What we do:
High school education is an important foundation for adolescent girls to transition into the workforce.
At-risk adolescent girls need additional support to move from a mindset of marginalization to one of empowerment – support like access to information which broadens her frame-of-reference around possibilities and access to 21st Century skills, life skills, and the level of mentoring which guides transformative leadership.
The Natural Organized Woman leverages resources at partner high schools, the time and talent of role-model mentors and the support of the local community to provide girls with skills, confidence, and networks to succeed in the labor force and as entrepreneurs.
Our Impact Model
NOWSI® places at-risk adolescent girls in a circle of economic empowerment. The parts of the Across Ages Program provide girls with the skills and resources needed to participate in the new economy, give back to their communities and transition into a natural independent young women.
NOWSI® delivers high-impact, grassroots, sustainable interventions in the entire United State of America, while also tapping into a universal pool of skills, talents, and resources, by leveraging communication technology as a platform to giving back to the community.
Our Approach
Economically Empowering at-risk Adolescent Girls to Transition into Independent Young Women
The youth population in America is rapidly expanding and youth employment in the United States of America is a priority. With job scarcity, in cultures where boys are given priority to education, girls need additional support to become economically empowered and secure employment. Focusing on at-risk adolescent girls by helping them continue their education, providing them access to life skills, leadership skills and workforce-readiness skills, and connecting them to dedicated mentors is the core of everything the Natural Organized Woman© do.
Our Across Ages Model, created in 1996 by Dr. Andrea S. Taylor, Ph.D., is designed to delay or reduce substance use by increasing the resiliency and protective factors of at-risk middle school youth. Embed benevolent leadership behaviors by guiding girls on the ‘how to’ of designing a meaningful project, along with a process for follow through and measuring impact. Every time a girl successfully completes the Across Ages Program, she experiences real empowerment.
Across Ages is a mentoring program that pairs adult mentors over age 50 with youth ages 9 to now 17. The goal of the program is to enhance the resiliency of children in order to promote positive development and prevent involvement in high-risk behaviors. The program consists of four components:
(1) adults mentoring youth,
(2) youth performing community service,
(3) youth participating in a life skills/problem-solving curriculum, and
(4) monthly activities for family members.
The program can be implemented as a school-based or after-school program. Across Ages was developed at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.
MENTORING
“We must find out why different types of mentoring are effective for some, but not others, and how we can strengthen and improve mentoring efforts based on this understanding.”
“Only through rigorous, scientific research can we know how best to help the millions of young people throughout the country who want or need caring adult mentors.”
“A thoughtful, well-planned investment of resources toward gaining a greater understanding of effective mentoring will yield valuable dividends for many future generations of young Americans.”