EmpowerED: Young Women’s Club w/ Relation-Shift

Created by the Relation-Shift Project and facilitated by Justine Finn, EmpowerED Young Women’s Club supports high-school aged young women in developing the knowledge, skills, and capacities to develop strong and healthy identities; to engage in healthy interpersonal relationships; and to be champions of their own and others’ equality, respect, and safety as leaders in their communities. Topics include healthy personal and romantic relationships; body image; representation of women in the media; racism and gender inequality; identity development; love and affection; and living one’s best life online and on social media, to name a few.

Offered as a series of ten monthly 90-minute sessions led by trained facilitators and experts on youth development, this program is designed to create a cohort of participants that support each other’s learning and development. The program uses best practices in interactive learning methods to provide an engaging, inviting, and safe environment for participants and uses current research and data, as well as multi-media and real-life experiences, to help them apply their learning to their lives. Participants will receive a certificate of completion from Relation-Shift for participating in at least 8 of the 10 sessions.

Optional Capstone Project: Using their learning from the program, participants will design their own project or presentation to help empower other young people in their community, school, or life. (Examples: Facilitate workshops for middle school students; host a documentary viewing and discussion on a relevant topic; interview other young women about a related issue and write a paper, article or art piece based on the results; create or design a piece of art of self-expression reflecting themes addressed in the Program, etc.)