June 2016

We are excited to welcome our newest addition to the I Choose To Win family. And in traditional I Choose To Win fashion, we celebrated her arrival with a casual, backyard dinner with those volunteers able to attend.   With hopes and aspirations of being a publicist one day, and possessing a strong marketing background, Connie’s skill sets prove advantageous to help support I Choose To Win’s initiatives in meaningful ways. When asked why she applied for this position, the future publicist shared: “I think this internship is a good fit for me because I stand behind its mission wholeheartedly. As a young, black girl, I constantly doubted my worth and skill, because I attended a predominantly white school. I had to prove to everyone that I was just as beautiful, intelligent and goal-oriented as any other student. I chose to work hard, regardless of the criticism and hatred I received and blossomed into the young woman I am today. Being a part of an organization that stresses the importance of women empowerment is important to me because although it took me a while, I have found the power within myself and want to help others find theirs.” — Connie B., IUP Senior 2017 Join us in welcoming Connie!

Women edifying women. Men supporting women. Charlotte was great on so many levels. We heard the stories of pivotal life changes from Dawn Bizzell, Kamella Emmanuel and Melonie Butler. Thank you to all who attended – and who shared so openly and freely about the hindrances and barriers to feeling like you’re winning in life. I pray you were blessed. While being vulnerable and transparent about the things that concerned our hearts, we found we had so much more in common, than not. We were then encouraged by our fellow sister who had been there – so her experience could be a source of encouragement. We removed the titles, roles, labels and social statuses just to be “real.” My God stirred so much that day. I pray over each and every woman who expressed a desire to make life-altering changes in order to be who God has called them to be. To God be the glory.  A special thank you goes out to Nana’s Soul Food Kitchen and their owners for use of their space.