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Empowered Flower Girl (EFG) is celebrating those who make a  difference in the lives of young people through mentoring. In honor of the 2013 National Mentoring Month observance, EFG is hosting its annual MenTEES: T-shirts for a Cause Campaign.

Empowered Flower Girl will donate 25% of all Empowered Flower Girl clothing sales (plus a matching donation) through Feb. 20 to a nonprofit mentoring organization serving youth.

“2013 marks the third year for us hosting this campaign,” said Rasheda Kamaria, founder and chief empowering officer for Empowered Flower Girl. “As a long-time mentor, I have experienced the difference that mentoring makes in the life of a young person. Being a positive role model for youth also has a significant impact on the mentor. I encourage any caring adult with a big heart and a little time to consider it.”

The 2013 National Mentoring Month partners are:

Alternatives for Girls
Mentoring Youth Network
Sisters Who ARe Powerful (SWAP)
Uniting Neighborhoods & Inspiring Today’s Youth (UNITY)
Young Entrepreneur Series (YES)
Wayne County 4-H Mentoring
Winning Futures

Here’s how you can help:

• Visit www.empoweredflowergirl.com/shop-efg to purchase shirt. Our inspirational tees are stylish and available in girls’ and women’s sizes. They’re great for mentors/mentees, moms/daughters, aunts/nieces, BFFs and twins!
• Visit www.mentoring.org for resources in your community. The site has information whether you’re a teen who would like to be matched with a mentor or if you are an adult looking to mentor youth.
• Participate in a local Mentoring Month celebration.

For more information about the campaign or to make a donation, visit http://www.empoweredflowergirl.com or call 248-629-0334.

Empowered Flower Girl (EFG) LLC is gearing up to launch its third annual National Mentoring Month campaign “MenTEEs: T-shirts for a Cause.” In preparation for the national observance, celebrated each year in January, EFG invites Great Lakes Region mentoring organizations to become partners.

Non-profit and faith-based organizations and schools with mentoring programs throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois are invited to participate.

Empowered Flower Girl, a social enterprise which produces workshops and clothing that inspire girls and young women to live powerfully, will donate 25% of all t-shirt sales (and include a matching donation) through Feb. 20, 2013, to a partner organization.

“Our goal is to bring awareness to the need for positive adult role models for youth,” said EFG Chief Empowering Officer and Founder Rasheda Kamaria. “Furthermore, we want to help spread the word about organizations that engage children in esteem-boosting activities.”

In addition to the MenTEEs campaign, Kamaria will host free workshops and conversation circles for Southeast Michigan-based women’s groups on the topic “Mentoring Girls & Inspiring Sisterhood: In the Age of Bad Girls, Housewives and Frenemies.” The talks are designed to empower adult women to be positive role models for children and teens through one-on-one mentoring.

For teens seeking mentors, Kamaria encourages them to ask someone they admire or contact an organization that offers a formal mentoring program. “The key is to do your homework,” she said. “Mentors can be chosen based on interests, aspirations or needs. From business mentors for aspiring entrepreneurs to mentors who work with children in foster care, there are many options.”

For additional mentoring resources, visit www.mentoring.org.

Organizations interested in becoming partners for the “MenTEEs: T-shirts for a Cause” campaign and groups interested in hosting a workshop, should email info@empoweredflowergirl.com by Dec. 21, 2012, or call 248-629-0334. Visit www.empoweredflowergirl.com.

 

Read about Empowered Flower Girl CEO Rasheda Kamaria Williams in the September 2012 issue of Wayne State University Magazine. Rasheda, a 2001 alumna, shares about how she went from bullied to inspired and why she launched EFG.

Check her out on page 34.

In honor of our two-year anniversary, Empowered Flower Girl is partnering with schools and non-profit community organizations that want to host workshops, programs and conversation circles.

We offer engaging content that inspires youth, teachers, parents and the community. From workshops combating teasing, cyberbullying and cliques, to programs encouraging goal-setting and career exploration, Empowered Flower Girl helps schools and organizations address critical social issues in a way that empowers and entertains.

If you are a counselor, executive director, educator, PTA representative or any other person responsible for your school’s or organization’s prevention programs, contact us at 248-629-0334 or email rkamaria@empoweredflowergirl.com. Book your workshop during September to receive a special discount for school and community groups.

View the Empowered Flower Girl speaker/workshop overview here.

Groups form alliances to combat bullying

Students, parents, teachers and youth advocates around the country are rallying against bullying and taking a stand for young people. People are no longer accepting teasing, harassment and hazing as child’s play.

 

The fact is: bullying is not a milestone in adolescent development.  

 

Are you willing to Stand4Change?

Defeat the Label has teamed with “We Are The World” producer Ken Kragen for a national initiative called Stand4Change.

On May 4, students around the nation will take part in Stand4Change to highlight the bullying issue.  

The plan is for students to stand up at noon (EST) on Friday, May 4, in protest to bullying.   

Visit  stand4change.org to learn more.

 

About Defeat The Label

Defeat The Label is a 501(c)3 organization that creates critical awareness of bullying issues among middle school and high school aged students. This is accomplished through the creation of awareness campaigns, community outreach, special events and the implementation of the Anti-Defamation League in-school curriculum.  

 

Speaking of standing for change, have you been on YouTube lately?

I was touched and inspired by a music video from 15-year-old Megan Landry, an aspiring singer and songwriter from Ottawa, Ontario.  

The 10th grader has been creating a buzz online (nearly 45,000 views) after speaking out against “mean girl” bullying with her song “Stronger.”

Megan shared with me in an online interview that she was picked on by girls in her school.  

“It’s an awful feeling not knowing when they will make fun of you and exclude you and give you dirty looks. They used to be my friends,” she said.  

I can relate. In May 2011, I shared my story of being alienated, harassed and taunted with tens of thousands of Cosmopolitan magazine readers in the article “Being Bullied Changed My Life.” While Megan and I are from different countries and different cultural backgrounds, the experience is the same.

Fortunately, we both found ways to stand up to bullying in a way that was empowering and encouraging.

“Everybody gets bullied though at some point; it’s a power thing . . . that’s what inspired me to write this song,” Megan said. “They will never tear me down. I will only get stronger.”

 Kudos to Megan for sharing how she went from bullied to empowered.  

 Check out her video on YouTube.

 

Inspired to mentor or looking for opportunities to mentor?

 

Join Empowered Flower Girl and Michigan author Paula Dirkes for a FREE Mentor Appreciation Event & Mentor Me! Book Launch Party on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at Renaissance Unity Church, 11200 E. Eleven Mile Road in Warren, Mich.

The event will include networking, mentor/mentee success stories, giveaways, light refreshments, mentoring resources and book signing. RSVP at mentormebooklaunch@gmail.com.

Check out Paula discussing why she mentors and why she wrote her inspirational book.

 

ABOUT AUTHOR PAULA DIRKES

Paula Dirkes earned her BS degree in secondary education from Michigan State University and her MA degree in Human Performance Improvement from the University of Michigan. She has taught and coached junior high school students in Lansing, Michigan and worked with infants through college students as the Youth & Aquatic Director at the Lansing Central YMCA. She has worked in secondary schools, corporate health promotion and in the healthcare industry for the majority of her career when working with adults.

Since 2001 she has been an active community-based mentor to Chelsea McKinney, a faith-based mentor for 12-18 year old boys and girls at Renaissance Unity church in Warren, Michigan, a school-based mentor/coach in the ‘Teen Leadership’ program at Hazel Park High School, a repeat adult volunteer at over 25 Challenge Day programs at numerous secondary schools in metro Detroit as well as a one-on-one tutor for grade school children at Timbuktu Academy of Science and Technology in east Detroit.

DETROIT — Empowered Flower Girl LLC announces its second annual National Mentoring Month Campaign “MenTEEs: T-shirts for a Cause.”

During National Mentoring Month in January 2012, the company will dedicate a special section on its website (and social media pages) to mentoring.

Rasheda Kamaria, chief empowering officer and founder, said Empowered Flower Girl will feature youth mentoring organizations during the month-long observance.

As part of the campaign, one organization or school group will be randomly selected to be the recipient of 25% of all  Empowered Flower Girl t-shirt sales through Feb. 15, 2012. The organization will be notified on or before February 20, 2012. 

“Our goal is to bring awareness to the need for positive adult role models for youth,” Kamaria said. “We want to help spread the word about organizations that empower, encourage and engage young people.”

 

Get your shirt today at http://www.shop.empoweredflowergirl.com.

As you’re preparing decadent feasts and decorating your homes in colors of the season, remember those in your communities and families who may be in need. Empowered Flower girl encourages everyone from tweens to seniors to give back in some way. Doing for others is a great way to express your own gratitude.

 

Speaking of gratitude, we’d like to thank you for your continued support. We’re gearing up for great things in 2012 and hope you’ll be there to be a part of it.

 

Remember to support small businesses this holiday season. Whether you’re looking for deals Black Friday or on Cyber Monday, Empowered Flower Girl is hooking you up with discounts and special gifts.

 

In fact, we’ll offer specials through the end of the year!

 

Again, we appreciate you and look forward to connecting in some way.

 

Happy Holidays,

 

Rasheda Kamaria

Empowered Flower Girl