I am in a program called JIW (Journey Into Womanhood). It is a program for girls ages 9-17. It starts in the fall around the start of school and ends in the beginning of the summer every year. The sessions are every other Saturday from 10am-2pm not including our few field trips and community service ventures (including the Honor Rows Jaguars game, college tours, and serving for the Mayor’s Holiday Ball). During each session, we do workshops and lectures are given on the core topics. These include drug and alcohol prevention, abstinence, STD prevention, self worth, the concepts of beauty, savings/investment skills, health and fitness, relationship skills, food and nutrition, employment and career skills, the important of giving back to the community, etc. These lectures are very helpful towards the girls of JIW and we take so much from our time with the volunteers.
This program brings so many wonderful opportunities to the participants. Mrs. Elexia, our leader, lovely organizer and mother away from home, works hard to find as many prospects as possible for us in the community. When any of the volunteers find out about any new program or community service opportunity for teenagers, guess who they tell first. Us JIW’s. I am in a few programs, most of which I found out about through JIW. For example, I volunteer at the court house every Monday in a program called Teen Court. I act as an attorney (either prosecution or defense) for teenagers in my county who have gotten in trouble. I found out about this program and others through JIW. Not only does JIW teach the girls about the essentials in life, it also gets us involved in the community.
Every year at the end of the program, JIW holds a banquet to celebrate the girls and their growth throughout the year. The banquet consists of lunch, two speeches, a talent section and an awards portion. Our mistress of ceremonies this year was Angela Spears. Miss Spears spent eleven years as an anchor/reporter for First Coast News NBC 12/ ABC 25. She is now the Public Information Officer for the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office. Our two speakers were Eboni Baugh, Ph.D and William CJ Charlton. Miss Baugh is an assistant Professor of Family Life in the Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences at the University of Florida. She was an inspirational speaker and I loved hearing from her. Mister Charlton is a first officer in the Boeing 757/767 fleet for Continental Airlines. He is also the National Director of the OBAP Aviation Career Education (ACE) Academies as well as the Director of the Jacksonville ACE Academy. His speech was one of the funniest, inspirational and wonderful speeches I have ever listened to. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Read on to learn more about the Empowerment Resources Banquet: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6080356-jiw-journey-into-womanhoo
Written By: Ashley I.
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