by Desiree Sandlin
Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium kicked off their “Joy Is Our Journey” Black Girls Dream Tour in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday, August 20, 2022. The inaugural, month long caravan, free to the public, is geared specifically for Black girls, young women, and gender- expansive youth ranging between the age of 12-24. Sponsored by Eventbrite, the tour will run from August 20- September 17, 2022. The tour is designed to incorporate and promote freedom by creating a sense of safety and emancipation. Each Dream Village stop will feature workshops centered around health and beauty, arts and culture, entrepreneurship, S.T.E.M. and career
building. This unforgettable, mini-festival event was held at the IWI Fresh Oasis (1800 Jonesboro Rd., Atlanta 30315) in conjunction with Megan Thee Stallion’s Pete and Thomas Foundation and Atlanta-based community partner, Circle of Joy. Centered around a huge pink bus decorated in affirmations and visuals that reflect and resonate with Black girls, the experience featured cheerleading and dance performances, a live DJ, swag bags, giveaways, the Slutty Vegan food truck, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and a Dream Village filled with interactive workshops and programming centered around health and beauty, arts and culture, entrepreneurship, S.T.E.M. and dream-building.
Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium, (Southern Black Girls) is a collection of black philanthropist women, actively engaged and rooted in the movement and building blocks of Southern Black Girls. The Consortium is led by Appalachian Community Fund, the BlackBeltCommunity Foundation, the Fund for Southern Communities and the TruthSpeaks Innovation Foundation. Their mission in part is to dismantle and become a catalyst as a means to solicit and provide resources to underfunded organizations that support, empower and promote Black girls and women in the South.
Statistics have proven that Black women and girls receive less than one percent of the $4.8 billion in philanthropic investments and donations in the south. Driven, Southern Black Girls launched the Black Girls Dream Fund to counteract against the underfunding of black projects. To date they have awarded $2.2 million to 71 organizations and 12 southern states. Organizations must work and be located in the Southern States of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas (East), Virginia and West Virginia. The Black Girls Dream Fund will be offering a Grant Seeker Workshop August 23, 2022, at 5:30pm CST/6:30pm EST. The 2023 Black Girls Dream Fund Grant Opportunity is now open. Applications are being accepted from August 9- September 6, 2022.
Celebrating joy, Southern Black Girls are making HERSTORY! Kudos and hats off to Lisa Cooke, being the first African American and first woman of color to sit on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. The Federal oversees America’s money and monetary policy; and is one of the most powerful financial institutions in the world, comprised of white men- up until now. We salute and celebrate this Black Southern Queen from Georgia for making HERSTORY a reality for other Southern Black Girls.
August is Black Philanthropy Month. For those who would like to donate, please visit:
SouthernBlackGirls.org
https://atlplusmagazine.zenfoliosite.com/zg/sweet-charity
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