Our Branch’s Mission Based Vision: Provide Hope to Women and Girls through Education and Empowerment

Advocacy for women, and particularly for the empowering impact of education on women’s self-determination success, has always been central to the mission and vision of the American Association of University Women.  Energized by a new outreach platform that seeks to put that mission to work, AAUW-Birmingham members gathered for a “lunch and learn” orientation launch to our Promise Zone Coaching Project on Monday, March 3 at All Saints Episcopal in Pontiac to hear Coco Moulder, Executive Director of the Pontiac Promise Zone (and a new member of AAUW!) give a powerful overview of the challenges faced by first-generation college women who are served by the Promise Zone.

This project seeks to partner AAUW members with young women who are currently studying at Oakland Community College or Oakland University, providing them with encouragement, advice, problem-solving, (and maybe some chocolate during final exams!)  The Pontiac Promise Zone provides financial support for students coming out of Pontiac schools as they pursue their dreams via education – but getting students into their post-secondary program is just the beginning. We know that these students, and perhaps especially our girls, often do not have a place to turn for support or advice about the college experience within their familial and social networks. That’s where AAUW comes in:  with the initial goal of providing those reminders about getting to class, staying on top of the homework, going to office hours — the practical input, and a little bit of cheerleading as students lean in to an environment that is unfamiliar, challenging, and sometimes scary.

We are at the very beginning of this work, and so if you are intrigued:  this is the perfect moment!  We will be putting together a meeting within the next month to further identify activities and expectations for our members, as well as to think about a calendar that might include group events on campus to allow for community-building among the students and our members alike.  We hope to roll out initial contacts with students in May/June (because the summer is still an important time to sustain forward motion) and to hit the ground with impact this fall.

If you would like to receive information about this project, and perhaps to get involved:  please scan the QR code in the below, which will put you on the listserv for meetings and communications.  As so many of us look for ways to the be the change that we would like to see in the world, we’re hoping that this project will fill that aspiration in ways that are life-changing  — on both sides of the equation.

Our program kicked off in March, with an orientation for coaches.