Jake Rocks.

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend Be The Person 2012 in Chicago on behalf of Kappa Kappa Gamma, an organization dedicated to empowering women throughout their lives.  The event encouraged participants to not just talk about changing the world, but to actually go out and do it.  

The conference allowed us to explore the streets of Chicago.  On the last morning of the event, our final challenge was to chalk the town, spreading messages of love and inspiration.  We were each handed two pieces of chalk and sent off for two hours.  


Well, about thirty minutes in I was down to my last 1/2 stick of orange chalk.  I had struggled with my messages that morning, even telling a friend I wasn't feeling very inspirational.  It had been an intense conference and I was feeling a bit drained.

I was chalking, "Have a fabulous day!" on a street corner in front of a community garden when one of the facilitators called three of us over to the garden fence.  An older gentleman was standing there with his bike, the basket filled to the brim with gardening tools.  The gentleman asked if we would be willing to chalk inside the garden.

Of course!  I mean, that was the point of the conference, right?  Little did I know I know I was about to learn what it truly means to be the person for somebody else.

We met Lenny at the entrance to the garden.  He led us past well-kept orderly garden beds to one that had already caught my eye.  The garden was full of growing tomato and basil plants.  A sign stood proudly at one end, decorated with small American flags, proclaiming this was Jake's Garden.

Lenny explained to us that he had received this plot of land as a donation.  As you may have guessed, it had been Jake's Garden.  Jake was seven when he passed away from complications of a brain tumor.  Lenny felt compelled to create a garden that would honor Jake and the sunshine he brought to the community.  On the wooden garden bed, we chalked  "Jake Rocks," his slogan as he bravely battled cancer.

It was the most amazing moment to be able to give of ourselves in such a little way.  To chalk a few words, a couple suns and hearts.  But it moved Lenny to tears.

We took a group picture and through the convenience of modern technology, I emailed it to Lenny right away.  He told me he wanted to share the photo with Jake's parents and the local schools. I don't know if that will happen, but I do know that for five minutes, the six of us mattered.


Check out the first 52 seconds of the video below for my on-the-spot interview about Jake's Garden.

believe.

On Saturday, May 5, 2012, the Center for Girls' Leadership will be hosting the first ever Lead Today 5K, a fun run/walk to raise funds for our awesome programs!  This is our first big fundraising event for the Center and I am amazed by the generosity of people.

This past Sunday, the Board met to finalize our planning for the event and to decide what our worst case scenario would be.  See at that point, we only had 5 people registered for the event.  We had about 20 people indicate interest but our numbers weren't looking hot.

Here's where faith comes in.  I believe in the Center for Girls' Leadership, I believe in our Board, and I believe in the generosity of other people.  In less than two days, we have 50 people signed up for the 5K!! You just gotta believe and good things will happen!

If you haven't signed up yet, there's still time!  Click here to register! 

The Importance of Education

It has been a while since I've posted on the blog.  As much as I would love to devote all my time to building the CGL and advocating for issues that pertain to girls, sometimes I can't.  And this is one of those times.


Currently, our six board members are all in graduate school.  In less than a month, five of us will graduate from law school.  The past two months have been filled with reading assignments and final papers, all trying to wrap up what for most of us will be our last semester of school.  Ever.


This is crazy to me.  I've been in school for 20 of my 26 years.  It's a life I've come to know well.  While some days I ache for a normal life with a normal job, it is bittersweet to say goodbye to life as a student.  


For years my mother has instilled in me the power of education.  "School comes first," she used to say when I'd get busy with extracurricular activities.  That focus has served me well.  Right now, school comes first; CGL comes second.


My mother's other favorite saying is "No one can take away your education."  And she's right.  People come and go.  Fate changes the circumstances of life.  But my one constant will be my education.  I am so happy I went as far as I could with school.  No one can take away the fact that I am graduating law school.


These life lessons are ones that I will instill in my children some day, just as my mother taught me.  And I hope that each girl that the CGL reaches will learn that academics are the basic foundation for leadership.  School must always come first.

Crazy Dreams

We are now less than one week away to our first event for The Center for Girls' Leadership!  Up until now, it has seemed like a just crazy dream but on Saturday, it will be a reality.  We are so excited to finally share the CGL with the our first girls!


I heard this Carrie Underwood song this week and I was struck by how great of a song it is for the dreamers out there:  "Thank God even crazy dreams come true."  

Thank you to everyone who has given us their support over the past couple months.  This is just the beginning!

Pathways to Leadership: Women in the Law 2.25.12

The Center for Girls’ Leadership will host its first program, “Pathways to Leadership: Women in the Law,” on Saturday, Feb. 25, at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. The event will include a panel presentation and short mock trial. The panel will feature at least five attorneys from the community.

Open to women in high school and college, the event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon (check-in begins at 8:30 a.m.) in the Frey Moot Courtroom, located in the School of Law on St. Thomas’ Minneapolis campus.

Through the Pathways to Leadership series, the Center for Girls’ Leadership, a nonprofit organization, teaches young women in high school and college about possible future career options in various industries. Each program features a panel with women from the community discussing their individual leadership journey, as well as small group discussions and activities.

Registration is free and available at the Center for Girls’ Leadership website; the program, a CGL gift and a snack are included.

 

Real Girls, Real Leadership: 11.30.11

Each day, real girls are being real leaders.  Get inspired by their stories:

• Lexi, 14, was frustrated by the fact that there were no female hockey players in the NHL video games she loved playing.  So, she wrote to the gamemaker, calling the exclusion of female players "unfair to women and girl hockey players around the world."  Because of Lexi, female avatars will be used for the first time in NHL 12.  Even better?  The default avatar is modeled after Lexi!
• Stephanie, a high school senior, is an editor for the yearbook, plays tenor sax in concert band, and lettered in tennis this fall...all while recovering from a brain tumor. 

One Step Closer.

Today, we took an important step forward in the creation of The Center for Girls' Leadership. The Articles of Incorporation were sent off to the Minnesota Secretary of State to be filed!

Now the waiting game begins. Once the Articles are filed, we become an official nonprofit corporation under Minnesota law. So exciting! A special thank you to Gina, Salena and Gregg from UST School of Law for helping us draft our Articles of Incorporation!

In other news, we have an official logo! The lovely Colleen Dolphin of Dolphinography created a wonderful image for us to use:

We just love it! A huge thank you to Colleen for contributing her creativity to The Center for Girls' Leadership!

Happy Tuesday!