The 19th Annual Women’s Initiative Stepping Up for Girls Celebration will be held October 19 in honor of women’s philanthropy, leadership, and empowerment of adolescent girls within the Central Massachusetts area.
“Boys need support as well, but girls have different things that they’re going through,” Director Emily McCann said. “Having them in a girl-only environment is really powerful, where they feel that some of their barriers can come down to be able to talk and feel like they can speak more directly with a peer and someone that is dealing with similar types of challenges.”
The Women’s Initiative, which is part of United Way of Central Massachusetts, focuses on giving back and enabling area middle school girls, age 10 to 14.
“It’s volunteer driven, engaging our members and donors to give back through financial contributions but also through their time and volunteerism,” McCann said. “We fund quality programming for middle school girls in Central Mass…We really target middle school girls because that’s a transitional period for a woman.”
There are a number of girls-only programs within the area that the Women’s Initiative funds. One is at the Boys and Girls Club. Another is an in-school girls’ program called “Girls Promoting Safety” through the YWCA and Girls Inc.
“Really our focus is around providing violence prevention programs for girls, helping them to navigate these challenging transitional years in their life,” McCann said, adding that this is done through helping the girls build their self-esteem and confidence as well as their voice in finding a safe space where they can share their thoughts and feelings. “It’s a really pivotal time in a girl’s life, and it’s a great way to get women involved to give back and support the next women leaders in our community.”
Some topics that the girls have discussed, according to McCann include bullying and going through puberty. Girls have also hit upon topics of relationships and what healthy communication looks like.
“And then of course, the big piece is social media and what they’re seeing both from a cyberbullying perspective but also talking about your body image and what’s real or not real on social media,” McCann said. “There’s so much confusion going on in that time of your life but then you add things like violence and bullying but also racism…It’s really about local women helping local girls to navigate that.”
A “Dollar Scholar” program allows the girls to learn about financial literacy and what it means to be financially independent.
Volunteers that run these programs and serve as mentors run the gamut of the women throughout Central Massachusetts, according to McCann. There are people who are young professionals. Others are retirees. Some run small businesses or are part of higher education, corporate fields, and even nonprofit organizations.
“It really comes down to the relevancy of women wanting to do something and think back to their time in middle school,” McCann said. “Most women don’t have a positive feeling of how middle school was for them, so trying to give back in that way.”
In the 19 years that the program has existed, the Women’s Initiative has raised nearly $6 million in donations and has supported over 14,000 girls in Central Massachusetts, according to McCann.
The event has annually honored two women from the community. This year, the Lois B. Green Leadership Award will go to Linda Cavaioli, who formerly served as the executive director of the YWCA Central Massachusetts.
“She has done an enormous amount of work to support women and girls and to help support the Women’s Initiative as well,” McCann said.
The Meridith D. Wesby Young Leader Award will be presented to Genesis Marquez Campos, a student as well as president and co-founder of the Worcester Youth Cooperative. This award is specifically given to women under the age of 26.
“She is a student, now a freshman at Worcester State. In her last year of high school at Claremont Academy in Worcester, she and a few other students co-founded an organization called the Worcester Youth Cooperative,” McCann said. “It’s a totally youth run organization and is focused on helping those in need…She thought of this in the middle of Covid when everything was still virtual in Worcester. She’s incredibly amazing.”
Girls will be featured during the event as well in different ways. People who are joining in person will be able to see girls’ artwork in the pop-up space. The works speaks to the sense of community the girls’ have felt throughout the pandemic thanks to the Women’s Initiative. Girls’ stories will also be shared throughout the night.
Signature sponsors for the event are Abbvie and the Hanover Insurance Group. Lead Sponsors are Anna Maria College and Reliant Medical Group. Corporate Sponsors are Little House Capital, Saint-Gobain, and UMass Memorial Health. Support Sponsors are bankHometown, Bay State Savings Bank, Bowditch & Dewey, Coghlin Electrical, Cornerstone Bank, Country Bank, Fallon Health, Fidelity Bank, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care/Tufts Health Plan, Imperial Distributors, Interstate Speciality Products, Kerri A. Malley Commonwealth Financial Group, Notre Dame Academy, Pathways for Change Inc., Seven Hills Foundation, UMass Chan Medical School, UniBank, and Worcester State University.
The in-person event will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Jean McDonough Arts Center (JMAC) with the Worcester Popup, a creative co-working space of the Worcester Cultural Coalition and in partnership with The Barr Foundation. A cocktail reception sponsored by LLB Architects and Webster Five will kick-off the event.
Attending virtually is also an option. Assumption University, College of the Holy Cross, Main Street Bank, National Grid, and the Worcester Business Development Corporation are sponsoring the virtual program.
JMAC requires that all guests provide proof of COVID-19 vaccinations or a negative test within 48 hours of the event. Masks are to be worn regardless of vaccination status.
To register for the event and learn more go to give.classsy.org/2021steppingup.
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