On Tuesday, April 17, the Voice Your Verse Team and She’s the First supporters gathered together to fill the walls of the Poets House in Battery Park with sweet verses of poetry and music, to sponsor girls worldwide.
A night full of good conversation, delicious Georgetown cupcakes, the sultry chords of singer-songwriter Diane Birch, and a variety of poetry presentations fueled the crowd, climbing towards a goal of raising $10,000 to sponsor girls during National Poetry Month.
Host Azure Antoinette drew the group close, weaving together award presentations to two young world shakers—Jade Iovine & Bosilika An—and introducing impactful speakers, such as Karen Karpowich, Chairwoman for She’s the First, and Monique Coleman, star of Disney’s High School Musical and “first” ever UN Champion for the Youth. Special performances were given by the girls of the Young Women’s Leadership Network School of Astoria. They gave life to the words behind our young poets from India and winners of the Zinch.com contest.
Hannah Brencher, Director of the Voice Your Verse Campaign, introduced Tina Chang to the stage. Chang, the “first” female Poet Laureate of Brooklyn, delivered a poem inspired by her own daughter and the mission of She’s the First.
At the 8pm hour, the guest moved upstairs for a concert performance by singer-songwriter Diane Birch. There was also the chance to participate in the raffle and silent auction and purchase a Voice Your Verse Anthology. Submissions for the anthology came from a pool of more than 7,800 entries from individuals all over the country, spotlighting stand out work from the Zinch.com contest and poetry from our partner schools in India, Sudan, and Nepal.
A special thank you goes out to Ryan Maguire’s, Georgetown Cupcakes, Bodegas Riojanas, and Cowgirl Seahorse for the food, wine, and cupcakes throughout the night. Perhaps the biggest thank you of all goes to our participants and presenters through out the night and the Poets House for allowing us to host at their venue (recently spotlighted in the Wall Street Journal! Hoorah!)
Didn’t get to attend the event?
There is still time to be a part of the Voice Your Verse campaign and help us reach our 10K goal! Purchase an anthology just in time for a Mother’s Day gift, or check out the live stream of the event to see all the action from the night replayed!
Check out Kate Lord’s photos from the event here!
