Tag Archives: ExplorersTYWLS

@ExplorersTYWLS Camp Ends with Bead Making for Fundraiser

Camp has come to an end and She’s the First is left with lots of new friends, tons of amazing photos, and some great ideas for the future. Every day that we spent with the TYWLS Explorers was wonderful, but I found our final workshop to be the most fun and inspiring.

Last Wednesday we decided to let the girls experience the heart of She’s the First: giving the gift of education to a girl across the world. We talked to the girls about Uganda and how a huge percentage of their population is living on less than $1 per day. We told them about organizations like BeadforLife, started by Torkin Wakefield and Ginny Jordan in 2003, which allow the women of Uganda to break the poverty cycle by making magazine beads to be sold in North America and Europe.

Next, we told the campers about Hellen, a 15 year old girl studying at the Arlington Academy of Hope. Last year STF sponsored Hellen for the first time and this year the TYWLS Explorers have the opportunity to give Hellen another year of education by making and selling magazine beads, just like the women of Uganda!

Nabulwala Hellen, student at AAH

After teaching them how to make the beads, the girls were off and running. They were so excited about helping Hellen that they started tweeting right away!

Not only did the girls get to see how it feels to directly help someone across the world, but they got to bond with the STF volunteers!

Photo by Kate Lord

Photo by Kate Lord

Photo by Kate Lord
Photo by Kate Lord
Photo by Kate Lord
Photo by Kate Lord
Photo by Kate Lord
Photo by Kate Lord

Thank you to the @ExplorersTYWLS for letting us share your camp experience, we had an absolute blast. We have seen firsthand how much of an impact you are capable of making, and we can’t wait to see what other great things you will do!

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Look What @ExplorersTYWLS Did in Bryant Park!

Since camp began five days ago, the @ExplorersTYWLS have been tweeting away (check out our Storify to see how great they’re doing!) So for today’s workshop, we decided to give them a  little break from pure social media and let them brush up on their offline reporting skills, which they’ll then post to their Tumblr. We armed them with these basic questions…

  • What are you the first to do?
  • What would you like to be the first to do?
  • What inspires you?

…and then we set them loose in Bryant Park!

We all gathered on the steps of The New York Public Library to regroup and talk about their experiences (and, of course, for a photo opp!)

I was particularly proud of the Explorers today because they stepped outside of their comfort zones to connect with people from all walks of life. In-person interviews can be very intimidating, especially when approaching people on the street. The girls were nervous, but not one of them backed down; no one said “I can’t” or “I’m too scared.” They worked through their fears and had incredible success, interviewing tons of people. That, my friends, is courage.

Look out for the articles that the Explorers will be posting about their interviewing experiences on the Tumblr blog: ExplorersTYWLS.tumblr.com.

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@ExplorersTYWLS Camp: Tumblr Training with Nanette Lepore!

On day two of @ExplorersTYWLS camp, we invited the 15 campers who had volunteered to be editors for the Tumblr Blog to come to She’s the First HQ for an hour long training session.

Tammy gets the Explorers excited about editing the Tumblr blog! Photo by Justice Ami

Tammy taught the Explorers how important it is to have their own “Editorial Voice.” They brainstormed about what they want the voice of their blog to be, and together they came up with the words, “adventure, exploration, and inspiring.”

The girls brainstorm together to come up with the "voice" of their blog. Photo by Justice Ami.

Next, Tammy handed the girls over to two very special guest speakers from Nanette Lepore- Jimmy Lepore Hagan (Social Media Strategist) and Nicole Loher (Social Media Blogger and summer intern). Jimmy and Nicole taught the girls about real life application for their blogging skills, and how they can turn Social Media into a career.

Jimmy Lepore Hagan (social media strategist) and Nicole Loher (social media blogger and summer intern) from Nanette Lepore. Photo by Justice Ami.

Nicole and Jimmy teach the girls how to turn their social media skills into an exciting career. Photo by Justice Ami.

The girls left feeling VERY excited about their new skills, or as we are calling them, their new superpowers!

Our favorite tweet about the training session: “We had two awesome speakers from @Nanettelepore today! It was beyond epic (: #MyImpact“ –@IsraKhaled

We are extremely proud of the girls so far,  join the @ExplorersTYWLS for the rest of their summer adventures by following their Tumblr Blog:  ExplorersTYWLS.tumblr.com.

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What Happened on Our First Day at @ExplorersTYWLS Camp!

Photo by Kate Lord

Flash back! It seemed as if I were back at school for the first day all over again. As nervous and excited girls crowded the elevator, we had already started off on the right note as one of our youngest campers pointed out that being packed so closely together was instantly creating a “bonding experience” among the rest of us. When the elevator finally reached the 7th floor, I could feel the excitement just pouring out of the gym.

As I poked my head inside the gym to simply get a taste of the energy that had clearly taken over the atmosphere, my adrenaline had already started soaring at the thought of working with these 140 excited and energetic girls.

Within about 20 minutes, our first group of girls started to file in and sit down in anticipation for the start of our workshop. Attentive, engaged faces were all we needed to see in order to recognize that class was now in session.

Photo by Kate Lord

A warm welcome seemed to be the only thing that was needed for the girls to feel comfortable and ready to learn. We then introduced ourselves and began to break down what exactly it means to be “a first.” When we opened up discussion with the girls, I can say on behalf of all of us, we were thoroughly impressed with their answers. Girls saying that they wanted to be the first in their families to be journalists, judges, doctors, and even attend graduate school. The depth and complexity of their answers were not only impressive, but also empowering to us and the rest of the girls sitting in the room.

@KateSchwarzNYC - Photo by Kate Lord

After getting down on their level and really diving into their goals for their own futures, we then went ahead and passed out a survey. The survey would include questions about social media, and their usage or feelings on it. For handing in the survey the girls were rewarded with a lovely She’s the First sticker, and a handout that mapped out the instructional information of the challenges we would present to them in weeks to come. After Kate went through the handout, together with the girls we creatively brainstormed a Social Media Code of Conduct, and discussed the do’s and dont’s of their tremendous new superpowers.

 

Photo by Kate Lord

@BrookeSassman - Photo by Kate Lord

In the coming weeks, the girls will be hard at work creating Tweets, submitting content for the Tumblr blog (ExplorersTYWLS.tumblr.com), and taking pictures to post to Instagram. They’ll learn not only how to harness their creative energy, but to use it for good as their strongest superhero power. With that being said, it couldn’t have been more perfect than to leave the girls with a special quote from the Spiderman movie. Kate closed the workshop by leaving the girls with this powerful statement: “…with great power comes great responsibility.”

Stay tuned for our upcoming blog posts as we continue our journey with the @ExplorerTYWLS girls!

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#STFSummer: Introducing You to @ExplorersTYWLS

Hi friends! How’s your #STFSummer going? I’m excited to tell you about a special part of ours and introduce a new Twitter handle you should know: @ExplorersTYWLS. It’ll be powered by 140 teen girls from NYC who are going to make an impact on the world, right before our very eyes.

At She’s the First, we are always looking for ways to reach students globally and locally with our mission. We fundraise for girls’ sponsorships in our 8 partner countries (253 girls and counting!), and we’re innovating new ways to inspire girls around us to break barriers, too. The latest experiment: Bringing a three-week social media enrichment program to the Young Women’s Leadership Schools’ summer camp in NYC.

I’m going to answer some FAQs you might have below, and then I invite you to keep the convo going with us on Twitter! (@shesthefirst, @ExplorersTYWLS, and camp hashtag is #MyImpact)

Where are the Young Women’s Leadership Network Schools?

Referred to as “TYWLS,” (like “twills”), these public schools are based in Queens, Brooklyn, East Harlem, and soon, the Bronx. They empower low-income students to break the cycle of poverty through education. Nearly all will be accepted into college and 80% will become first-generation college students. Even Oprah’s inspired by them!

What happens at summer camp?

The Young Women’s Leadership Network runs Summer Explorers, a three-week experiential learning summer camp for girls to enhance their connections to the wider world beyond the school year and a summer bridge program for incoming 6th graders.

What is She’s the First doing?

We’re mentoring the girls on social media use, giving them “challenge assignments” for their Twitter (@ExplorersTYWLS) and Tumblr (ExplorersTYWLS.tumblr.com).

What are your goals?

  • Teach students how to build a community during the summer, to last into the new school year.
  • Challenge students to be perceptive of the world around them.
  • Enable students to build a conversation with girls globally and compare their daily lives; guide them in creating an arts & crafts fundraiser for a girl’s sponsorship.
  • Establish guidelines for social media etiquette that will support students’ professional ambitions in the future.
  • Empower students to share the world through their eyes–what it is like to be a teen girl living, loving, and learning during the summer–with fellow New Yorkers.

 

How will you know if STF succeeded?

The social media will speak for itself, and we’ll be doing pre-and post-surveys with the girls, to measure success with data. The girls will also give us feedback, which we’ll share with you!

Who at She’s the First is involved?

To name a few, during the day, our summer crew, @KateSchwarzNYC and @BrookeSassman, are in the drivers’ seats! They’ll blog each day after camp to keep you informed. The talented @KateLordPhoto and @beeebro (Brittany Brothers) will also be popping in to capture photo and video. @GoGenny (Genevieve Tabios) made the graphic designs. @AzureAntoinette, the acclaimed poet we worked with on #VoiceYourVerse (and share office space with now!), works for the Young Women’s Leadership Schools and she’s hosting the Explorers camp along with an extraordinary league of camp counselors. YOU can be involved, too. (Keep on reading!)

How will we make a global impact?

In the third week of camp, the girls are going to dedicate their time to an arts ‘n crafts activity–making magazine bead necklaces and bracelets, similar to these that women in Uganda are known for–and then in August, they’ll sell them, hoping to raise $360 to sponsor a girl in Uganda at the Arlington Academy of Hope. (Want them to sell at YOUR office? Email me! tammy@shesthefirst.org)

What can I do to help?

Follow the campers’ Twitter (@ExplorersTYWLS) & Tumblr and leave comments and feedback so that they know you are listening…and their voices matter!

This program would not have been possible without the incredible support and forward-thinking staff of the Young Women’s Leadership Network. It’s a brave project–the Department of Ed has never done something like this before and you can imagine the ways it could backfire. But we’ve never been about those negative “what if’s” here at She’s the First. We’re about the “I can” and “I will.” Breaking barriers. This is their world. Let’s give them the tools and watch them shape it.

What do you think? Talk to us! Comment below, or tweet me or @shesthefirst!

Message to the Explorers:

     

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