This week’s charity list has some amazing, not as well-known charities. I ask you check them all out; there’s some amazing stuff here.
2/13 – At The Well conferences is an organization that runs conferences around the country to “promote the emotional, physical, financial, and spiritual health of women and girls.” They also have a division that specifically aims to empower young black women to be future leaders. I’m really enamored of their weekend intensives for 9th graders – what a wonderful time to make a difference!
2/14 – Another great organization focused on leadership is Petals-n-Belles, which is particularly aimed at a non-conventional, non-conformist way of looking at creativity, intellect, and personal growth. They do workshops, after-school programs, summer intensives, and more – and align girls in school with mentors to help them along the way. The goal is to give girls real-life experience that is relevant to what they’re learning in school. The founder, Damali Elliott, is also really cool! I recommend reading her description of her story.
2/15 – I fell in love with the unique mission of Girls Going Global – this organization wants to educate girls about the world and other cultures, and so takes them on trips and cultural exchanges around the world. How cool is that?? They currently serve Philadelphia and Atlanta, and I’ll be donating more in the future in hopes they’ll spread out. You can sponsor a passport for a girl, too! In these fraught days I’m thinking there might be multiple purposes for something like that…
2/16 – After going global, it made sense to me to go local and support the Uniquely You Summit. It’s a – pardon the pun – unique organization that specifically aims to help women and girls share stories and feedback about social pressures and personal issues they face. Per their website, “The UNIQUELY YOU SUMMIT is an experiential dialogue that unites black women and girls of similar backgrounds in order to eliminate the perception of isolation, and meet self-esteem needs not addressed by conventional outreach and instruction. By discovering the universality of their feelings and experiences, the barriers to becoming who they are are lifted.” I….can’t do better than that description. They have a terrific Twitter and some great Instagram posts; follow them!
2/17 – One of the things I really liked when looking at the work done by Black Women For Wellness was the sheer breadth of their projects – yet it does not seem scattered at all. If I wrote about everything this group did, I’d have to give them their own series of posts. From healthcare to advocacy to cooking classes to social justice to research on the criminalization of black girls in school, these amazing women have done a TON of amazing work. Catch them on Facebook and Twitter.
2/18 – Trans women are women, and trans women of color are most targeted by violence in all intersections, but particularly anti-trans violence. I support Black Girl Dangerous and the promotion of voices of queer and trans people of color. BGD Press, Blog (this is where one donates), and Books all aim to amplify voices that are ignored or minimized in today’s society, and they do amazing, quality work. Besides, Mia McKenzie is the bomb.
2/19 – I also support Trans Women of Color Collective, with their aim to “uplift the narratives, lived experiences and leadership of trans and gender non-conforming people of color, our families and comrades as we build towards collective liberation for all oppressed people.” As extraordinary founder Lourdes Ashley Hunter states, “Every Breath a Trans Person Takes is an Act of Revolution.” For trans women of color, doubly and triply so.
I feel it’s important to end on a focus on trans women of color’s lives and voices. Next week I’ll post today’s charity. Love and strength to all.
killer puppy tails 