NY Urban League Hosts Girl Power Day
New York, NY -The New York Urban League is presenting STRONGER: Girls’ Empowerment Day, an opportunity for young women to interact with role models and gain inspiration to succeed in their own lives. On May 7, 2010, 150 high school girls participating in the event will visit the workplaces of some of New York’s most powerful and influential women, followed by a discussion and reception featuring Mary J. Blige.
In addition, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has declared May 7th to be a citywide Girls’ Empowerment Day. In recognition of this day, parents, teachers, friends, and relatives are encouraged to take an action that will empower a girl and help her to achieve her goals.
“This exciting day will have a tremendous positive impact on the girls that are participating,” says Arva Rice, President and CEO of the New York Urban League (NYUL). “When some of the most high-powered women in the City take the time to share their experience, it elevates girls’ self-confidence and helps them believe that they, too, can succeed. This event embodies our mission at NYUL to empower young people to shape and control their futures.”
The event is being sponsored by Mary J. Blige’s organization, the Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now (FFAWN), Time Warner, and Essence magazine.
The participating students will gather at 9:30 am at the Harlem Renaissance School, 22 East 128th Street, where they will be placed in groups based on their career interest. From 11 am to 2 pm, the girls will engage in Empowerment Host Shadowing. During the shadowing, they will have an opportunity to tour the host facilities and be given a “how-to” briefing on working in the host’s field.
The Empowerment Hosts include: Gayle King, Editor-at-large of O Magazine; Michelle Miller, CBS News Correspondent; Lisa Price, Owner of Carol’s Daughter; Marva Smalls, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Chief of Staff at Nickelodeon; Doreen Mogavero, President at Mogavero, Lee & Co., and C-level women at the New York Times Company, Lincoln Center, Madison Square Garden, Sesame Workshop, New York City Hall, and the New York Police Department.
At 3 pm Mary J. Blige will greet the girls as they reconvene for a panel discussion and reception from 3 pm to 6 pm at the Time Warner Center, located at 10 Columbus Circle. Hosted by Time Warner, the afternoon features a panel discussion led by Angela Burt-Murray, Editor of Essence magazine, with panelists Mary J. Blige, Arva R. Rice, and Terrie Willliams, President of Terrie Williams Public Relations and Communications. The theme of the discussion is “Stronger” (which is also the name of Mary J. Blige’s new album)—focusing on obstacles or other life events the women have overcome to become who they are today.
As part of NYUL’s 90th anniversary initiative, this event as well as others being hosted for the community will help to guide young people toward making positive choices and strengthening relationships within the communities it serves.
###
About the New York Urban League:
> The New York Urban League, which is celebrating its 90th Anniversary this year, was founded by a group of prominent New Yorkers concerned with the poor state of blacks migrating to New York City from the south and the Caribbean Islands. From its inception it provided employment and connections for migrating blacks bridging the adjustment from the agricultural/rural life to the industrial urban center. Each decade following, “The League” provided critical services such as emergency aid for the unemployed during the Great Depression; formed of the Committee for Interracial Voluntary Hospitals to provide care and work in local hospitals; negotiated the opening of employment for blacks in the airline, brewing, and baking industries; created “Street Academies” which became a national model for high school students; published the first State of Black New York report; and created its signature events including Frederick Douglas Dinner, Whitney M. Young Jr. Classic, and Champion of Diversity Breakfast among many other milestones.
MEDIA CONTACT:
The Wakeman Agency
Anita Bell
212-500-5953, ext.121
