Wow!! I cannot believe how my GLOW girls and friends (above) have GROWN over the past six years that I’ve been privileged to volunteer with Girls Leading Our World, Inc. These “girls” have become young women, forging their own paths in the world and making it a brighter and better place already. The young women pictured above are enrolled in or have completed post-secondary education and serve as powerful examples for the next generation of GLOW girls (below).
If you haven’t heard me speak about GLOW (maybe you just met me, ha?!), it is a life-changing leadership program for girls at risk, and GLOW recognizes that ALL girls are at risk. I am blessed to be affiliated with this personal and professional development program helping young ladies in Kansas City develop their innate potential.
Most of the girls (ages 6-24) who participate are young women of color. And while I know my worry does nothing to help, it is hard not to be anxious at times like these. Could they become the next Breonna Taylor or Sandra Bland? The thought literally keeps me up at night.
And at times like these, especially, I turn to yogic practices to help me find my way “back from the edge” of anxiety. Our girls and young women are strong, resilient, smart, kind, compassionate, hard-working individuals. And, even better, they are CONNECTED to a COMMUNITY of other strong, resilient, smart, kind, compassionate, hard-working individuals who are determined to support their continued progress. We invest in GLOW girls because we know they represent our best hopes for our future.
If, like me, you believe in them and the potential for a brighter future, I invite you to participate in a variety of fundraising opportunities for the GLOW Gateways to Success Grant, a new scholarship for eligible GLOW graduates pursuing a post-secondary academic degree and/or professional certification/license.
The first fundraiser I am proposing is a Yoga-and-Swim Summer Solstice Celebration: YASSS!! I was supposed to be singing an “Ode to Joy” with the Kansas City Symphony and Chorus the weekend of the solstice but, because of the COVID pandemic, our season was canceled. Nevertheless: JOI persists!
JOI happens to be the name of one of our younger GLOW girls, the daughter of GLOW co-founder LaVeeda Simmons. This remarkable young lady has endured multiple surgeries and painful recoveries during her relatively short lifetime, yet I have never known her to be anything but truly JOYFUL.
For Joi, and for all our GLOW girls, I invite you to participate in either of two “happy hour yoga” events, celebrating the joys of summer. Email me to reserve your spot or request more info about a happy hour Yoga-and-Swim celebration from 3-6PM, Friday, June 19, or 9AM-Noon, Saturday, June 20. Suggested donation is $15 ($5 goes to GLOW) for an hour of outdoor yoga or $25 ($10 goes to GLOW) for an hour of yoga PLUS swim-and-social time, refreshments included. *Swim social limited to 10-20 participants to observe social distancing recommendations.