Fund for Women names Cheryl Mitchell 2021 First Founders Award recipient

The Fund for Women (FFW) at the Delaware Community Foundation (DCF) is pleased to announce the selection of Cheryl Mitchell as the 2021 First Founders awardee. The First Founders Award is presented annually to a Founder who has a record of exceptional generosity, who demonstrates civic and/or charitable responsibility and whose leadership has encouraged others in philanthropic endeavors throughout Delaware.

This award honors the FFW vision, “All women and girls in Delaware are empowered to achieve their potential.” Cheryl will receive the award at the FFW’s First Founders Breakfast this fall. The breakfast will be held on October 20, 2021, at 8 AM (doors open at 7:30 AM and breakfast will start promptly at 8 AM). This year’s event will be at Riverfront Events, 760 Justison St, Wilmington, DE 19801. Registration is required; register at fundforwomende.com.

Cheryl is a proven leader in philanthropy and volunteerism in Sussex County and Delaware. She has been a FFW Founder since 2007 and has worked diligently for over 13 years on the Sussex County Development Committee. She recruits many friends and Founders to participate in philanthropic campaigns with her, and has held monthly Lunch with a Purpose/Coastal Delaware fundraising luncheons from September through May for over 14 years.

Since the group began, Lunch with a Purpose/Coastal Delaware has raised over $250,000 for local nonprofits in Delaware, gathered tens of thousands of pounds of food for Food Bank of Delaware and engaged over two hundred participants each month. This year, they were recognized by Governor Carney as one of the Top Volunteer Groups at the 2021 Outstanding Volunteer Awards.

Recently, when her own grandson was tragically killed in a car accident, Cheryl partnered with the nonprofit SmartDriveUSA to help teach kids about safe driving so accidents like that won’t occur again.

Cheryl was born and raised in suburban Philadelphia and has been a resident of Delaware since 1974. She lives in Georgetown, Delaware with her husband of 37 years, Curt Mitchell. After retiring in 2003 from the Financial Services industry as an executive working for several banking institutions in Delaware, Cheryl continued working as an independent consultant.