Young Women of the West......The importance of mentoring
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The Importance of Mentoring
The Importance of Mentoring The Thompson R2-J School District continues to support YWOW, as do the women in the Northern Colorado business community. Thanks to the grant-writing deligence of Dr. Nancy Wear, YWOW will once more be offered in the Fall of 2002 to the Junior and Senior girls of Loveland and Berthoud. Ann Clarke will once more be the Program Administrator, and Donielle Saxton, owner of Body Therapeutics Relaxation and Massage Therapy will be the Business Liaison, with Vicky Mivshek the School Coordinator.
Also in 2001, the Women''s Development Council of Northern Colorado created a grant of $3500 for a modified version of the program to be offered to 9 th grade girls of Wellington.
The new program relied on Ann Clarke as the Program Administrator and Denise Lucas of Moonlight Productions as the Business Liaison. The workshops were held in the Vectra Bank Board Room. Because the girls were too young to drive and couldn’t do internships, we took them on field trips. We also brought in more women in business as speakers to share their experiences and challenges. One highlight was a field trip to Jennie's Salon for a "business make-over." We also took the girls shopping at Donna's Wear It Again Apparel shop in Cheyenne where another fabulous mentor, Janet Fisher, and her daughter, showed the girls how to "dress for success" for less than $10. The day was capped off with a pizza party.
Girls in the program in 2001-2002 included one youngster who was sexually assaulted, one who survived a life-threatening illness, and several who were already identified as "at risk." There is no doubt that the strong female roll models they meet through YWOW are a positive influence in their lives! The Wellington program for 9th graders is an unqualified success, and the WDC will continue their grant program in 2002-2003, with Denise Lucas as Program Administrator and Ann Clarke as backup.
After seven years, YWOW has dozens of success stories to its credit. We have shared tears with parents and with their daughters as they spoke of how their YWOW experiences changed their lives for the better. One young woman told us frankly that YWOW had saved her life. Her mentor and the facilitators refused to let her drop out of contact during an especially low point in her life, and their loving nagging gave her hope and inspiration that her future could be filled with success and not despair. Ann Clarke says, "I realize that YWOW is part of my mission in life. As a women business owner for over 25 years and a professional speaker, I understand the importance of mentoring other women. Especially our teenagers."
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A YWOW student learns about the less-glamourous aspects of owning your own business.
YWOW Students and Mentors have said ...
"Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to attend the Women’s Success Forum. I really appreciated the opportunity to hear the speakers and meet so many successful business women. I appreciate all the work you do for the Young Women of the West–you are quite a "quit worker."--Laurel Buonpane
"Thank you for bringing YWOW to us. It has touched the hearts of many people. We appreciate the support and dedication. It is people like you have brought to us that make the world a great place to live."--Tiffany Taylor
