April 2017 – Melonie Butler, Founder of I Choose To Win, engaged nearly 100 student leaders at Penn State Abington with a message she entitled “In the Room, At the Table.” Invited by the Student Affairs Department and the Student Government Leaders, Butler customized her message to speak primarily to graduating seniors drawing parallels for student leaders to see the correlation of student leadership to business leadership. The message was to remind the outgoing seniors to not only be in the room, but at the table where decisions are being made and there is an opportunity to influence those decisions through their demonstration of excellence in their knowledge areas and mastery of soft skills, such as communicating with confidence, art of persuasion and emotional intelligence, that will elevate them and afford new opportunities. A message Butler drove home was to “never compromise or abandon your truth, never shrink nor withhold your unique contributions and to boldly share differing perspectives as these could cause you to be the difference-maker or change-agent that VERY room needs.” Afterwards, Butler remained available to engage in one-on-one conversations with the students and enjoy fun photo opportunities, as shown below.

March 2017 – Melonie Butler, Founder of I Choose To Win, delivered a keynote address to approximately 200 women about living your best life now: mind, body and spirit at the WomanUp Hat and Tea Party, March 26, 2017, held at the Belmont Mansion. Sharing a poem she had written for this event,  she encouraged women to learn from the experiences of hardships that sought to break them or bring them down, but couldn’t keep them there. And, whatever lessons were learned, use them to remain uplifted, but to also lift their fellow woman Up.  Met with an overwhelming response, roaring applause and a standing ovation, many in the audience requested a copy of the WomanUp poem she read to conclude her speech. That speech will be made available in the future. Here is a brief press clip found in Philadelphia Style magazine.

Philadelphia, PA – On March 26th from 3 pm – 6 pm, join in on the festivities as we celebrate women making an impact during Women’s History Month. Event costs $20 to attend, lunch is included, and proceeds benefit the American Women’s Heritage Society, a nonprofit organization that serves as the curator for the historic Belmont Mansion and Underground Railroad Museum for the past 30 years. Melonie Butler, Founder of I Choose To Win, will be the event’s keynote speaker. Event organizers are seeking vendors and nominations on women to recognize and celebrate for their good work and service. Learn more at WomanUpHatandTeaParty.eventbrite.com.

March 11, 2017 — Special thank you to Ascend Mentoring Program run by the South Jersey chapter AKA Sorority for inviting I Choose To Win to facilitate today’s vision board party! Our lives move in the direction of our focus and the pattern of our habits! When we write the vision, make it plain, we have a constant reminder of the journey we plan to take. We hope you will allow the tool you created today be a reminder of what your future holds, God willing! Click to view more pics.

Philadelphia, PA — We, at I Choose To Win, would like to thank the Philly Zeta women for nominating and selecting I Choose To Win as the Nonprofit of the Year 2017 Winner on Saturday, March 11th at the Finer Womanhood Awards ceremony held at LaSalle University. “What an honor and privilege to be recognized for doing the work we are called to do. We are just grateful to God for the impact we are able to have with the lives we encounter,” expressed Melonie Butler, Founder, “we are overjoyed, humbled and grateful.” Click to view pics. Here is a brief press clip found in The Philadelphia Tribune.

February 27, 2017 – We had an amazing show of love and support on Wednesday, February 22nd at Stratus Rooftop Lounge, Philadelphia PA. I just wanted to thank the many attendees who showed up to celebrate that milestone with us. For those who were unable to make it, but would like to contribute, you may do so online at https://www.gofundme.com/ichoosetowin. To continue learning more about I Choose To Win, visit ichoosetowin.org. To view pictures from the evening, click here. For all others in attendance, raffle prizes will be in the mail next week. Congratulations to our winners of the Taste of Ambler Getaway package (Dinner, Movie, Overnight Hotel Stay, and Breakfast) winner, Sy M. Congratulations to our Suburban Retreat package (Overnight Hotel Stay, Brunch and a Matinee) winner, Karima. And to our Winner’s Choice winners Ava W., Cyndi B. and Charita L. A special shout out to our photographer Jen Strickland, our dance guru and instructor ModelKinese, our spoken word artist and vocalist S E R A I A H and our master on the wheels of steel, DJ HVNLEE. Thank you to sponsors for the evening Stratus Rooftop Lounge, Marriott, Holiday Inn, Gypsy Blu, Bridget’s Steakhouse and Be Cubed Marketing Group. For opportunities to partner and collaborate on empowerment projects, feel free to contact melonie@ichoosetowin.org. While we may not be able to entertain all requests, we will carefully consider those aligned with our mission to edify, empower and equip women to WIN. On behalf of I Choose to Win’s Board, we thank you! Sincerely, Melonie Butler, Candy Manning, Phil Butler, Mallory Clements and Michael Bowman

January 2017 – We joined together as participants in a quiet space to engage in intimate dialogue, and nervously or confidently approached the podium to state aloud one bold intention we were trusting God for in 2017. One by one, we stood behind the podium to state our areas of personal struggle where we have experienced a measure of defeat – and our intention to do something ridiculously bold to confront our fear, insecurity or barrier to winning. In a safe space, we highlighted our strengths, our hopes and visions of the future. And, we stated with absolute clarity our awareness of the barriers that hindered our pursuit of that which we believe God has for us. We connected one another with other women who are operating in similar spaces to build our network. We lifted one another up with words and embrace. We edified, empowered and equipped one another on our respective journeys to WIN in life. Sharing our favorite motivational messages, reminding ourselves who we are in Christ with life affirming “I AM” statements, and taking a photo shoot to commemorate our decision to choose to win, this was a blessed day and a tremendously positive way to start the new year. 

Check out the January 2017 Newsletter Here.

Cheers to two Years of service! We are excited to see year two and thrilled for everything this year has in store. We’ve coined this year: 2017 The Year of BOLD Intentions. This FREE* even will be held at Stratus Rooftop Lounge, 433 Chestnut Street Phila PA (atop the Hotel Monaco), where we will take in the gorgeous views of the city warmed by outdoor fire pits and raise our glasses in the air to celebrate the many women who have made decisions to honor God with their lives and live victoriously! Whether they launched a nonprofit, started their own family and youth agency, obtained their GED, embarked upon motherhood with hope, transitioned from employment to entrepreneurship, began ministry in new areas, made a pivot in their careers, embarked upon unique journeys that allowed them to unleash their God-given gifts aligned with their purpose, in pursuit of their passions, bringing glory to God. We are excited about the work we do, the lives we’ve awakened, the visions we’ve seen realized – and we are going to celebrate. (Shhh . . . it’s also our founders birthday, so come celebrate Melonie Butler, as she launched this vision on her birthday month as she believed it aligned with her God-given purpose.) Please join us! We hope to have 3-5 women attend who will make a BOLD intention to trust God with renewed vigor and align their actions with His will. This will be a high energy, fun and good time. *We are taking up a donation at the door.

What an honor and a privilege to be noticed for doing the work we know God called us to do, which is edify, empower and equip women to WIN in life! I received this nomination and accepted it on behalf of I Choose To Win. This prestigious award, offered by Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc, Beta Delta Zeta Chapter is presented to an organization which has through unselfish and distinguished service, significantly contributed and/or participated in service events in the community through various service activities for the overall advocacy for the upliftment of the Philadelphia community at large. The award ceremony is open to the public. The Finer Womanhood Awards Show is held Saturday, March 11, 2017 at LaSalle University’s Dan Rodden Theater, 1900 West Olney Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19141. To purchase tickets, you will do so directly through the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority using this link. Hope to see some of you there! Thank you again, Zetas, for this honor.