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Cherish Our Youth organization to host third annual Rising Above the Odds Against Me Summit

Cherish Thomas is paying it forward to girls who are experiencing the ups and downs she once faced as a teen in the foster care system.

The 23-year-old founder of Cherish Our Youth, a non-profit organization that provides resources and educational programs to youth in foster care, will host the third annual Rising Above the Odds Against Me: Girls ONLY Summit on Saturday, May 21, from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. More than 200 participants ages 14-20 are expected to attend the day-long conference.

Thomas will share her experiences and discuss how youth can achieve their goals through mind, body and spirit development. Additional guest speakers and workshop presenters include Gail Perry-Mason, financial advisor and author of Girl Make Your Money Grow; Charisse Gibert, co-pastor of Detroit World Outreach; Gail Parker a psychologist who has made eight appearances on the Oprah Show; Tanisha N. Bolden, author of This is Why I Rock: A Self-Empowerment Journal for Youth; Tiffany Smith, founder of Queen City; Lashun Franklin, counselor and minister at Detroit World Outreach; and Karen Wicker, executive, teen leader and life coach.

This year’s summit theme “Diamond in the Rough to Princess Cut,” is a true testament to Thomas’s life.

Thomas entered the foster care system as a toddler and experienced more than 20 placements that included group homes, detention centers, foster homes, the streets and three failed adoptions. Over her lifetime, Thomas attended 14 schools, including five different high schools before graduating. But she didn’t let external circumstances stop her from achieving her dreams.

Thomas is graduate of the University of Michigan’s Sociology and African-American Studies programs. She has been recognized as a Julia Eder and Blavin Scholar. As the first graduate from the Blavin Scholar program, Thomas has worked as a part of the Blavin Scholar Design Team in developing programs to support aged-out foster care youth who begin their studies at U of M. Currently, Thomas is a student in the School of Social Work graduate program as a Child Welfare Scholar. She will receive an M.S.W. in August 2011.

“Many young girls struggle with finding their way,” Thomas said.  “As young girls we sometimes face obstacles that seem to block us from success and we allow our circumstances and situations to keep us from shinning our brightest.

“This conference is about helping girls realize their own talents, contributions and significance so they are empowered to live to their fullest potential.”

Supporting conference partners include Save Our Children Coalition, a project of U of M-Dearborn’s School of Education and Helping Individuals Succeed Agency.

For more information about the Above the Odds Against Me: Girls ONLY Summit or Cherish Our Youth, email cherishouryouth@gmail.com.

Rasheda Kamaria, long-time mentor and founder of Empowered Flower Girl LLC, is featured in Cosmopolitan’s May issue in an article highlighting adult women who overcame being bullied and teased as teens.

In the article “Being Bullied Changed My Life,” Rasheda and two other women share how repeated teasing and harassment affected their lives both negatively and positively.

According to a recent poll, 87 percent of Cosmo readers reported being targeted by a bully in the past.

Rasheda, who grew up in Detroit and lives in Royal Oak, Mich., said in spite of being teased as a seventh and eighth grader, she developed into a successful adult. “I have a happy, full life now – a great job and close friends,” she said in the article. “But I hate the idea of kids going through what I endured, so last year, I launched Empowered Flower Girl.”

Empowered Flower Girl produces workshops, literature and clothing that inspire girls to live powerfully. This spring and summer, Rasheda is facilitating “Chica Chat™” workshops to foster positive relationships and combat cliques and cyber bullying among tween and teens girls.

“Chica Chat™ participants have the opportunity to be self expressed, heard and understood by their peers and adult mentors in a supportive, safe and accepting environment,” Rasheda said. “Many teens don’t have this experience at school because of the taunting. It’s our goal to show them that it’s possible to live powerfully even if they’re being picked on and ostracized.”

Check out Cosmo’s May issue with Hayley Williams of Paramore on the cover.

When life handed lemons to 23-year-old Cherish Thomas, she didn’t throw a pity party. Instead, she made lemon meringue pie.

To see Cherish now – a beautiful, poised and upbeat young woman – you’d never think that she experienced hardships growing up. But she did.

Cherish grew up in the foster care system and experienced more than 20 placements that included group homes, detention centers, foster homes, the streets and three failed adoptions. Over her lifetime, Cherish attended 14 schools, including five different high schools before graduating. On top of that, she encountered physical abuse and experienced depression after being separated from her siblings.

“I was born into a situation that people would deem be designed to cycle disaster,” Cherish said. “In some forms in my journey it did. However, this disaster would not dictate my future.

Cherish’s life after foster care has been far from disaster. Through perseverance and determination, she mapped out a great life for herself. Cherish is a scholar at the University of Michigan where she is earning a master’s degree. Additionally, Cherish is paying it forward to girls and young women who’ve been in the foster care system. A few years ago, she founded Cherish Our Youth (COY), a mentoring program for girls.

On May 21, COY will host the third annual Girl’s Youth Summit. This year’s theme “From Diamond in the Rough to Princess Cut,” is a true testament of Cherish’s life.

For her achievements, service to youth and resilience, Empowered Flower Girl honors Cherish Thomas as a Girl Living Powerfully.

Check out Cherish Our Youth on Facebook.

Chica Chat combats bullying and cliques among tween/teen girls

Could your school or organization use a little help fostering positive relationships and communication among girls? Or would you like to add a fun and interactive workshop to your current activities? If so, consider hosting a Chica Chat – Empowered Flower Girl’s latest program promoting problem solving and combating teasing/bullying.  

What is a Chica Chat?

Chica Chat is a 2-hour workshop for girls and young women 11-18 that gives them the opportunity to be self expressed, heard and understood by their peers and adult mentors. Participants learn the art of networking by participating in fun and engaging icebreaking activities and have the opportunity to ask questions anonymously that are answered by their peers with facilitation by adult mentors.

Empowered Flower Girl is offering the Chica Chat this spring and summer in Michigan, Illinois and Ohio. Live outside of these areas, call or email us for suggestions or a consultation.

Other workshops:

Intro to Vision Boards – EFG takes arts and crafts time to a new level. Participants learn the art of positive thinking and visualization as a method of goal setting. This workshop is available for girls and boys. Each participant leaves with a vision board.

Power Tools for Flower Girls – Based on principles from Empowered Flower Girl’s guidebook , this workshop promotes powerful living through knowledge, self-appreciation and integrity. Participants complete written activities and discuss ways they can empower others.

Contact Rasheda Kamaria for more information about our programs and products. Email rkamaria@empoweredflowergirl.com.

 Do you “like” us? Prove it. Visit www.facebook.com/empoweredflowergirl.

Empowered Flower Girl would like to congratulate the Association for Youth Empowerment (AYE) for being selected as the winner of our National Mentoring Month promotion “MenTEEs: T-shirts for a cause.”

AYE, an organization dedicated to challenging and empowering young people to create positive change in their lives and communities, will receive 25% of all sales during the campaign period.

We are proud to support AYE and wish them much success!

If you’re a dedicated high school or college student or concerned adult, consider giving back by becoming a mentor. It may no longer be National Mentoring Month, but positive role models are needed all year round. Visit http://www.mentoring.org to find an organization near you.

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