We cultivate brave spaces for people to come together to discover their similarities, share their differences, and co-create community and connection. Your contribution will support our BRAVE-Maker programs. Our programs empower diverse 14-18 year old female-identifying students, based in the United States, with leadership, antiracism, bias reduction, and project management skills. Participants gain hands-on experience over the course of a summer (6-week) and/or an academic-year (9-month) through weekly or bi-weekly workshops, group projects, civic engagement, and community organizing. Our current youth programming represent Asian (18%), Black (35%) Latinx (9%), Native/Indigenous (6%), white (26%), multi-racial (6%). We feel it is important to have a diverse cohort of participants to adhere to anti-bias and prejudice reduction values via peer education, accountability, and storytelling.
 

• BRAVE Makers Summer 2021 Young Women's Leadership & Social Change Program
  BRAVE Makers’ summer program offers the opportunity for young women to learn life and leadership through a social justice and racial equity lens. Participants will engage in small group discussions, learn from and with diverse community leaders and workshop facilitators, and share lived experiences, stories, and dreams with each other to design their own digital campaigns to amplify their voices and address social inequalities. 

  During our 6 virtual sessions BRAVE-makers will work together as a cohort to develop leadership skills, explore racial identity (and how it influences our day-to-day lives), promote peer accountability, and become influencers for positive social change. The BRAVE-makers will attend a series of weekly two-hour virtual workshops from June 24th to July 29th (time TBD with applicant survey). BRAVE- makers will use the time between sessions for guided independent research and project work.

  Watch our BRAVE Makers Summer 2020 alumni describe "Why Be A BRAVE Maker" 
  Watch a few of the civic engagement digital campaigns that our Summer 2020 cohort created:
  Every Person Matters
  Our Earth
  Use Your Voice
  The importance of voting & filling out the census: Black and LatinX edition (English)
  The importance of voting & filling out the census: Black and LatinX edition (Spanish)
   
• BRAVE Ambassadors Academic-Year 2021/22 Women's Leadership & Social Change Program
  The "Ambassadors" participate in weekly one-hour meetings to explore and celebrate their identities, build healthy friendships (even online!), and learn steps to be a leader for change. Our meetings and training rely heavily on peer accountability, anti-racism, and anti-bias work, project management skills, as well as networking opportunities with elected officials, business, nonprofit, and community leaders. The Ambassadors work together in teams to address a need they have identified in their own community. Each team will prepare, coordinate, and execute a community project. Community projects may include, but not limited to advocacy work, panel discussions, movie/documentary screening, digital campaigns, and community service work. Each team receives a budget for project implementation and a mentor to advise them on their community project. Certificates and a $250 stipend will be awarded at the completion of the program to each Ambassador.
  
  Program details and application will be available in Summer, 2021.
  
  Watch some videos of the community-building initiatives that our 2020/21 BRAVE Ambassadors participated in:
  Food distributions on MLK weekend
  Food distribution for Lunar New Year, Black History Month, and Valentine's Weekend
  Dear Governor Abbott
  BRAVE Fest 2020
  COVID-19 Safety