Press Release 

 

MEDIA CONTACT: Sheila Simmons

215-592-8988, media@evoluerhouse.org

 

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FREE, SUMMER WORKSHOPS REFLECT ‘BLACK GIRLS MATTER’

Female teens can now register for 8-week programs designed to empower them in life, career

 

 

(PHILADELPHIA, PA) – Philadelphia’s non-profit Evoluer House has long recognized that many urban black girls were in crisis.

So in its on-going effort to inspire, empower and guide girls in their personal development and career decisions, the organization is accepting registrations for its two annual summer workshops -- on personal and career development – to run July 7 through Aug. 27 at Pierce College in Center City Philadelphia.

“The #BlackGirlsMatter issue is real. Our girls are not okay,” says Cheryl Ann Wadlington, executive director of The Evoluer House. “In addition to academic disenfranchisement, black girls suffer from sexual abuse and STD cases at alarming rates greater than their white or male counterparts.”

“Black Girls Matter: Pushed Out, Overpoliced and Underprotected,” a groundbreaking report recently released by the African American Policy Forum and Columbia Law School’s Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies, examined various factors that direct girls of color down dead-end-streets.

Through Evoluer’s programs, girls between the ages of 13 and 18 receive opportunities to achieve their dreams and build bold and bright futures. The organization has graduated over 900 girls from its program. One hundred percent of those graduates have gone on to attend college or some form of post-secondary education/training. Many have gone on to earn advanced degrees.

Taught by area youth development and education professionals, Evoluer’s Personal Development Workshop seeks to inspire a positive self-image and ambition in girls through an eight-week, reality-based learning experience. Topics include “Loving the Skin You’re In,” “Setting and Accomplishing Goals,” financial literacy, civic engagement, internet safety and etiquette.

Meanwhile, the Youth Workforce Development program focuses on the foundations of being successful and personal, resume-writing and communication skills girls need to land a job, keep a job, and advance in their lives and careers.

This summer’s programs are funded in part by the generous contributions of Philadelphia Activities Fund, Health Partners Foundation, DermHA, Peirce College, The Philadelphia Chapter of Chums, Inc., and Evoluer House supporters.

To register, interested applicants should email Kyleen Shaw at kyleen@evoluerhouse.org. For additional information, go to www.evoluerhouse.org or call 215-592-8988.
 

 

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