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PressFor Immediate Release Proud Mother Receives JFW Grant to Accompany Her Daughter to National GEAR UP Youth Leadership Summit in San Francisco SALEM TWP, Maine -- April Thorndike received a Journeys for Women grant which allowed her to support her daughter, Brianna, in the GEAR UP Youth Leadership Summit, and to see San Francisco for the first time! Brianna, and thirty of her peers from across the country, were selected to participate in the Youth Leadership Conference (YLS) which took place at the national GEAR UP Annual Conference in San Francisco, California this July. GEAR UP programs work with economically disadvantaged middle school and high school students to ensure that they are academically and socially prepared for postsecondary education. The students’ mission at YLS was to identify issues in their schools that prevent many students from going on to higher education, and to propose solutions for these barriers. Their findings and ideas were compiled in a written report and presented to the two-thousand conference participants in a well-planned skit. Brianna played the role of the “expert” in their talk-show format skit, and she even received a standing ovation! April said, “it was amazing to see the students and their presentation, and I was so proud of them – they’re amazing kids.” April knew this would be an experience of a lifetime for her daughter, but leaving her job at the grocery store during their busiest season didn’t seem possible. “When Brianna was awarded this, my first thought was, I can’t go it’s in July! It’s our busiest time at work and then I thought, no, this is an experience that we could do together and just see something different than where we live. And to be honest, having the financial help that we had made it much easier, because I wouldn’t have gone otherwise. So, I took the bull by the horns and just said let’s go with it, just go, it doesn’t matter if you’re scared to fly, and it doesn’t matter if you’re not supposed to take vacation, just ask. So I went to my boss and I said this is the situation and he said you know there is an exception to every rule and we’ll work it out – go for it.” She and her daughter both thought seeing Alcatraz was the best part of their trip, but they enjoyed the shopping and walking around the city too. By the end of their week-long trip, they were exhausted and ready to come home. When asked about her journey, she said, “The trip was an experience of a lifetime. I, like Brianna, have never traveled very far and I was scared to death to be on the plane, and I made it! I was so proud of myself and I think that was just something to prove to Brianna and my girls that – go ahead, I don’t care how old you are, keep going, do something that you’re scared to do and see what happens.” See related article on Brianna on the GEAR UP website: ### For Immediate
Release Journeys for Women Initiative to be Unveiled at Winter Retreat The Maine Support Network is home to the Journeys for Women Initiative. The Network, which will be hosting its 15th annual Winter Retreat for educators at the Samoset Resort on January 29-31, 2005, has a long history of providing quality learning opportunities that celebrate, support and connect members of learning communities including teachers, school administrators, educational paraprofessionals, students and parents. Since 1986 the Network has provided technical assistance, support and professional development activities serving educators from all grade levels and areas of specialty across the state of Maine. These activities are designed to retain special education teachers and to assure that all Maine students achieve to high standards. Two years ago one of our members took a journey. Corda Ladd Kinzie, from Oakland and Camden, states that “for many years I dreamed about taking a cross country journey. When I first conceived the trip I was a working mother and wife raising three boys; however, my parenting job was not finished and I needed to stay and be a mom. It took me eight years before I saved enough money and the time was right to realize my dream. I planned, saved and finally took a year off from work. Driving out of the driveway on my own in 2001 was the hardest thing I had ever done. Without the support of my family and friends I would never have taken this life changing journey.” Ms. Kinzie spent a year traveling the country in her VW Eurovan Camper nicknamed “Winnie.” As a result of Corda’s journey, the Journeys for Women Initiative was started. She has donated “Winnie” to the Maine Support Network, and a volunteer board of friends and allies has been formed to raise money and oversee operations in order to make Journeys for Women a reality for other Maine women in need of such an adventure, but for whom circumstances and finances make it impossible. The board has designed an application process and hopes that at least one woman will have the opportunity to "journey with Winnie" before the year is out. "Winnie" will be on display during the Maine Support Network’s Winter Retreat in January at the Samoset Resort. If you know of a woman who would benefit from a “Winnie Journey” or are interested in learning more about the group’s vision and mission, or the application process, or if you are interested in making a tax deductible contribution to the Journeys for Women Initiative travel fund, please contact the Maine Support Network at (207) 685-3171. ###
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