I would have never imagined that when DIVAS launched it's inaugural year in 1999, that 12 years later we would be still here. I imagined that both me and then co-facilitator Krystal Gooding would have graduated from University and gotten married, living somewhere else with our own children and going through similar trials that we saw the parents of our participants going through with their children.
Now, in 2011, we are planning for our 12th DIVAS Summer Class and it is quite surreal how culture and teenagers have changed but also how things have remained the same. In the meanwhile, we have established traditions that have stood the test of time, deficits, layoffs, fallouts, and life in general. We have had over 300 young women participate in the program in the last 11 years, and now we have former DIVAS coming back to work with the summer program to keep it alive as a community tradition. Boy, am I getting older;)
But there are also greater, more exciting things to come. This year's DIVAS Summer Program will launch our statewide DIVASFlorida Mentoring Network. This network will serve as a forum for communities of women to help launch programs in their City/County and provide resources, information, motivation, and support as they seek to transform their society and their lives. I AM SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THIS... it's been a long time coming!
I personally invite women in Tallahasse, Leon County, and the Big Bend region who have a heart for youth to join us as we start a movement towards reclaiming true womanhood... one DIVA at a time. For more information on how you or your organization can get involved, please email us at DIVASFlorida@gmail.com.
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