Your contribution to the RBG Foundation is an investment in the futures of our school aged pk-12 baby girls.
The RBG Foundation
The RBG Foundation is a 501c3, non-profit. Our mission is to create scholarship opportunities for young Black girls looking to have an enriching summer experience while emphasizing the importance of Career Readiness, Empowerment and Career Exploration.
Why donate?
Every donation goes straight to providing scholarships to many of the amazing yet unaffordable programs that exist.
Nationwide the average program cost $314 per week for one child and for many parents it’s unaffordable
To date, we’ve given out $14,000 in summer scholarships and we hope to do even more for summer 2022
What can a donation provide?
- $50 will provide 1 full day of summer programming
- $310 will provide 1 full week to the average summer enrichment program
- $1250 will provide 1 full month to the average summer enrichment program
- $2500 will provide 2 full months to the average summer enrichment program
Why focus on summer programming?
Why not the whole school year?
Everyone focuses on the school year. But every parent knows summertime is equally important time to:
- Cultivate life skills that will serve them well into adulthood
- Increase self-efficacy and personal development
- Expand communication, problem-solving, and conflict-resolution skills
- Highlight the importance of self-advocacy
- Foster initiative and responsibility
- Promote innovation and creativity
- Teach ownership and autonomy
A living example of why we do this work…
My Experience at NYU Tisch’s Summer High School Program
By Ava Benson
As a recipient of the Real Brown Girls Summer Program Scholarship, I had the opportunity to participate in the New York University (NYU) Tisch’s Summer High School Program. I was enrolled in the Meisner Program which lasted for four weeks across July and August. For those of you not familiar with Sanford Meisner, he was an actor and acting teacher that developed the technique of acting that I learned over the four weeks of the program. I participated in five classes, Suzuki, Voice, Williamson, Clown, and Acting.
I learned so many things. In Suzuki and Williamson, the movement classes, I learned to get out of my head and focus on one thing at a time. The classes were similar but they were also very different. I learned to move my body in new ways. Some of the activities were hard in the beginning but as time went on I definitely improved in the places that I struggled. It was neat to allow my body to move without overthinking. In the Williamson class in particular, I learned about the eight different Laban Drives which are, slash, press, thrust, flick, dab, glide, float, and wring. Learning about these different drives was very helpful for my acting class in particular. It allowed me to think about my performance differently.
It was really neat experiencing how the voice is a part of an actors’ instrument beyond their body and the different energy centers we have. Similar to the Laban drivers, I learned different people are driven by different energy centers in certain situations. I was able to get feedback about my voice I hadn’t heard and share feedback as well. This was especially helpful because I began to understand the importance of embracing the ‘flop’ because mistakes happen and that’s okay. Embracing the flop is acknowledging when you mess up and not trying to brush it over like we normally do in life. In my acting class, I understood why it’s important for actors to get to know themselves. Oftentimes, outside of the actor’s world, we have to filter ourselves to survive. Whether that be being extra nice to a person you dislike because they’re your boss or keeping quiet because you’re too nervous to speak your mind. As the days went by, we all realized that holding back would not benefit us in the exercise, so we became more honest as time went by. I also realized that holding back would not benefit me outside of acting class either. I learned how powerful emotional preparation is in acting and when I’m being me.
The NYU program is very competitive and I could not have participated with RBG’s support. Over all, the program was phenomenal and I walked away with a new perspective on
acting that I hadn’t had before. I began to visit colleges and universities this summer and the NYU experience gave me insight into what to look for in an acting program. I also took lessons from my classes that I will definitely apply in my life outside of acting, such as living truthfully. I am extremely grateful to the RBG Foundation and your positive impact on my acting development and life skills learning.
My Transformative YMCA Experience Abroad
By Dorcas Olatunji
This past summer, with the YMCA of Delaware’s Global Teen program, I went abroad for the first time to London, for the YMCA175 Celebration Summit, the birthplace of the YMCA. Over 160 countries gathered in London to hear from youth and the YMCA’s global leaders and partners to advance the initiatives of national YMCAs. I felt empowered as I attended TED-ED sessions on how to prepare a talk, environmental panels on responding to the UN’s 12-year prediction, and physical activities like volleyball and basketball. While abroad, I and the sixteen other participants in the Global Teens program aimed to document the meaning of diversity and inclusion from the international advocates. I participated in the Y-USA’s strategic breakfast and shared the importance of giving youth a platform to impact their communities. I felt honored to be a United States representative with the opportunity to contribute to such a vibrant community. After the conference concluded in a few days, I packed my global perspective to share with Delaware youth delegations.
This trip would not have been possible without the funds that I received from the Real Brown Girls organization. Their support of my summer plans made the opportunity to become a global youth advocate tangible and financially-possible. I am eternally grateful for the donors that funded my scholarship, and for the founder of Real Brown Girls, Sable B.
She made sure everything ran smoothly and walked my father and I through the steps to receive the funds on time. The Real Brown Girls Scholarship made my travel plans possible and my first time traveling abroad a reality.
The YMCA of Delaware went with the mission of spreading the word on Diversity, Inclusion, and Awareness as our main themes. One of my favorite moments was the volleyball tournament where I played with friends from Spain, Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland, all in the same room. The entire conference, though only four days, gave me a global perspective and experience I will never forget. After London, we went to Paris for two days to sightsee and enjoy our time with fellow delegates.
Quite Frankly,
QUALITY SUMMER PROGRAMS
SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED LUXURY AND OUR BABY GIRLS DESERVE IT.