Last week we shared with you how young, black girls can be ostracized and hurt by white beauty standards. Our society has normalized white beauty leaving little to no space for women of color. This doesn’t mean women of color have been quiet…not at all! There have been many movements created by women of color to celebrate their unique beauty. And we love all that self-love! Although we are creating space and change in society with these movements and with these ideas, we are still not perfect. Continue reading
“Kelly Fair’s visit to the Duke University Women’s Center reflects two critically important theoretical frameworks which underpin our mission: women serving as engaged leaders and social justice. Kelly epitomizes both and we are excited for our students to engage with her.”- Dr. Stephanie Helms-Pickett, Director, Duke University Women’s Center Continue reading
For the month of September, we encouraged you to donate to Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring Program. And we want to say, “THANK YOU!” It is because of supporters like you that we are able to provide our girls with enriching learning activities. While people have donated to Polished Pebbles for various reasons, we have here our top five reasons to support girls in your community! Continue reading
This summer, three of our Polished Pebbles had the opportunity to intern at ThoughtWorks. Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring Program strives to teach young girls professional communication, behavior, and dress to thrive in future work settings. An important part of that learning process is being in a professional work setting. These girls were able to apply their Polished Pebbles knowledge in the real world. We are proud of our young women! And we want them to share their experience with you. Continue reading
Black Girls Rock hosted their annual Black Girls Lead Conference this summer in New York, NY. It is an international leadership conference for young, black women to “offer girls tools and resources to become leaders, innovate, and serve confidently”. With 65 girls present from the U.S.A., Ghana, South Africa, Canada, and the UK, we are excited to announce that one of our own pebbles attended the conference! Tamia Davis, Polished Pebbles mentee and current summer intern at ThoughtWorks, attended the four day leadership conference in New York. Big thank you to the Microsoft store in Oakbrook for fully funding Tamia Davis. She learned a lot about herself and greater society during those four days and has a lot to share with you! Continue reading
By now, most people have heard of the curious case of Rachel Dolezal. Her story has brought intrigue into issues of race, gender, and systemic oppressions. While her story has shed light on modern day racism, it is important that we … Continue reading
As you complete either major projects, summer initiatives, or even programming years with your youth mentoring programs, it’s always important to celebrate your victories through documentation and photographs. It’s a great way to historically document your achievements as an organization, the achievements of the youth that you serve, demonstrate the achievements of contributing staff and volunteers, and it also serves as some evidence of your potential impact as a youth mentoring program. This celebratory documentation can be in the format of individualized letters or communications with pictures directed towards specific stakeholders like partnering schools, organizations, and sponsors. You can share it in printed or electronic newsletters, or on social media as well. And, it also can give you a great opportunity to motivate potential donors to give to your organization as well. So, to mark the end of another successful programming year with my mentoring program Polished Pebbles I’ve decided to share some of our year-end newsletter with you! Enjoy!