization at a luncheon in their honor.

Ashlee Brown, a junior biochemistry major, with minors in chemistry and biology from West Manchester, Ohio, teaches young women about STEM fields at Girls Inc. Her award will support Girls Inc. of Wayne County.

Katelyn Brown, a junior biochemistry major, with minors in chemistry and Spanish from Greenville, Ohio, is a literacy coach for English Language Learners. Her award will support Communities in Schools, specifically to help with the after school program at Vaile Elementary.

Shyanna Pasay, a freshman psychology major from Richmond, Ind., develops and implements programs at the Fairview Boys and Girls Club and at the Amigos Latino Center. Her award will support the Amigos Latino Center.

Hope Peer, a junior psychology major from Richmond, Ind., leads activities and discussions for women at the Women in Transition (WIT) House. Her award will support the WIT House.

About the Indiana University Women’s Philanthropy Council: Convened by the Indiana University Foundation Board of Directors in 2010, the WPC’s mission is to lead fundraising and engagement efforts that inspire women to give of their time, talent, and resources to Indiana University, and to develop women leaders in philanthropy.

Founded in 1936, the Indiana University Foundation maximizes private support for Indiana University by fostering lifelong relationships with key stakeholders and providing advancement leadership and fundraising services for campuses and units across the university.

Today, the IU Foundation oversees one of the largest public university endowments in the country, with a market value in excess of $1.9 billion. In fiscal year 2014, IU received $341.3 million in support from the private sector. IU is consistently ranked among the top four of Big Ten universities in annual voluntary support.