Read. Think. Act.

Catherine Read

  • Home
  • About
  • Creative Read
  • Blog
  • TV Shows
  • Books
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Making Change Radio
  • Archives

by Rachel Simon

She Rocks the World on Your Need to Know

August 21, 2019)   Catherine Read interviews several student ambassadors from the nonprofit organization She Rocks the World. This all-female, student-led organization aims to empower teenage girls to fearlessly use their own voice in order to live their biggest lives.

In the first segment Catherine speaks with Devina Bawa and Ashwathi Mathai.  They provide a clear understanding of what the organization is all about, and why it has been instrumental in their personal growth. She Rocks the World is open to girls in grades 7-12 who are interested in exploring who they are, as well as those who are looking for ways to speak up for what they believe in.

Every month the girls schedule a meeting at a different company in the region, and use the opportunity to learn new things as well as network with female professionals. It is eye opening for the girls to meet successful professional women, and hear the stories of their life journeys.  It helps the young women understand that there are many paths, and many options, as they embark on their life.

Often times, these women have had a windy road to get them where they are.  The girls enjoy hearing about how the women found their way to their current place, and about how they have found joy and fulfillment in their careers.  This is especially true even if it may not have been a job that they considered when they were young.

Both Devina and Ashwathi truly value these networking opportunities. They have discovered at a young age that networking is an important tool for success in the world. They also note that they have met some amazing people that they continue to stay in touch with.  Many of these women are willing to be available when the girls have questions about careers, professions, college, etc.

Additionally, each meeting includes something informative to help the girls live their best lives. Whether it is a session on mindfulness, stress relief or public speaking, the goal is for participants to take something home with them that will help them grow and prosper. The organization also has a leadership council that pairs older high school girls with younger middle school girls. This is very useful because it allows the younger girls to better understand the organization’s culture, and gives them the tools that they need to succeed.

Filed Under: Mentoring, TV Shows, Women, Your Need to Know Tagged With: Ashwathi Mathai, Mentoring, networking for young women, She Rocks the World

by Rachel Simon

She Believes in Me with Renee Gorman

(July 3, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with She Believes in Me founder Renee Gorman to talk about her work in supporting young, vulnerable girls in her community. Lori Barnes, a volunteer who has been with the program since inception, also joins the show to talk about the importance of being a mentor, and giving these girls positive experiences and valuable skills.

Gorman is a school counselor in a community with many vulnerable children. Over the years, she became increasingly frustrated because she did not have the bandwidth during school hours to help support the young girls who were coming into her office with profound challenges.  She wanted to do more, but needed to find a different approach to helping them work through their obstacles. She believed in these girls, and wanted to show them that they had a fan rooting for them.

The first step involved planning some positive programming to bring the girls together. Gorman put together a group of volunteers by reaching out to her professional and community connections.  Her goal was show these young girls that there were people in their corner who wanted to help them. These workshops take place at her elementary school on Saturday mornings, and are always framed with a theme so that the girls have a valuable skill to bring home with them.

She Believes in MeA few examples of topics include building self-esteem, developing healthy coping skills, recognizing inner beauty, and the importance of friendships. The workshops are free of charge, and Gorman simply advertises by word of mouth. They have become so popular that they attract approximately 160 girls a month, and are staffed with over 30 volunteers. These girls are looking for positive role models, and are thirsty for programs that speak to them.

Most importantly, the environment is warm and welcoming, and girls are made to feel special and important. Having enough volunteers to staff the program means that the girls who really need help, have an opportunity to share their struggles and reach out for support The girls come from diverse backgrounds and varied socioeconomic environments, and many have experienced trauma. Gorman’s goal is to ensure that they have an outlet to find support when they need it.

The She Believes in Me model has been so successful that Gorman would love to grow the program to additional schools. If you are interested in setting up a similar program in your neighborhood, you can reach out to them to find out about how to get started at [email protected]

Filed Under: Blogging, Children, Mentoring, TV Shows, Your Need to Know Tagged With: empower girls, Fairfax County, Lori Barnes, Mentoring, Renee Gorman, She Believes in Me, trauma informed programs

by Catherine Read

Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship

Reading with Patrick (Aug 2017) Maybe a record of someone’s private thoughts is worthless anywhere. Certainly in jail — contraband is worth more. But I wondered if it was especially worthless in the Delta, where a calm place to read was hard to come by; where there wasn’t a bookstore for a hundred miles and families couldn’t afford a book, anyhow; and where a teacher once burst into my classroom to scold me for having the kids write about the death of a classmate, not wanting them to feel sympathy for him.

I love this book so much. As Patrick would say, “It’s real.”

Michelle Kuo has gifted to this world such an extraordinary testimony — both hers and Patrick Browning’s.

It’s a beautiful literary work that is full of thought and introspection. It is a meditation on the great questions of the human experience and how books and writing and poetry impact how we see our world.

All that beauty is wrapped around the gritty reality of rural poverty, racism, history denied, mass incarceration, failed education policies, despair, addiction and violence. And yet – there is also faith, family, resilience and love.

This story of how a daughter of Taiwanese immigrant parents, born and raised in Michigan and educated at Harvard, ended up in the Mississippi Delta teaching at an alternative school, has more plot twists than you can imagine. Only this is no work of fiction. It’s an extraordinary personal journey.

I feel inadequate to the task of reviewing this book. There is not a “genre” for this kind of non-fiction literature. It weaves the well researched history of racism and poverty in rural Helena, Arkansas, together with the writings of Leo Tolstoy, C.S. Lewis, James Baldwin, Frederick Douglass and the poetry of Yeats, Tennyson, Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Ms. Kuo and Patrick explore Haiku together day after day in a jail visitors room. She has him write letters – to his daughter and to the man he killed. Those things may seem to be incongruous on their face, but it’s about the transformative power of words, ideas and the experience of those before us to help us see who we are.

“Bad conditions could impel one to leave, but they could also sap one’s strength to go.” I found so much in these pages that resonated. I felt the struggle of the place, of the people, and the determination of this teacher to help Patrick to find in himself the things he could not see.

I highly recommend this book to every reader as it a story deeply rooted in the power of education to change lives.

Filed Under: Good Books Tagged With: education, Good Books, Helena Arkansas, Injustice System, Jail, Mentoring, Michelle Kuo, Patrick Browning, Poetry, racism, Reading, Rural Poverty

by Catherine Read

Give and Take – Adam Grant

Screen Shot 2014-10-08 at 4.21.49 PMAn excellent book that reinforces much of what I believe about the value of giving. The pivotal idea in this particular book is that there is more than one way of being a “Giver.” Author Adam Grant, the youngest tenured professor at the Wharton School, presents compelling research on the nature of human interactions relative to professional success. He identifies three main personality types: Givers, Takers and Matchers. He opens the book by sharing research that shows some of the least successful people in businesses are Givers. He follows that up with the secondary revelation that so are some of the mostsuccessful people.

The book hinges on a distinction Grant makes between “selfless” giving and “otherish” giving. It’s the difference between being a burned out disaffected doormat for others and creating a way of helping others that assesses more clearly an investment strategy that moves everyone forward. His case studies and profiles are really interesting. The real people he introduces us to (some agreed to use their real names and some use pseudonyms) find their way toward this “otherish” style of giving through a variety of means.

One young Teach for America teacher ended up starting a nonprofit to coach promising disadvantaged students interested in continuing their education in addition to her overwhelming day job as a high school teacher in a tough Philadelphia school. Doing something that was impactful and meaningful energized her and motivated her beyond the discouraging daily routine she had in the classroom. Ultimately, it affected her classroom environment in a positive way and she ended up creating an informal mentoring program among her fellow teachers.
Read More

Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Good Books Tagged With: Altruism, business, Career Success, Givers, Mentoring, Reciprocity, Takers, Wharton School

Catherine S. Read
I believe in the power of community and the ability of one person to make a difference.

Read more…

Get the Latest

I will not spam you. Read my privacy policy.

Recent Posts

The Three Mothers – Anna Malaika Tubbs

Railroaded – Dale Brumfield

His Other Life – Melanie McCabe

The Art of Gathering – Priya Parker

Faithful Servant Awards on Your Need to Know

Laura Jane Cohen on Your Need to Know

Elaine Tholen on Your Need To Know

Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center

Search

Archives

Archives

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Read. Think. Act.

Copyright © 2021 Catherine S. Read · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy