action-oriented idealists
United Female Empowerment Workshops
On February 3, the DAC sponsored the first two United Female Empowerment Workshops across the Delta. Over 75 young women women in Greenville, MS and Helena, AR came together to learn, have fun, and increase their awareness of what it means to be a healthy and strong woman.
And that was only the beginning...
Current UFEW Facts: 11 total workshops, approx. 325 young women, over 75 volunteers, 4 cities
The United Female Empowerment Workshops provide a comprehensive educational and inspirational experience for young women in the Mississippi Delta. Through both the workshops and continued mentor correspondence program, we hope to see a long term decrease in early teenage pregnancy and obesity as well as an increase in motivation to go to college and determination not be constrained by conventional gender roles.
Maximizing Our Impact
A curriculum committee has designed a set of comprehensive agendas and lesson
plans for each workshop, which is then passed along to site directors in towns
throughout the Delta to organize and execute the workshop in their respective
areas. By focusing in one town through the course of the year, we are also able
to work with a group of young women throughout the year, at 4 separate
workshops, which allows participants to really engage thoroughly with the
program.
Stations and Curriculum
Participants are assigned to a mentor group and then travel with this group
through a series of workshops. We're always adding to and enhancing our
curriculum, but are most consistent focus areas are fitness, nutrition, female
health, relationship/self-esteem building issues, and future planning. Within
each area, we try to use innovative lesson plans that incorporate the arts and
other media to make the experience as entertaining and effective as possible.
Why Contribute?
Since February of 2007, we've been able to work with over 325 young women in 8
counties across the Mississippi Delta. While we had some grant funding to start
the project, we are now paying out of our pockets for some basic expenses to
make the workshops run, which is clearly not sustainable. With some more
financial support from generous donors, the quality of the opportunities for the
bright females participating in this program will certainly grow.
If you would like to download our 2007 End of Year Report, just click here!
So, want to help out? Contribute to the United Female Empowerment Workshops here...