Global Educational Empowerment for 100,000 Girls

Funding was secured to serve 100 girls with sisterhood mentoring services in 2012.

Sisterhood Agenda is working with its Global Partners in California, Chicago, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Senegal, along with its other 3,000 Global Partners in 32 countries, to implement A Journey Toward Womanhood and other sisterhood mentoring programs for girls.

With local support and Global Giving donations, Sisterhood Agenda is recruiting for a sisterhood mentoring program serving 12 girls at Julius E. Sprauve School in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands starting February 2012.

The inaugural Global Sisterhood Conference is planned for November 2012 in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands with a large Global Girls focus.  Sisterhood Agenda's Global Training Academy is based in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In addition to individual presentations, workshops, and youth sessions, Sisterhood Agenda held the 2^nd annual Sisterhood/Brotherhood New Year’s Eve Youth Extravaganza in Cruz Bay.  Over 50 young boys and girls were pre-registered for youth programs in 2012.

Community Partners included:  VI Police Department, VI National Park, VI Department of Sports, Parks & Recreation, St. John Community Foundation, and UMOJA.

Corporate Partners included:  The Westin, Boyson Transportation, Love City Ferries, Grande Bay, St. John Insurance Company, St. John Hardware, The Marketplace, Drift Away Spa, St. John Dental, Senator Barshinger’s Office, Shani’s Beauty Salon, Love City Barber Shop, St. John Ice Company, and PostNet.

Sisterhood Agenda instituted the Girl Band program, a Positive Media project that is implemented and filmed locally in the U.S. Virgin Islands and available in online reality series-based segments in 2012; http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/girl-band.

Dear Friend,

Ayana and other girls in St. John need your help.

Last year, Sisterhood Agenda registered Ayana and her friends for womanhood training at the New Year’s Eve Youth Extravaganza in Cruz Bay, St. John.  Thanks to your help, she also attended the first Female Empowerment Conference for Girls in the Virgin Islands and received educational materials for the year.  As a participant of A Journey Toward Womanhood, Positive Media, and Girl Band, Ayana is learning how to create her own future and be a poised, confident leader. Your contribution helped Ayana get access to a lifetime of learning about supporting and loving herself, developing healthy habits, and being successful.  Thank you!

However, there are other girls who urgently need this type of support. On the small island of St. John, there is no public high school, women’s center, YWCA or Girl Scout chapter.  Many girls, unable to see other alternatives, become pregnant at an early age, drop out of school, and rely on government support to feed themselves and their new families.   Some girls need one-on-one mentoring and ways to express themselves positively.

On October 19th, GlobalGiving.org is matching at 30% all online donations up to $1,000 per donor per project!  There is $100,000 available in matching funds on October 19th.  Once these matching funds are used, no more matching funds will be applied. 

Please donate to our project and support the girls waiting to be successful!  Your help is urgently needed and much appreciated!

In the Spirit of Sisterhood,
Angela D. Coleman
President

Links:

• Sisterhood Agenda website
• Article: Virgin Islands Daily News

NEW OFFICE LOCATION
Sisterhood Agenda recently relocated its administrative office on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Now, the offices are much closer to town with easier access to services and St. Thomas.  

SISTERHOOD GLOBAL CONFERENCE
Sisterhood Agenda’s inaugural global sisterhood conference is scheduled for November 2012 in St. Thomas.  Monthly planning committee meetings are taking place via webinar to ensure representation and inclusion for a successful event.  Currently, committee members can participate via telephone and/or using computers.  Geographic representation for planning committee meetings included participants from the U.S., Uganda, Senegal, and India.

Sisterhood Agenda is hopeful about using technology for all of its global constituents to access both planning meetings and the annual conference event via videoconference.

The inaugural global sisterhood conference event is sure to be an exciting one with multi-general, global participation and local support.  

SISTERHOOD PROGRAMS
Sisterhood Agenda held a Sisterhood/Brotherhood Career & Life Skills Training Summer Program in St. Thomas this past summer.  The 4-week program, sponsored by the VI Department of Labor, engaged 13 youth who successfully completed the program.  Activities included mentoring, debate, job fair participation, completing employment applications, interview skills, field trips, and guest speakers. Due to its success, Sisterhood Agenda plans to implement the program throughout the school year in local VI schools, collaborating with local nonprofits.

Sisterhood Agenda’s Sisterhood Empowerment Project includes A Journey Toward Womanhood and the Positive Media project. 

A Journey Toward Womanhood
Sisterhood Agenda is coordinating local A Journey Toward Womanhood

Programming with support from the VI Department of Human Services.  In addition, Sisterhood Agenda’s A Journey Toward Womanhood program was recommended for funding for implementation in the Virgin Islands starting 2012. Sisterhood Agenda continues to share its curriculum information with agencies around the globe for international program replication with local adaptation.

Positive Media
There are exciting developments with the creation of positive, new, alternative media that uplifts women and girls of African descent.  Sisterhood Agenda is coordinating its Positive Media project with the organization’s webmaster, universities, nonprofit agencies of interest, and a media Global Partner located in the Washington, DC area, See Your Worth Productions.  A completely new website is currently being constructed with an emphasis on Positive Media.  Sisterhood Agenda is filming public service announcements, coordinating the Sisterhood Agenda Show, and creating other new media content.  While the new website is completed, Sisterhood Agenda updates its YouTube site with new Positive Media content:  www.youtube.com/sisterhoodagenda.