P.E.O. members from across Coronado gathered this weekend to honor more than 150 years of women supporting women through education.

The annual Founders’ Day celebration, organized locally by Coronado Crown City Reciprocity (CCCR), brought together members from all four Coronado chapters for a single event at the Coronado Cays Yacht Club.

“Every year in January, PEO celebrates its founding and its founders,” said Carol McGraw, President, PEO Coronado Crown City Reciprocity 2026, and a member of Chapter MY. “In Coronado, this event is coordinated by Coronado Crown City Reciprocity, and all chapters attend one event.”

This year, Founders’ Day was celebrated on January 24 at the Coronado Cays Yacht Club. It was attended by more than 60 people and included a program by past presidents of CCCR celebrating the seven founders. For McGraw and her fellow members, “‘Founders Day’ for P.E.O. is essentially our birthday party and is an opportunity to remember our roots.”

P.E.O. (Philanthropic Education Organization) is, as McGraw explains, “a nonprofit organization with chapters in the U.S. and Canada. It has helped more than 129,000 women with more than $462 million in educational assistance.” At the heart of the organization is a simple but powerful mission: women motivating, educating, and celebrating women.

“What started with a bond of friendship among seven women in Mount Pleasant Iowa on January 21, 1869, is now one of the oldest women’s organizations in North America with more than 5400 chapters,” McGraw noted.

Over time, that original bond of friendship has grown into a far‑reaching network. “Through membership, the P.E.O. Sisterhood has brought together more than half a million women in the United States and Canada who are passionate about helping women advance through education while supporting and motivating them. In addition to the educational philanthropies, the P.E.O. Sisterhood provides a framework of support and community for all members.”

Founders’ Day, with its focus on the seven original founders, highlights this continuity between past and present: a modern global Sisterhood still rooted in a small group of women who chose to encourage one another and open educational doors.

Coronado’s connection to P.E.O. goes back nearly eight decades. “The first chapter in Coronado was Chapter MY, which was founded in 1948,” McGraw explained. “As members were added, Chapter MY grew, and new chapters were created from the membership. Today, there are four chapters in Coronado. Those chapters join to exchange ideas and fellowship in CCCR, Coronado Crown City Reciprocity.”

The four Coronado chapters developed organically as local interest and membership increased. “The four chapters in Coronado evolved to accommodate an expanding membership and a selection of meeting times,” McGraw explained. “The four chapters meet at different times on different days of the month. Some have morning meetings while others have evening meetings, as an example. Frequently, scheduling drives the decision on which chapter a member joins. Each chapter has its own personality, but the meetings follow a standard format.”

Founders’ Day is one of the key times when this broader local Sisterhood comes together. Rather than holding separate observances, all chapters attend one event planned through CCCR, reinforcing the sense of unity among women who normally meet in smaller groups throughout the month.

While Founders’ Day focuses on history and heritage, McGraw also emphasized P.E.O.’s ongoing impact through educational support and financial assistance. One way in which PEO achieves this is through student awards and scholarships.

“Currently, CCCR does not sponsor [the STAR] award,” she said of the well‑known honor. However, “each chapter can sponsor rising women high school seniors for the International Chapter (peointernational.org) STAR Award or the California Chapter SHINE Award.”

McGraw continued, “The California State Chapter (peocalifornia.org) administers more than 50 scholarships which have given more than 5000 awards totaling more than $13.7 million dollars to women who are California residents. Typically, the application for any financial award is submitted through a local chapter.”

That statewide support is felt very directly in Coronado. “This year, over $30,000 has been awarded to applicants sponsored by the four Coronado chapters,” McGraw noted.

P.E.O.’s assistance is not limited to scholarships. The California State chapter also administers two welfare grant funds, available to both women and men for emergency financial aid. More than $3.9 million has been awarded to over 1,600 recipients through these grants. For example, these funds recently helped those impacted by the L.A. wildfires.

Despite its extensive reach, P.E.O. maintains a modest profile in the community. “P.E.O. is an organization that frequently flies ‘under the radar,’ but you would be surprised at how often someone you know is a P.E.O. Currently, there are approximately 200 members of P.E.O. in the greater Coronado community. Those 200 women are dedicated to helping other women.”

That dedication shows up through scholarships, grants, personal encouragement, and the quiet, consistent work of local members who gather monthly—and collectively each year at Founders’ Day—to support women’s educational journeys.

For Coronado residents who want to learn more about P.E.O. or explore membership, McGraw suggests visiting the organization’s official sites: The P.E.O. International Chapter website, https://www.peointernational.org/, or the California State Chapter website, https://peocalifornia.org/.

From its beginnings in 1869 to a single Coronado chapter founded in 1948, and now to four active local chapters, P.E.O. continues to live out its mission “where women motivate, educate, and celebrate women.”

VOL. 116, NO. 5 – Feb. 4, 2026