The Issue
Self Esteem is defined by google as one’s own confidence in their worth or abilities. Through my action plan, I want to address the issue of self-esteem within my small community and from there expand to larger groups.
Action Plan and Goals
The common outcomes of low self-esteem and confidence in women is why it is so important to create outlets and sources for women to express their feelings and problems. A girl that is not confident in her abilities will look to the wrong role models for guidance and support. Ultimately, this will result in them not setting themselves up to achieve their full potential. Someone who has a more positive outlook on life and a healthy perception of themselves will naturally believe in her own abilities and set herself up for future success. A girl that reaches and knows her full potential will be much happier and may go on to inspire others. A high self-esteem allows for comfortably expressing individuality. Helping to develop confidence now will make a big difference in the decisions that will ultimately make a better life for these girls.
I believe that providing opportunities for girls to learn and better themselves may greatly contribute to solving the problem. Giving the girls a chance to hear others stories and connect with positive role models will help the girls to know that they are not alone and to understand that their past does not have to predict their future.
Being a young woman who has been surrounded by influential women her whole life, I believe that helping to boost the confidence of these girls is one step to a world full of great female leaders. When a girl knows her worth she will then take care of herself and make good decisions which can potentially lead to her success.
Within one year I hope to have facilitated multiple workshops throughout my community. After my own leadership growth hopefully I can recruit others to host workshops and eventually create a larger community of confident and successful female leaders.
Action Steps
I will begin this process by learning how to coordinate and facilitate self-esteem building workshops. I would then host them throughout my community. I would facilitate the workshop in coordination with Take Wings Foundation. I have contacted the organization and they are willing to arrange for a small training for me, from that I training I will gain the skills needed to facilitate a workshop. I will be trained alongside one of their experienced facilitators. After facilitating the workshop with Take Wings I may then move on to my school, then to a larger community group.
Girls from all over the Bay Area will be invited to participate. I will first use the foundation’s email list to contact potential participants. The foundation also has multiple social media platforms that I may be able to advertise on. I will also do 1 on 1 recruitment so that I can attract a larger group of girls.
I am not an expert on all topics so arranging for a guest speaker to speak is a must. I have discussed with Take Wings and they could arrange for the poet Ernestine Johnson to speak at the workshop. Her poems are truly beautiful and may provide a great message for the girls participating in the workshop. I would expect the preparation and planning to take a few months and within that time period I hope to host my first workshop.
Constraints and Challenges
I am in no way an expert of self-esteem and confidence building. I am also not very advanced in either public speaking or facilitating. These are the challenges I may face while trying to make an impact. However, I do have the support of the foundation to guide me through the process. By being open minded and learning from those more knowledgeable than me I hope to gain the skills necessary to impact the girls who will join the workshop. Recruitment may also be another challenge but again the foundation has a large variety of girls who are a part of the program and will be invited to attend the workshop.
Resources
Take Wings Foundation is dedicated to their mission of raising the self-esteem of at-risk girls between the ages of 12-18 living in the San Francisco Bay Area by providing positive experiences and role modeling. Workshops, senior retreats, scholarships, community service projects and annual holiday dinners are some of the programs that youth participate in year round. Exposure to positive role models and unique experiences further supports their vision and goal to encourage its participants to dream outside of the limitations of their current environments. They also require that the youth give back to their own communities through various community service initiatives.
Workshops typically cover topics such as health, wellness, body image, leadership, career planning, financial literacy, academic success, healthy relationships, and many more. Through their participation in these workshops young women have an opportunity to learn communicate in a healthy way and to think and problem solve on their own. The workshops also provide a safe nonjudgmental space for youth to share personal stories and hear from others.
I have participated in various workshops with this foundation and there is not one that I have forgotten. All the workshops are very helpful and I hope to provide a workshop that can have a large effect on these girls. Through this first workshop I may be able to obtain skills that I need to expand to other locations. I can move from this foundation, to my school, to larger community groups.
The foundation has agreed to allocate their resources to have the workshop. Take Wings Foundation has multiple spaces that they can allow me to use, as well as donated materials so that the project does not require the spending of much money.
Assessment
After the first workshop finding out whether it was helpful or useless will be very important. At the end of the workshop I will assess whether or not it was useful by handing out surveys to each of the participants. The surveys will provide the option to be anonymous so the participants may be honest without feeling pressured to give a certain opinion. I will also solicit verbal feedback from the youth whenever given the opportunity. Another factor I will use to determine my success is the amount of people that show up to the workshop. This will show whether my methods of advertising were successful as well as show whether the workshop sounds appealing to others.
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