Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson and the City of Gary have partnered with BrownGirl Village (BGV), based out of Baltimore, Maryland to host a highly-anticipated conference for girls. The conference aims to expose girls who attend, to new opportunities and to empower the girls to look beyond their present situations.
BrownGirl Village Gary (BGVG) will welcome 200 girls of color ages 12-18 from Gary and Northwest Indiana to the Genesis Convention Center, 1 Genesis Plaza on Saturday, July 29, 2017. The retreat from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. will present a full day of exciting interactive educational workshops and sessions, celebrity speakers, beauty tips, health & fitness and fun activities. The day-long event and subsequent mentoring will inspire the girls to explore non-traditional careers and to promote self-esteem, healthy habits and positive social skills.
Featured speakers include accomplished stage, film and television actor and author Hill Harper and Emmy award-winning journalist and news anchor Cheryl Burton of ABC 7 News-Chicago along with Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson and former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. All speakers will interact with the girls. Burton will conduct an interview with Harper following the event’s etiquette luncheon around 12:00 noon.
Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson stated, “We are excited that Sharon Page and the Synergy team have joined us to forge this partnership. We predict that this event will inspire the girls who participate, and will lay the groundwork for future generations.”
Retreat topics include: Women in Politics, the Beauty of Business, Social Butterfly, Naturally & Authentically You, Fit BrownGirl, The Right Fork, Youth Financial Literacy, BrownGirl Code-that will expose the girls to STEM; opportunities available in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Attendees will have an opportunity to participate in all sessions presented at the conference. Additionally, the girls will interact with dignitaries, professionals and celebrity guests that they may not otherwise have an opportunity to meet.
BrownGirl Village Gary sponsors committed to date, include… Walgreens Boots Alliance, NIPSCO, Gary Stormwater District, Centier Bank, Haywood Fleming & Associates, Dell Computers, Boyd Asphalt, Legacy Foundation and the WDS Group.
BrownGirl Village places emphasis on undeserved girls helping young attendees realize that anything is possible with hard work, dedication and determination. The organization’s mission is to deposit self-esteem and to empower girls to serve, innovate and to lead.
