Get Involved in 2023
We have lots of opportunities to get involved, share your skills, be a mentor, and offer inspiration and advice to young, Black girls.
Fashionistas and Creatives
We are looking to collaborate with local fashion designers, artists, entrepreneurs, and other creatives as well as agents of social change to work with the Girls For A Change Girl Action Team at Thomas Jefferson HS to help them create fashion pieces that express significant aspects of our culture. The culminating project will be featured as the opening & final event for the 15th Annual RVA Fashion Week (Apr ’23) as well as the Black Girl Showcase at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture (May ’23). Sign up as a facilitator here.
About the team: The Thomas Jefferson High School Girl Action Team is back in FASHION! Girls on this team will work together to execute a fashion show and present it to RVA Fashion Week to be included in the Spring event. The fashion show will feature seven categories where models will have the opportunity to show off their own personal style to different central themes. Models will create looks based on their favorite heels, air forces, jewelry, and hip-hop artists. The girls will unite the fashion aspects with a social message that they create on their own. All participants will bring a unique flavor to the runway.
Music Professionals/DJs
We’re seeking guest DJs, songwriters, music producers, and Emcees to come share their skills during our Girls Drop Beats, Too sessions. Sign up here. We are also hiring a DJ instructor to lead the team. Learn more and apply here.
About the team: There is a severe underrepresentation of women DJs’ in the music industry and this Girl Action Team seeks to change that. Participants on this team will learn the fundamentals of DJ’ing and mixing with contemporary electronic music and Hip-Hop techniques. In addition to learning professional DJing skills, participants will make gains in confidence, gain presentation skills, learn technical problem-solving, gain business fundamentals, and have the opportunity to get hired for a gig.
Culinary Arts
We’re looking for culinary arts professionals to do workshops with participants and share their skills as part of our Recipes for Success: Culinary, Culture, and Change program. Learn more and sign-up here.
About the program: Culinary Arts + Ceramics + Gardening all in one! Recipes for Success: Culinary, Culture, and Change girls learn essential principles and practical, step-by-step techniques for preparing customized meals while also learning how to get started in a career as a professional chef! Through this collaboration with Open Space Education, participants will also learn to cultivate, harvest, and create a better relationship with food and nature. By providing Black girls with early access and training, participants will build professionalism, culinary skills, and acquire a passion for the industry, thus increasing representation in the field.
Entrepreneurs and Professionals
We’re looking for entrepreneurs, business owners, and professionals interested in sharing their skills to host workshops for our Girl Ambassador participants and for our Immersion Lab.
The Immersion Lab is an 8-week, immersive entrepreneurship training program, where participants work on product development and pitching and have an opportunity to earn an entrepreneurship certificate. Both cohorts will have the opportunity to participate in local, Spring Market Days to earn money and gain experience selling products. They will also have the opportunity to be in pitch competitions to earn money for their business. Sign-up.
The Girl Ambassador Program is a four year workforce development program teaches hybrid skills and prepares girls for better paying jobs in technology and professional careers. Through 8 weeks of skills training, we build self-esteem and self-efficacy to prepare them for a 6 week summer internship (paid and unpaid opportunities are based on skills, participation, and completion). This program uses a tiered approach that supports paced learning/development from certified instructors with life experiences and proficiency in software and hardware. We are looking for professionals to facilitate workshops and share their skills with participants. Sign-up here.
We’re also looking for Hiring Partners to hire Girl Ambassador Participants for Summer internships. Learn more here / Sign up for an info session
Volunteer for a Work Day
Help us prep our building and/or garden for upcoming programs! We’ll be adding opportunities to our HandsOn Greater Richmond profile. Bookmark our page and check back!