Compassion Connect Blog Moving Forward to Equip and Empower

Coming Alongside at Risk Girls to Better Their Futures Through Entrepreneurship How do we equip our Adorned in Grace Design Studio girls to continue making positivechoices and succeed beyond their high school graduation? As our girls all continue to grow upand transition into the next phase of life, this question has become increasingly important inour minds to think through how we can best expand our Design Studio programs. If you are unfamiliar with our Design Studio, our traditional workshop model focuses ontrafficking prevention by creating a safe space for high risk girls through mentorship, homework help, life skills, and design. This helps to create a support system of healthy adult relationships, encourage education and success, and provide a creative outlet to process life challenges and express themselves. All of this coupled with teachings on trafficking red flags and healthy relationships help prepare our Design Studio girls to make healthier decisions and empower them to become advocates against trafficking in their community. In thinking through the challenge of how we could best come alongside our older girls asthey start looking towards adulthood, a long-term dream of Adorned in Grace reemerged: ayouth entrepreneurship workshop that would help to teach foundational job skills. A few yearsago, God places it on the heart of local jewelry designer Kristina Fordyce to teach jewelrymaking to young ladies. She says, "At that point I hadn't built my jewelry studio or my business Kardia of Gold, and I wasn't sure how God wanted me follow through on His prompting. I knew I wanted to build my business for God's Kingdom and not for my own gain, so I began to pray for an organization to partner with, an organization who is on a mission to help women better their lives and to help fight for their worth. God lead me right to Adorned in Grace. The more I learned about Adorned in Grace and the justice work they are doing in Portland, the clearer it became that this would be the perfect fit for my business partnership. I want to make a difference in women's lives and share the gifts that God has blessed me with. It's such an honor to teach to the girls at the Design Studio: I walk away each week feeling so blessed to get to know these girls more and more!" We are so excited to have Kristina on board to teach and design a bridal line of jewelry that will be sold at our Adorned in Grace Bridal Shops! Many basics skills such as filling out a job application or resume writing are new territoryfor our girls who need dedicated adults who are willing to walk through these new journeyswith them. Through this program, we will continue with many of the elements that make ourtraditional workshops so successful like mentorship and homework help; however, it alsoprovides the opportunity to take things a step further by challenging our girls to think throughtheir own life goals and help them determine how to get them there. By seeing themselvescreating these beautiful pieces, it also helps to build self-esteem as they see that they have the ability to create which can give them a greater sense of purpose. Want to get involved? Help sponsor our girls! $35 provides one girl with all of the toolsthat she needs to make beautiful jewelry. $60 per month will help sponsor an educationalstipend for 1 girl! Also, Keep an eye out at Adorned in Grace Bridal and on our website for ournew bridal jewelry line!