157. Mothers’ Day Movement 2024: Supporting the African Education Program

[00:00:00] Welcome to episode 157 of Girl, Take the Lead for each week.

[00:00:10] We explore womenhood and leadership.

[00:00:12] And I'm your host, Yolanda Canny.

[00:00:15] Mother's Day Movement, an organization we've highlighted since 2022, returns

[00:00:20] to talk about their beneficiary for 2024, the African Education Project.

[00:00:26] Discussing these great organizations, we have Dominica Jorowski-Turcan, partner

[00:00:32] of Mother's Day Movement.

[00:00:33] And she's joined by Julianne Savart-Cosenza, co-founder and executive director

[00:00:39] of the African Education Project.

[00:00:42] These two amazing leaders will cover histories, metrics, and impact their

[00:00:46] organizations are having on the global stage.

[00:00:49] Please enjoy the listen and consider donating to their causes.

[00:00:53] Check the show notes for the links you might need.

[00:00:57] Here you go.

[00:00:58] Hello, my friends.

[00:00:59] Welcome back, Dominica, to Girl, Take the Lead.

[00:01:03] I mean, I look forward to it annually that you're going to come and tell us

[00:01:06] about Mother's Day Movement.

[00:01:09] And also we have another guest with us who will learn more about.

[00:01:13] And Julianne, welcome to Girl, Take the Lead.

[00:01:17] Thank you.

[00:01:18] Okay.

[00:01:18] So let's get started.

[00:01:20] For those of you that don't know Dominica, could you mind introducing

[00:01:24] yourself, Dom, and then, um, to the next episode.

[00:01:28] Letting them know a little bit about Mother's Day Movement.

[00:01:30] We'll get more into it as we go through the episode.

[00:01:34] Sure.

[00:01:35] So thank you again for having me.

[00:01:37] I'm thrilled to be here and I love your podcast.

[00:01:39] So thank you again.

[00:01:41] Um, so I am Dominica Dwarfsky-Turkan and I'm from the Mother's Day

[00:01:46] Movement.

[00:01:46] I'm a partner there.

[00:01:47] And do you want me to get into what we do right away or should we,

[00:01:52] should I hold off?

[00:01:53] Um, why not?

[00:01:54] Why don't you talk just to, if you could just kind of top

[00:01:57] line it and then we'll get into it.

[00:01:59] Sure.

[00:02:00] So, um, Mother's Day Movement is about shifting a portion of your

[00:02:04] Mother's Day gift to underserved women and children.

[00:02:07] So the premise of what we do is over 35 billion was spent on

[00:02:10] Mother's Day gifts in the U S last year and we advocate to redirect those funds.

[00:02:17] That's, I think that it's just amazing when you think about the 35

[00:02:21] billion dollars with the B you guys, not just an M.

[00:02:25] It's a B as a boy.

[00:02:27] So, uh, and okay.

[00:02:30] And Julianne, you want to talk to us a little bit too, but

[00:02:34] over and thank you again, you know, for having us.

[00:02:38] Um, I am Julianne.

[00:02:40] I'm one of the co-founders and the executive director of the

[00:02:43] African education program where the Mother's Day Movement 2024

[00:02:47] beneficiary partner this year.

[00:02:49] So very, very excited.

[00:02:51] Um, and in a nutshell, we empower Zambian children, youth and women

[00:02:55] for lasting community change.

[00:02:57] And we do this through long-term investments in education and

[00:03:01] health and in leadership development.

[00:03:03] I'm excited to share a lot more about what we have going on.

[00:03:06] Yeah.

[00:03:07] And congratulations on being the beneficiary.

[00:03:10] That's just terrific.

[00:03:11] And we just love to hear.

[00:03:14] Um, and, and maybe Dom, you can tell us a little bit about

[00:03:17] how Mother's Day Movement has been doing because this is your

[00:03:20] third visit to the show.

[00:03:22] And every year you can update us on how things are going, but

[00:03:25] how, how did the last, last year go?

[00:03:29] Sure.

[00:03:30] So last year we raised just under 50,000 for an organization

[00:03:34] called Saving Mothers.

[00:03:35] They're based in New York.

[00:03:37] Um, it's run by a, um, OBGYN here and she works, um, in

[00:03:44] developing countries, um, helping with maternal mortality

[00:03:48] outcomes.

[00:03:49] And then she also works here in New York City.

[00:03:51] And that's what our campaign primarily funded, um, helping

[00:03:54] close the racial maternal mortality, um, gap here in

[00:03:59] New York City because the rates of black maternal

[00:04:02] mortality are much higher here than in other parts of the

[00:04:05] US and then especially as compared to, um, other races.

[00:04:09] And so, um, it's, we raise money for these birth kits

[00:04:14] and they had, um, it's aimed at women in their first

[00:04:17] trimesters and it had blood pressure monitors, um, information

[00:04:22] about kind of self empowerment, how to speak to doctors and

[00:04:27] healthcare providers, how to work with community health

[00:04:30] partners to help improve those outcomes.

[00:04:34] So overall we're doing really well.

[00:04:37] Um, but I wanted to kind of touch on something else is

[00:04:40] that we were five women last year and now we're seven.

[00:04:44] So we have grown in terms of our core team and we all work

[00:04:50] pro bono and, um, the concept is the same that 100% of the

[00:04:55] funds raised, um, go directly to the selected beneficiary.

[00:04:59] And kind of about that.

[00:05:01] So AEP is our selected beneficiary this year and we

[00:05:06] advocate for every year we select one organization.

[00:05:11] And so AEP was our organization this year.

[00:05:13] And we pick one and we say, Hey, this year this, this

[00:05:19] organization is doing incredible work.

[00:05:21] And you know, please donate here because we want this

[00:05:25] kind of collective impact.

[00:05:29] So Julien, tell us a little bit about African Education

[00:05:32] Project or AEP and, um, how exciting the news is for you.

[00:05:39] Um, yeah, thank you so much.

[00:05:40] I mean, maybe I'll start with how exciting the news

[00:05:43] is for us.

[00:05:44] Then then I'll tell a little bit about the story.

[00:05:47] You know, for the Mother's Day movement to select us is

[00:05:50] just such a show of faith, you know, in that what we're

[00:05:54] doing works, you know, that we're really having great

[00:05:57] impact in the lives of these ambient children, youth

[00:06:01] and women.

[00:06:02] And so to have a group like Mother's Day movement select

[00:06:05] us, you know, across domestic organizations doing

[00:06:08] incredible work in the U.S.

[00:06:09] And, and, and orgs doing work across the world is just, you

[00:06:13] know, really inspiring and moving.

[00:06:15] And it's been a really nice, uh, you know, a couple of

[00:06:19] months working together, getting our stories together

[00:06:23] to promote this campaign.

[00:06:24] So just feeling really privileged and grateful that that

[00:06:28] MDM chose us this year.

[00:06:30] Um, it's a really exciting year for us because we're

[00:06:32] actually celebrating our 20 year anniversary.

[00:06:35] Um, and so the timing felt really, you know, right

[00:06:38] with stars aligning.

[00:06:40] Um, and so essentially, as I mentioned, I'm one of the

[00:06:43] co-founders, so I've been with AEP since the beginning.

[00:06:46] Um, and we were essentially just supposed to be a high

[00:06:50] school project, um, with a few friends, uh, had the

[00:06:53] idea to collect and ship books and computers, uh, to a

[00:06:57] community in Zambia that we had a personal connection

[00:06:59] to through my soccer coach.

[00:07:01] And you know, it's kind of crazy teenagers decided

[00:07:05] we would become a 501c3 nonprofit because people

[00:07:09] would give us more money.

[00:07:10] Um, and just, you know, any challenge we came our way,

[00:07:13] we just overcame it and collected the books and

[00:07:16] raised the money and shipped the goods.

[00:07:17] And that was really supposed to be the end of

[00:07:20] the story.

[00:07:21] Um, very fortunately, we received a grant to go

[00:07:24] and travel and meet the community receiving these

[00:07:27] goods.

[00:07:27] So just after high school graduation, um, you

[00:07:31] know, our senior week was going to the Jersey

[00:07:33] Shore.

[00:07:34] I'm originally from Philadelphia.

[00:07:36] Um, and then we had a second senior week in Zambia to

[00:07:41] meet this community and it was in meeting our peers

[00:07:44] and community leaders that they came to us and said,

[00:07:47] why don't you open a center so that all of these

[00:07:50] books and computers can go in one place as opposed

[00:07:53] to being distributed, you know, across different

[00:07:55] schools in the area?

[00:07:57] And so the following year, that's exactly what we

[00:08:00] did.

[00:08:00] We opened the youth center and we have just been

[00:08:03] growing organically ever since.

[00:08:06] Um, today that center is what we call a learning and

[00:08:09] leadership center in a town called Kofiwe in Zambia.

[00:08:13] And it's just this thriving hub of holistic

[00:08:16] programming focused on education, on health,

[00:08:19] on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, arts,

[00:08:21] creativity, and most important that leadership

[00:08:24] development.

[00:08:24] And what's amazing to think about is in our

[00:08:27] first year, we had about 25 youth, you know,

[00:08:30] coming to the center using the books, using

[00:08:32] the computers and this year we'll be reaching

[00:08:34] 4,000 children, youth, and women through our

[00:08:38] programs at the center and through outreach in

[00:08:40] our schools.

[00:08:41] So yeah, a lot of growth over the years.

[00:08:44] And how many years?

[00:08:47] So 20 or celebrating 20 and the center has

[00:08:50] been open for 18.

[00:08:52] Congratulations for the tenacity it took to

[00:08:55] probably keep it going at times.

[00:08:57] I'm sure there are lots of times when

[00:09:00] you can say that.

[00:09:02] Yeah, you can you can say that and I think for

[00:09:06] me sometimes I don't feel like those years went by.

[00:09:08] But one thing I'm most proud of is that the

[00:09:11] majority of our Zambia team are actually alumni

[00:09:14] of the program who through our scholarships

[00:09:16] have gone to university and they come back

[00:09:18] to spearhead the work.

[00:09:19] So when I calculate that I knew them as

[00:09:22] children and that now they're my teammates

[00:09:24] and my colleagues.

[00:09:25] It means the years.

[00:09:31] And I'm not sure we covered the history of

[00:09:34] and Mother's Day Movement.

[00:09:36] I always want to go MDM, but because it's such

[00:09:40] an interesting beginning.

[00:09:43] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:09:44] So so Mother's Day Movement or MDM, that's what

[00:09:47] we like to call ourselves internally.

[00:09:49] We grew out of a column in the New York

[00:09:51] Times by Nicholas Kristoff.

[00:09:53] We love him.

[00:09:55] And so he's a journalist there and he made

[00:09:57] the case to move the apostrophe in Mother's Day.

[00:10:00] So it doesn't just honor one mother, but it

[00:10:03] honors underserved mothers everywhere.

[00:10:07] And that was kind of the the genesis of it.

[00:10:10] And one of our co-founders Eva Hausman, you know,

[00:10:14] connected with him is still in touch

[00:10:16] with him today and updating him in our

[00:10:19] activities and how we can collaborate.

[00:10:22] And so that kind of also through his scholarship

[00:10:25] he writes a lot about, you know, historically

[00:10:28] about paying attention to these type of

[00:10:32] organizations to highly effective small

[00:10:36] nonprofits and the like and kind of different

[00:10:40] systems and where we can make an impact

[00:10:44] and have changed not to stand silent.

[00:10:47] So, you know, since that time that was in 2011

[00:10:49] the group has raised just under a million

[00:10:51] dollars and we've been featured in

[00:10:54] different media publications.

[00:10:55] So here on this podcast, NPR and The New York

[00:10:58] Times, Ms. Magazine and we're very proud of that.

[00:11:01] And we've also, you know, since that point

[00:11:04] we have this kind of portfolio of organizations

[00:11:07] that we worked with both domestically

[00:11:09] and abroad and we're very proud of them

[00:11:12] and we're also proud to partner with an

[00:11:14] organization like AEP.

[00:11:16] But I wanted to highlight kind of our focus

[00:11:20] on women and children.

[00:11:22] So using the rights based approach,

[00:11:24] it's one that's centered around human rights

[00:11:27] and we, you know, it examines how power

[00:11:29] structures and systems impact the most

[00:11:31] marginalized and vulnerable people in the world.

[00:11:35] And those people are most often women

[00:11:38] and children and also especially girls.

[00:11:41] And, you know, closely related to this

[00:11:43] is gender equality, which is about

[00:11:46] the fair resource, you know, distribution

[00:11:48] between the gender, so between men and women.

[00:11:51] And it recognizes that there are different

[00:11:53] obstacles that are faced by different

[00:11:56] genders and then there are different

[00:11:57] approaches in terms of tackling them.

[00:12:01] And so, you know, why is this important?

[00:12:03] And, you know, why is it important to help

[00:12:04] organizations like AEP and to care about

[00:12:07] what we do is that gender equality

[00:12:10] boosts development and economies.

[00:12:13] And I kind of have this global

[00:12:16] kind of community perspective.

[00:12:18] And so, you know, upholding human rights

[00:12:20] and gender equality, especially for women

[00:12:22] and children is the core of development.

[00:12:26] It is the core of philanthropy.

[00:12:29] And so we want to advocate from a play,

[00:12:32] you know, action from a place of

[00:12:34] responsibility that we're part of

[00:12:36] from a global community and justice.

[00:12:39] I'll leave it at that.

[00:12:39] But that's pretty well.

[00:12:41] And you have shown that.

[00:12:43] I mean, you've really followed,

[00:12:48] I think the essence of that book.

[00:12:50] I mean, we talked about the book,

[00:12:51] I think in our very first episode together.

[00:12:53] But I'll have all of that in the show

[00:12:56] notes for people to link to.

[00:12:58] But the work that you're doing,

[00:13:01] that both of you are doing is just so

[00:13:03] incredible and making such a big difference.

[00:13:06] And it's just an honor to have you here today.

[00:13:10] I mean, I'm a policy analyst.

[00:13:11] So I like that stuff.

[00:13:14] Well, so we've supported charities,

[00:13:17] as I mentioned before, in the US and abroad.

[00:13:20] We like to focus on.

[00:13:23] Organizations with budgets of like three million or less,

[00:13:26] because with the amounts of money that we're making

[00:13:29] we're going to be able to do that.

[00:13:31] And so I think that's a great point.

[00:13:33] And I think that's a great point.

[00:13:35] And I think that's a great point.

[00:13:36] And I think that's a great point.

[00:13:38] And I think that's a great point too.

[00:13:40] And I think it's a great point to focus on.

[00:13:44] And I think that's a great point.

[00:13:45] But I think that's a great point,

[00:13:47] because with the amounts of money that we're fundraising,

[00:13:50] we can kind of impact the most change

[00:13:53] with those dollars in a smaller organization.

[00:13:56] And so we focus on areas of education,

[00:13:59] maternal health, hunger, clean water

[00:14:02] and human trafficking.

[00:14:03] That's kind of been our history,

[00:14:05] and we've been making a lot of progress

[00:14:07] with the funds raised for the last 1000

[00:14:09] and Dig Deep, which was 133,000 that was raised.

[00:14:13] So kind of adding some impact to those numbers

[00:14:16] and some of our other campaigns.

[00:14:18] So with the funds raised with Shofko,

[00:14:21] school was built with 18 classrooms in Kenya.

[00:14:25] And since then that school was taken down.

[00:14:28] They built a new one that organization has just skyrocketed.

[00:14:32] And times 100 most influential people this past month.

[00:14:36] So they're huge, but I mean, that's incredible

[00:14:40] to have a school built.

[00:14:42] Adizia, which is another organization

[00:14:44] they make plumpy nut that helps severely malnourished children.

[00:14:50] So we can say we like save the lives of 21,000 infants.

[00:14:55] So that's based on 105,000 was raised.

[00:14:58] And according to their stats, $50 will save one child's life.

[00:15:03] So brings them back from severe malnourishment.

[00:15:08] And then like for the fish Chela foundation,

[00:15:10] we raised $60,000, but that $60,000 funded 100 obstetric

[00:15:16] fish Chela surgeries for women.

[00:15:19] So 100 women had these surgeries.

[00:15:22] And so, you know, these are just some stats of where

[00:15:26] the funding goes.

[00:15:27] And as I mentioned before, all of us work for free.

[00:15:31] We don't even touch the money.

[00:15:32] It goes directly to that organization.

[00:15:34] And they use it for, you know, what, what is agreed upon

[00:15:40] ahead of the kind of campaign launch.

[00:15:43] And then we follow up with them and stay in touch

[00:15:46] and like six months out one year out.

[00:15:49] And then over time, you know, how,

[00:15:51] how did these funds help you?

[00:15:53] Yeah.

[00:15:55] So, you know, it's a pretty exciting step on Julianne.

[00:15:58] You're going to have a little shot and a little help and support.

[00:16:01] You must be very excited about the whole thing.

[00:16:04] Absolutely. Yeah.

[00:16:06] So, um,

[00:16:08] This year you did something a little bit different,

[00:16:12] which I passed along to some of our listeners who may know a

[00:16:16] little bit about the RFP that you put out.

[00:16:19] Which I thought was a terrific idea, you know, to hear from other

[00:16:22] people.

[00:16:23] How did that work Dom?

[00:16:25] Did that go according to what you thought it would?

[00:16:27] I mean, nothing ever goes according to.

[00:16:30] Um, this was a pilot.

[00:16:33] You know, we work pro bono.

[00:16:36] So like I have a job and so, you know, there's limited,

[00:16:40] I find out time.

[00:16:42] So it takes a lot of time to research or organizations that are

[00:16:45] old method.

[00:16:46] It was very interesting because you're kind of like, what do I

[00:16:49] care about?

[00:16:50] What do we care about?

[00:16:51] What should we be thinking about?

[00:16:52] You know, organizations I've worked in nonprofits have their

[00:16:55] own capacities and it's like.

[00:16:57] We thought why don't they just come to us?

[00:17:00] They then were more aligned and they have the capacity to

[00:17:04] work on this campaign with us, which is, you know,

[00:17:06] primarily a marketing, marketing advocacy education campaign.

[00:17:11] And, um, it was a pilot this year and it worked

[00:17:15] so we were so excited.

[00:17:17] I remember when we had like the first application and the second

[00:17:20] one, and then in the end we had a lot and it was really hard

[00:17:26] because we were then interviewing these organizations and you

[00:17:30] know, we had.

[00:17:32] A different kind of new problems, um, but not problems,

[00:17:36] but new issue and new things to think about,

[00:17:38] which I find very exciting.

[00:17:40] Um, so we're going to do it again.

[00:17:42] And, um, we will release it this summer.

[00:17:45] So we encourage listeners to sign up for a newsletter or follow

[00:17:48] us on social and, um, you know, they can nominate organizations,

[00:17:53] but the organizations themselves need to apply.

[00:17:55] And the reasons for that are, you know, they should just

[00:17:58] share the RFP within a worthy organization.

[00:18:01] Okay.

[00:18:02] And, um, but the organization itself needs to apply just so

[00:18:05] that they know what they are kind of signing up for.

[00:18:08] Sure.

[00:18:09] Sure.

[00:18:10] And I'm wondering, um, Julian, did we cover everything that I know

[00:18:16] you could probably talk for hours about AP,

[00:18:20] but anything else you'd like to tell our listeners?

[00:18:23] Like how could they learn more about it?

[00:18:25] Maybe that would be good to know.

[00:18:27] Sure.

[00:18:28] Um, and maybe before, you know, I, I share how they can learn

[00:18:31] more.

[00:18:32] Um, you know, as Don was saying impact, you know, um,

[00:18:37] statistics really, I think resonate, um, to show what we're

[00:18:41] doing.

[00:18:42] Right.

[00:18:43] So for example, where the mother's day movement.

[00:18:45] So when you look at the mothers that we're working with.

[00:18:48] Those that graduate from our women's business training on

[00:18:51] average have a hundred and seven percent increase, you know,

[00:18:54] in their income.

[00:18:55] Um, and that's through a four month training program.

[00:18:58] When you look at our young women, 98% of the young women

[00:19:01] in our reproductive health access initiative won't become

[00:19:04] pregnant before the age of 18.

[00:19:06] Locally, there's actually a 15 to 20% pregnancy rate for

[00:19:10] under 18 year olds.

[00:19:12] So that's the type of impact, you know, that we're having on

[00:19:15] the ground in Zambia.

[00:19:17] Um, but I think what I want to share it's also really about

[00:19:20] our stories, um, about the leaders that have come in

[00:19:23] through the program.

[00:19:24] So for example, Febi, I met her when she was in ninth grade

[00:19:27] and she knew she wanted to work in special education.

[00:19:30] And you know, she did all over high school with us.

[00:19:33] She then went on to university and she came back and she's now

[00:19:37] actually the visionary and the leader of our special

[00:19:40] education program.

[00:19:41] And she's just wanting not just to change the lives of the

[00:19:44] children that we work with today, but how can we transform

[00:19:48] special education, you know, across Zambia?

[00:19:50] And those are the types of leaders that are really coming

[00:19:53] through our center and going back and plowing back into

[00:19:55] their communities.

[00:19:56] So it just got chills on that.

[00:19:58] That was just like amazing.

[00:20:02] Thank you.

[00:20:03] Thank you.

[00:20:04] Thank you.

[00:20:05] Yeah.

[00:20:06] And there's, there's so many more febby's, you know,

[00:20:08] our whole team is a bunch of febby's and then even those that

[00:20:11] aren't working for the organization, you know, they're

[00:20:13] out there in their communities, um, creating change.

[00:20:16] And especially when, um, you know, Don, you're talking

[00:20:19] about gender equity, how that changes, you know,

[00:20:22] communities.

[00:20:23] Um, something we like to focus on is not just working

[00:20:26] with girls.

[00:20:27] We actually work with girls and boys, young men, young

[00:20:30] men, young women.

[00:20:31] And we're talking about that as we think.

[00:20:33] Or we believe that if you leave these boys and young men

[00:20:36] behind, if you're not equally empowering them,

[00:20:38] you'll never actually get to that place, the gender equity

[00:20:41] where girls and women are truly respected as equal partners

[00:20:44] and start having access to, you know, equal resources.

[00:20:47] So it's such a critical part of our work.

[00:20:50] And we've seen how, you know,

[00:20:52] that is starting to create real change in the

[00:20:54] communities that we're serving.

[00:20:56] So, um, yeah, that's just, I could talk for hours.

[00:20:59] Yeah, go ahead.

[00:21:00] No, to your point exactly.

[00:21:02] Like, you know, we worked with an amazing organization in Kenya

[00:21:06] called Kenya connect and they, we worked on a boy girl.

[00:21:10] We, we worked, we funded a boy girl empowerment program,

[00:21:13] which was basically a sex education program for girls

[00:21:17] and boys and their parents.

[00:21:19] And that's a very critical part.

[00:21:21] It's, you know, these are hard things to talk about,

[00:21:23] but, um, to include, you know, all children,

[00:21:28] all youth, you know, all genders.

[00:21:30] It's very important in the conversation because you need

[00:21:33] to have everyone aligned if we want to achieve these outcomes.

[00:21:36] And also, you know, we were so impressed and taken

[00:21:42] aback by their special education program.

[00:21:45] Um, it is so unique.

[00:21:47] We have, we look at a lot of organizations, you know,

[00:21:51] around the world that are similar to AEP and they're all,

[00:21:56] they're worthy.

[00:21:57] They're doing incredible work, but, but this was very unusual

[00:22:01] in a positive way because I, you know, you see these

[00:22:05] children of all abilities, but some are deaf, autistic,

[00:22:10] and they're getting, they're in their class, you know,

[00:22:12] classrooms and in their center, um, in Zambia.

[00:22:17] And it's just very impressive.

[00:22:19] Yeah.

[00:22:20] What they're working on.

[00:22:21] And it's, um, that no one is forgotten.

[00:22:24] Everyone, um, is valued.

[00:22:27] It's very interesting.

[00:22:28] So we were really, you know, looking at so many different

[00:22:31] organizations.

[00:22:32] It was unusual.

[00:22:33] Hmm.

[00:22:34] So where could they learn more?

[00:22:36] I mean, do you want to send them to the website or what

[00:22:40] would be good?

[00:22:43] Well, so we have two websites.

[00:22:45] You can always visit Mother's Day movement.org.

[00:22:47] You can also visit African education program.org slash

[00:22:51] Mother's Day movement.

[00:22:52] Um, all I think you can find both of us on every social

[00:22:56] media platform, Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn.

[00:23:00] I think you just type us either in and you will find the

[00:23:03] campaign.

[00:23:04] Um, and, and, you know, just thinking about how your

[00:23:08] dollar creates impact, you know, every amount can,

[00:23:12] can change a life for $30, you know, we can provide,

[00:23:16] um, a young woman with reusable menstrual hygiene products

[00:23:20] that will last her years.

[00:23:22] Um, for $150, one of those mothers can access that women's

[00:23:26] business training that I was talking about earlier.

[00:23:28] So for $150, you're going to increase her income by 100%.

[00:23:33] Um, for $2,500, you can actually provide an annual college

[00:23:37] scholarship for one of our students in Zambia.

[00:23:40] Um, nothing compared to what it costs in the U.S.,

[00:23:44] but you're drastically changing a life.

[00:23:46] So, you know, a dollar of any amount really goes such a long

[00:23:49] way in, in empowering someone on the ground in Zambia.

[00:23:53] So yeah, please visit website social.

[00:23:56] If you can't find us, I know it'll be in the show notes.

[00:23:59] Um, yeah.

[00:24:00] Thank you.

[00:24:01] And what about Mother's Day movement?

[00:24:04] Let's just send them to them.

[00:24:06] I'll have that in the show notes too.

[00:24:07] Yeah, we're also on social, um, and on Instagram.

[00:24:11] So, and LinkedIn. So depending on, you know, whichever platform

[00:24:15] your listeners prefer, they can find us.

[00:24:18] And we usually have links.

[00:24:20] So for example, campaign, it's, it's almost every day we have

[00:24:23] links to it.

[00:24:24] And we post also in our off season as well.

[00:24:28] Yeah. I think your, your newsletter is fantastic.

[00:24:31] So people sign up for that.

[00:24:33] And then we'll send you the link for donations, um,

[00:24:37] to Mother's Day movement. Cause I,

[00:24:39] that 35 billion is still in my head.

[00:24:42] I just can't shake it.

[00:24:45] Incredible.

[00:24:46] And when you hear how far a dollar could go with, um, AEP,

[00:24:50] it's like, oh yeah, let's just all do it.

[00:24:52] You guys just put some money in the bank there for them.

[00:24:55] Um, okay. So I always ask my guests these two questions.

[00:24:59] What advice.

[00:25:01] What advice.

[00:25:03] Do you have for younger generations that are getting started in

[00:25:06] their careers and taking off?

[00:25:09] Tom, you want to go first or so.

[00:25:14] When thinking about this question. Okay. So as a, you know, background,

[00:25:17] I knew this question was coming, but when I was thinking about it,

[00:25:21] I realized it's really challenging to give advice to Gen Z.

[00:25:25] Because unlike my adolescence as a millennial, you know,

[00:25:29] Gen Z grew up with smartphones.

[00:25:32] And social media.

[00:25:34] And so this kind of thought brought me to the research of Jonathan

[00:25:38] Haight. He is a social psychologist at NYU and then youth mental

[00:25:43] health expert.

[00:25:44] And, you know, he writes in his research that Gen Z has poor

[00:25:49] mental health as compared to other generations.

[00:25:52] And about 30 to 40% report to be anxious.

[00:25:55] And or depressed.

[00:25:56] And this is also gendered.

[00:25:58] So the CDC reports that 50%, 57% of teen girls in the United

[00:26:04] States felt persistently sad or hopeless.

[00:26:08] So these are stats from 2021.

[00:26:11] And that's double of boys.

[00:26:13] And this is a 60% increase and the highest levels reported over

[00:26:17] the past decade.

[00:26:18] So.

[00:26:20] So Dr. Haight has a lot of advice that he gives everything from,

[00:26:27] you know, don't let kids take phones to school or whatnot.

[00:26:31] And for these kids who are in their early 20s or entering that

[00:26:35] decade.

[00:26:37] He also talks about being rooted in community and social ties.

[00:26:42] And so that's my advice is to root yourself in your community

[00:26:46] to strengthen your social ties with your friends, your family,

[00:26:50] your teachers, your neighbors, your colleagues, you know,

[00:26:54] whoever it is in your life and, you know,

[00:26:56] care about your local community, but also your global community.

[00:27:01] Because, you know, from my point of view, we're kind of,

[00:27:05] we're interconnected and we have a responsibility to one

[00:27:09] another, kind of from a humanistic perspective.

[00:27:12] So that's very, a very long-winded response.

[00:27:15] Well grounded.

[00:27:17] I'm always done well grounded.

[00:27:20] How about you, Julianne?

[00:27:21] What would you say to our younger generations?

[00:27:24] So I am so glad you asked this question and that we got to

[00:27:27] repair of it.

[00:27:28] I actually was asked to give the keynote speech at my high

[00:27:33] school's graduation coming up in June.

[00:27:36] So I had already, I have to get my speech going.

[00:27:40] This is not the speech you read the night before, right?

[00:27:42] And so this question was actually perfect because I kind of already

[00:27:45] started to think about this.

[00:27:48] And so where I landed is, you know, we're facing a lot of

[00:27:54] challenges, you know, in the world today and they really seem

[00:27:57] insurmountable.

[00:27:58] There's war, there's climate change, there's poverty.

[00:28:03] But what I truly believe is if everyone can do their small

[00:28:06] part, you know, we can create a change.

[00:28:09] We can create impact and we really shouldn't overlook

[00:28:13] no one, you know, whether it's younger generations or older

[00:28:16] generations, I think it's the same advice.

[00:28:19] Don't overlook and don't value a small success, a small change,

[00:28:24] one life impacted because even if we're just pushing the needle

[00:28:28] a bit, a tad, it's still pushing that needle in the right

[00:28:33] direction.

[00:28:34] So if collectively we could come together and each do our part,

[00:28:38] you know, I think we would really start to see change and

[00:28:41] just to tie it back to the African education program, you know,

[00:28:44] that's why we've always focused on quality over quantity.

[00:28:48] We've always known that one life changed in a meaningful way to

[00:28:52] us is more valuable than touching 100 lives, you know, for a

[00:28:56] singular moment.

[00:28:57] And it's like I give that example of Feve, you know,

[00:29:00] spearheading special education.

[00:29:02] If I look back at the last 20 years, even if it was just

[00:29:06] Feve that came out of this program, it was worth it, right?

[00:29:10] And so let's not overlook the small success,

[00:29:14] the small change that each and every one of us can do.

[00:29:17] Well, you are an example of that.

[00:29:19] Who knew, right?

[00:29:20] That when you started that in high school that you'd be doing it

[00:29:23] 20 years later at such a scale.

[00:29:26] So I think that's great advice for all of us.

[00:29:29] Okay girls, but would you tell your 20 something self?

[00:29:33] Trust yourself.

[00:29:38] Trust yourself.

[00:29:39] Be more confident. It's cliche, but.

[00:29:42] Yeah.

[00:29:44] Hear it all the time. I heard it then.

[00:29:46] I should have been paying more attention.

[00:29:50] I love that one too. It's like listening to your intuition

[00:29:53] more. Yeah.

[00:29:55] How about you, Julianne?

[00:29:57] I was actually exactly along the same lines.

[00:30:00] Trust the journey that you're on.

[00:30:03] You know there's going to be ups and downs.

[00:30:05] There's going to be winds and turns.

[00:30:08] But each moment is leading.

[00:30:11] For you, my 20, you know,

[00:30:13] something self to be exactly where you should be.

[00:30:16] And I would tell her to trust herself.

[00:30:18] Trust her intuition and most importantly,

[00:30:20] trust her vulnerability because it's her greatest strength.

[00:30:23] And she really should not shy away from it.

[00:30:26] So well said ladies.

[00:30:29] Anything else before we close the episode today that.

[00:30:32] That you want to communicate or talk about.

[00:30:37] So when I say we're really proud to be here on this podcast and

[00:30:41] we're proud to partner with a PD.

[00:30:44] They do highly effective work.

[00:30:47] And we're just thrilled to have them as our 2024 beneficiary.

[00:30:54] And, you know, we like to say it Mother's Day movement for the

[00:30:58] price of a bouquet of flowers. You can save a mother's life.

[00:31:01] And we just want Mother's Day to be meaningful.

[00:31:05] And to matter.

[00:31:07] Thanks.

[00:31:08] Anything else, Julianne?

[00:31:11] Just want to echo that thanks for having us for giving us this

[00:31:15] platform to share and really hope all of your listeners join us in the

[00:31:20] Mother's Day movement.

[00:31:22] All right, come on listeners, let's do it.

[00:31:26] All right, thanks again for being here and for talking so

[00:31:30] openly and honestly about your organizations. So thank you.

[00:31:36] Thank you.

[00:31:40] Thank you for listening today and we sure hope you enjoyed this episode.

[00:31:44] If you did, please leave a comment wherever you listen to your

[00:31:47] podcast, tell a friend about us, join our public Facebook group

[00:31:52] Girl Take the Lead or visit our website, girltaketheledepod.com.

[00:31:57] We also have a YouTube channel where your subscription would be

[00:32:00] appreciated once you're on YouTube search at Girl Take the Lead.

[00:32:04] And we recently expanded into YouTube music where you can find a

[00:32:09] video of this episode.

[00:32:11] Here are three takeaways from today.

[00:32:14] One, for the price of a bouquet of flowers, we can save a life by

[00:32:19] donating to MDM.

[00:32:21] Can you believe that $35 billion are spent on Mother's Day?

[00:32:28] Two, in 2024, AEP will reach over 4,000 children, youth and women,

[00:32:34] and they offer a peer-to-peer education program in local schools

[00:32:38] and HIV awareness programming through their kids to care

[00:32:42] initiative.

[00:32:44] In addition, one of the most extraordinary things about AEP is

[00:32:48] that they provide special education support.

[00:32:52] Three, our donation to MDM can help achieve AEP's mission

[00:32:57] and the 750 children, youth and women who access their highly

[00:33:02] impactful programs and resources at AEP's flagship

[00:33:07] learning and leadership center every week.

[00:33:10] So for our next episode, I was really hooked on the amount of

[00:33:16] money we spend on Mother's Day.

[00:33:19] That $35 billion just stuck with me.

[00:33:22] And I had some questions that I just had to explore like, how did

[00:33:27] we get to that point of spending?

[00:33:30] And what is the history of the holiday?

[00:33:34] What's driving the giving?

[00:33:36] Like, what kind of consumer behavior is involved?

[00:33:39] And I love that.

[00:33:41] Of course, looking at it from a marketing perspective.

[00:33:43] Whoa!

[00:33:45] I can't wait to tell you what I learned.

[00:33:48] Please join us again.

[00:33:50] Thanks for being here and talk to you soon.

[00:33:52] Bye.