Black Girl Magic Educational Services, Inc. is searching for girls in grades 4th-10th who are interested in joining its Youth Leadership Board, which is responsible for helping create the programming for the 2023-2024 school year.
Youth Leadership Board members will be able to share their ideas for events and programs, while building leadership skills and relationships with other girls in the group.
Founder and executive director of BGMES, Rosa Thompson, talked with Madison365 about why the Youth Leadership Board is important to the organization and what she hopes participants gain from the experience.
“We wanted to make sure that our programs and our organization was actually what our youth who participate in it want it to be,” Thompson said. “We didn’t want it to be what we thought the youth wanted it to be. We want to actually know what our Black Girl Magic girls want, what they want to see and how they want to support each other.”
Thompson and her team started the Youth Leadership Board three years ago to make sure that BGMES programming fits what the girls want. She believes leadership is an important skill to help girls build. Through participating on the board, girls will be able to brainstorm ideas, work together to create events and learn leadership skills that will help them throughout their lives.
“It’s important to know how to lead, how to be in a group of leaders and how to follow when it’s not your turn to be front and center,” she said. “That’s an extremely important skill. We want to give our girls life skills that they can have forever. And to have a program that fits what they want.”
The Youth Leadership Board is a way for girls within Black Girl Magic to have their voices heard in an authentic way.
Participation on the board requires a nine month commitment. Meetings will be held once a month on Sundays. Involvement in the board is important to BGMES because these girls represent the organization and help bring other girls together through programming and events.
“We look at our Youth Leadership Board as the ambassadors for our organization,” Thompson added. “The faces of our organization. When we have like Black Girl Magic Saturdays, our Youth Leadership Board is there, mixing and mingling with the other girls and making sure nobody’s sitting alone. Just interacting with new people. We encourage our girls to be outside of their comfort zone, to meet people and to learn.”
Participants will also receive a gift card for each Youth Leadership Board session they attend.
For girls who are interested in becoming a part of the BGM Youth Leadership Board, fill out the application form by Friday, August 25. If you are selected to be for the Youth Leadership Board, you will be notified by Tuesday, September 5.
