Duchess Award

Jack and Nan Schwemm believed strongly in the fundamental responsibility of people to act toward each other with respect and compassion and it is only with this strong sense of ethics and decency that communities can thrive. And it goes without saying that those standards should be even higher for people working in business, politics, and public service.

The Foundation trustees are sad and frustrated at the level of disrespect, animosity, and ethical devolution that has arisen in our country, and the overall degeneration of discourse and tolerance in recent years.

In response, and in following what we believe would have been Jack and Nan’s desires, the Schwemm Family Foundation has established a direct grant program to support efforts that combat systemic inequality, promote inclusive civic engagement, and foster fairness, decency and opportunity throughout communities.

Past Duchess Awards

2024 Duchess Award: Gold Rule ReEntry and Freedom Farms

Golden Rule ReEntry supports a variety of folks who have been formerly incarcerated. Their programs, which are based on the belief that everyone’s life is a complex weave of cause and effect, destiny, karma, and purpose foster connection through kinship, networking, classes, and a multiplicity of services.

What stands out for us at the Schwemm Family Foundation about this wonderful organization is the way they meet the people they help where they are at, whether it be trying to overcome the effects of trauma, getting a job, securing housing, giving back to the community, reconnecting with family, or starting a business GRR is there to make it happen in a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental loving environment.

Freedom Farms is a wonderful organization dedicated to the healing and integration of men and women post-incarceration. One of the main ways that they do this is through their gardening and farming program which brings folks directly in touch with not only the farm, but more importantly, the community at large via the farmers markets they participate in. FF also engages their clientele in a variety of emotional healing practices and trauma-informed therapeutic support. Our Foundation loves the way this organization takes a specific calling (to help folks who are trying to integrate back into culture and community) in a way that reconnects them with the earth and with their fellow earthlings.

2022 Duchess Award: Alight

Alight, formerly the American Refugee Committee, was selected by the Schwemm Family Foundation as the recipient of the 2022 Duchess Award. Alight works with its partners and constituencies to provide opportunities and expertise to communities of refugees and internally displaced persons, providing shelter, clean water and sanitation, health care, skills training, microcredit education, and protection to help survivors of war and natural disasters to rebuild their lives with dignity, health care, security, and self-sufficiency. The Schwemm Family Foundation considers the efforts of Alight to provide humanitarian aid and training to refugees and displaced persons to be a terrific example of the Duchess Award’s goal of combating systemic inequality, promoting inclusive civic engagement, and fostering fairness, decency, and opportunity throughout communities around the globe.

2021 Duchess Award

In 2021 The Schwemm Family Foundation chose to award funds to multiple organizations:

2020 Duchess Award: A New Way of Life Reentry Project

The organization A New Way of Life Reentry Project was selected by the Schwemm Family Foundation as the 2020 Duchess Award Recipient. This organization assists formerly incarcerated individuals in reentering their communities through a variety of methods including housing, legal services, and sourcing employment opportunities. The Schwemm Family Foundation considers this example of individual support and community resilience especially inspiring.

2019 Duchess Award: All Our Kids

The Washington DC mentorship organization All Our Kids was selected by the Schwemm Family Foundation as the 2019 Duchess Award Recipient. All Our Kids (AOK) builds community to unleash the potential of young people. By creating a supportive environment based on individual needs AOK helps pave the road to success for each individual. For example when students pursue an educational path, AOK helps by providing tools students need to focus on learning while planning for success after graduation, such as filling tuition gaps so less time is needed to work, teaching budgeting skills so that students can achieve financial independence, and organizing vacation opportunities and celebrations for birthdays and holidays to maintain a healthy school-life balance. A particularly important and unique part of the AOK program is the Thursday Night Dinner (TND), a weekly gathering of AOK youth and family members that facilitates communication and helps maintain family and friend networks.

The AOK approach results in confident young people moving with intention toward self-defined goals, as well as adults who benefit in numerous ways when they interact with the AOK program and youth. Strong partnerships also result when faith organizations and the business community integrate with these youth as they step into adulthood. AOK brings people of all ages and backgrounds together to support each other, forge deep and honest connections, and create stronger communities.

2018 Duchess Award: GirlForward

The Schwemm Family Foundation selected the Chicago-based organization GirlForward for its 2018 Duchess Award. Founded in 2011, GirlForward has created a support community dedicated to creating and enhancing opportunities for girls who have been displaced by conflict and persecution. GirlForward provides adolescent refugee girls with individual mentorship, educational programs and leadership opportunities to help empower them to be strong, confident, and independent.

In addition to providing direct programming, GirlForward is dedicated to breaking down systemic barriers to opportunity for English language learners and students with interrupted formal education by improving educational access and resources, educating local communities, and building partnerships.

Towards these efforts, SFF funding will support the production and distribution of the 2018 GirlForward Zine, a publication tool designed to teach acceptance by sharing the girls’ life experiences before and after coming to the United States. SFF thanks GirlForward for the very important work they are doing to foster inclusion and diversity within their community. As stated on the back cover of their prior year Zine – “We all belong here”!

2017 Duchess Award: Southern Poverty Law Center

In 2017, the trustees of the SFF decided to make one direct donation per year to an organization of our choosing. We named this annual gift the ‘Duchess Award’, after the St. Bernard dog that the Schwemm family had many years ago. Duchess was certainly a big dog, but she was also incredibly big-hearted and kind.

This year we gave the first annual Duchess Award to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) Teaching Tolerance program. As described on the SPLC website, the Teaching Tolerance program is dedicated to “…reducing prejudice, improving intergroup relations and supporting equitable school experiences for our nation’s children.” Toward that goal they produce and distribute anti-bullying and tolerance materials for free to public schools, publish the Teaching Tolerance magazine, and sponsor ‘Mix It Up At Lunch Day’, among other efforts.

The SFF believes that only a greater level of love and understanding of our fellow planet-walkers will make a real difference in these challenging times, and that compassion and empathy begin at home and at school. As Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote, “You’ve got to be carefully taught.” The SFF thanks the Southern Poverty Law Center for all the very important work they are doing to teach tolerance of others.