National–An organization is stepping in to make sure young black women who have a desire to spread joy to their communities are off to a swift start. Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium asks applicants to describe their ideas for spreading joy with their friends, families, and communities and they will be granted an award of $400 to make it happen. This opportunity, #BlackGirlJoyChallenge, is available in the 12 states SBGWC serves, including: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia. Applications for this opportunity open August 1-August 15, 2021 for girls ages 12-24 on the organization’s website: www.southernblackgirls.org.
This is the second year the organization has awarded money to black girls, offering nearly eighty $250 grants in 2020. This year’s challenge offers the same opportunity to continue spreading joy with more funding, offering 175 awards of $400 to keep the #BlackGirlJoyChallenge alive. Applicants are asked to share their plans to spread Black Girl Joy in their community, via application or video and use the hashtag #BlackGirlJoyChallenge on their social media channels.
Past award recipients spread joy to their communities in a variety of projects, providing art supplies to families to use during COVID-19 as many states were under lockdown. One recipient used the funds to spread joy to those affected by sexual violence, another to create family scrapbooks and show other families how to begin. The awards also funded many ongoing projects recipients were involved in such as providing feminine products to girls in their community, packages for families to enjoy activities they couldn’t otherwise afford, paint parties, and supporting Black women in the arts and spoken word, by providing book store gift cards to encourage their creative thought during the ongoing pandemic. Another award funded project hosted a drive -in movie night showing Black Panther at a local baseball field. View more details of winning past projects here.
The #BlackGirlJoyChallenge is open to new ideas and encourages the growth of ongoing projects with young women who enter.
