YWCA GirlsFirst honors girls of color leadership
SEATTLE, WA – YWCA GirlsFirst will honor youth in the community at Shades of Leadership, an annual benefit funding STEM education, leadership programming, and confidence building for girls of color. The 2017 GirlsFirst Student Leadership Awards and scholarships will be presented to Loleena Tang and Karishama Vahora, both Franklin High School graduates and current University of Washington students.
The mission of YWCA’s GirlsFirst program is to encourage leadership and empower girls of color with the tools and skills to successfully transition into adulthood. GirlsFirst offers weekly afterschool sessions, leadership in action days, and a summer camp for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) education.
In addition to the 2017 GirlsFirst leadership awards, this event will feature a keynote speech from Keleghai (Kiki) Tatah Mentan from Red-Tailed Hawks Flying Club and Black Pilots of America. Throughout her career, Kiki served as president of organizations such as the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers. One of her focuses in life is to empower youth to venture into the STEM fields.
Shades of Leadership 2017 will be emceed by LueRachelle Brim-Atkins (founder and principal consultant of Brim-Donahoe & Associates), with a champagne reception featuring music from program partner Seattle JazzED.
Event proceeds will go directly to fund GirlsFirst; individual tickets are $125 and available for purchase online at ywcaworks.org/shadesofleadership. This event is made possible by the support of several generous community partners: Starbucks, Swedish, United Healthcare, and Seattle Children’s. Contributions at Shades of Leadership last year totaled over $45,000 and supported a program that served more than 140 girls of color in Seattle and King County each year.
About YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish:
YWCA is the region’s oldest and largest organization focused on the needs of women, and provides services and advocacy to support stable homes and economic advancement, reduce violence and improve health, and promote racial equity and social justice. With programs that serve more than 15,000 people each year, YWCA is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, stand up for social justice, help families, and strengthen communities. To learn more, please visit our website: ywcaworks.org.