United Sisters of Color New membership presentation

+

United Sisters of Color new membership

presentation

+ Where Sisterhood and Service Meet!

+How we got started…

United Sisters of Color was established on February 25, 2012 by Stephanie Johnson and Angela Childs after meeting on FACEBOOK! That’s right…FACEBOOK!

+Our Mission…United Sisters of Color is a human service organization of women who are committed to promoting social justice and providing services to youth, adults and families from underserved urban communities.

It is our goal to strengthen the bonds between women of color by empowering each other through community building, social activity and most importantly, UNITY.

+WHO WE ARE

United Sisters of Color currently has 23 members that range in ages from 25-45, but mostly in the mid-30s age range. Approximately 20 resides in Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan and surrounding communities. There are members that live as far as Wilmington, MA and Attleboro.

Our members come from all socio-economic backgrounds, married, single, mothers, students, entrepreneurs, white-collar, blue-collar, but all have one goal: SISTERHOOD. 100% of our efforts are focused in areas of Boston with the highest rate of poverty, hunger and lack of healthcare access. The services we provide are through our own programs but we do collaborate with other community activists and organizations.

+Our P

rograms…

STATISTIC

S

•While Massachusetts and Boston are doing better than the nation in recovery, unemployment rates remain abnormally high, and highest for the least well educated.

•Many programs proven to protect children and families from the harshest effects of poverty or provide ladders of opportunity out of poverty have been eliminated or severely reduced.

•Because the Federal Poverty Standard has not kept pace with Boston’s high cost of living, the “officially” poor are poorer today than they were 20 years ago. Between 1990 and 2010, prices in Greater Boston increased at a faster rate than the official poverty threshold.

•35% of African American children and 40% of Latino children in Boston live in poverty.

•86% of African American families with children in poverty are headed by a single woman.

•Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan and East Boston have the highest rate of poverty in Boston and the highest rate of children living at or below the federal poverty line.

+Operation Prom Dress

& Tuxedo

An effort to provide dresses, tuxedoes/suits, shoes and accessories to high school juniors and seniors that live in Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, Hyde Park and Jamaica Plain who are exhibiting financial difficulty. We have partnered up with ABCD Boston and City Councilor-At-Large, Ayanna Pressley.

Success of Operation Prom Dress & Tuxedo:

•2012 – 12 girls were served

•2013 – 225 boys and girls were served

•2014 – 300 boys and girls were served

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Fill Your Fridge: Back to School Edition

Fill Your Fridge: Back to School Edition is an effort to address the hunger issue plaguing our city. We provide families in need with 1-2 weeks of groceries, essentially “filling their fridge”. Families receive 1 industrial sized lawn bag filled with staple foods such as meats, potatoes, rice, vegetables, beans, pasta, oatmeal, canned goods and each child in their household receives a backpack filled with school supplies.

Fundraising begins in July. As a team we deliver each bag to the families the last weekend in August.

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United Sisters of Color Umoja Dinner

We feel the family unit is the key piece

to a thriving community. The

principle on the first day of Kwanzaa is “Umoja”, which

stands for UNITY. On December 26th we

bring families together to unite for a big holiday dinner.

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100 Bags for 100 Men

This is our effort to give back to men in need, specifically homeless men. We provide them with a bag filled with daily essentials such as toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, mouthwash, socks, gloves, snacks, shaving cream, wash cloth and more. We drive around the city and hand them out to men and deliver them to homeless shelters.

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Black Girls Rising

A mentoring program for Black girls and teens that promotes the retention of our culture and heritage while encouraging positive self-esteem. Through workshops and seminars we will help Black girls create a life by design, not by default and inspire, uplift and guide them to embrace their natural greatness!

•For girls ages 12-18 years old

•6 weeks

•FREE

+ Upcoming Projects…United Sisters for Lupus

Black Suns Shine Award Ceremony

ChessQUEENS

United Sisters Pamper for a Purpose

+Social Activity…

BLACK GIRLS RUN! MOVIES FRIENDLY TAKEOVER!

VISION BOARD PARTY! KARAOKE NIGHT!

+COLLABORATIONS…

+ Is United Sisters of Color Right for Me?

DO YOU WANT TO BE APART OF AN ORGANIZATION THAT ENCOURAGES POSITVE RELATIONSHIPS?

IS SOCIAL CHANGE IN OUR COMMUNITY IMPORTANT TO YOU?

ARE YOU ABLE TO DEDICATE TIME FOR AT LEAST 2 EVENTS A YEAR?

DO YOU WANT TO ATTEND SOCIAL EVENTS AND HAVE FUN?

DO YOU WANT TO GIVE BACK?

DO YOU WANT TO REBUILD THE BOND BETWEEN WOMEN OF COLOR?

+Membership

Can commit to 2 events a year (but we encourage more)

Positive attitude at ALL times

Absolutely NO cutting down, gossiping or bad mouthing another sister. How can we promote building bridges with one another while burning them?

$99 yearly dues

Dues cover administrative costs for a portion of the programs and projects we run throughout the year.

Can be made in full or split into two (2) payments.

Deadline within 30 days of joining

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IF YOU ANSWERED YES TO ANY OF THE QUESTIONS, UNITED SISTERS OF COLOR IS

RIGHT FOR YOU!

Please COPY AND PASTE LINK BELOW to fill out application:

www.surveymonkey.com/s/PBH6TTH