A GEM of a Program
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GEM girls meet with Lesley milhas, owner of Blue Ruby Bakery and Bistro in Flat Rock
The Girls EMpowered (GEM) program was created by the United Way of Henderson County in 2016 as a means of boosting the self-esteem and confidence of local students by arranging for them to meet and talk with professional women about their life stories and career paths.
This past week, 11 young ladies from Hendersonville Middle School traveled with their faculty sponsors to visit some of Flat Rock’s most successful and inspirational businesswomen. During the course of their two-hour field trip, the girls met with the owners of a photography studio, a retail store, a restaurant, and an interior design firm.
By the time they re-boarded the school activity bus and headed back to school, they had learned about the challenges, rewards, travails, and successes of business owners who had once faced the same questions as their young visitors: What will I become? How do I find my career? Can I follow my dream?
Most importantly, each of the 11 girls saw firsthand what women of courage, persistence, and passion can accomplish in their careers. It is an invaluable lesson at the heart of the GEM mission.
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Designers Suzette Delay, Heather Grant, and Missi Smith of The Design Gallery in Flat Rock Square talk to GEM Girls
The GEM program provides high-quality, out-of-school programming for 5th and 8th grade girls at three area schools - Upward Elementary, Hillandale Elementary, and Hendersonville Middle. GEM participants meet after school weekly or bi-monthly and work in concert with their faculty sponsors and Women United of Henderson County - a program offered by our United Way to offer ways for women to band together to impact their community. Through their efforts with the GEM program, Women United works to provide safe, enriching spaces for girls with activities designed to boost their self-esteem, confidence, and school readiness.
The inspiration for GEM came from a program at Glenn C. Marlow Elementary School. It was called Girls Leading Our World (GLOW). GLOW (and later "Shine") focused on positive character traits and female role models for fifth-grade girls. As the Women United got started in 2016, Henderson County Public Schools administrators suggested that Women United volunteers work with teachers and counselors at Upward Elementary to develop a modified version of this program.
(L-R)Pauline carpenter,and Suzanne Camarata, volunteers with Women United with Mary Ellen kustin and Denise Cumbee Long of United Way of Henderson County
The group enthusiastically embraced the idea and GEM was officially launched. The GEM program began at Upward in the spring of 2017 and expanded to Hillandale Elementary and Hendersonville Middle School in subsequent years. These schools were selected based on the percentage of students who are economically disadvantaged and for the higher diversity of students.
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A signature feature of all GEM sessions is the recruitment of local professional women as guest speakers. Each session centers on a particular character trait or topic as a theme, such as empowerment, confidence, inner beauty, perseverance, ambition, and commitment.
Local women representing a variety of educational backgrounds and professions share their personal stories with the girls, including how they overcame obstacles to meet their goals. The guest speakers are recruited from diverse careers and participants have included female firefighters, veterinarians, physicians, artists, sheriff department staff, chefs, real estate brokers, business owners, and many others.
Jane Seymour-Newton explains her business to GEM Girls
Women United members also volunteer each year as classroom assistants, guest speakers, logistics coordinators, and leaders of tours of women-owned businesses. For the trip to Flat Rock, WU volunteers Suzanne Camarata and Pauline Carpenter made arrangements for the girls from Hendersonville Middle to meet with female owners at five Flat Rock businesses - Jaime Seymour-Newton Photography, The Wrinkled Egg, The Design Gallery, Blue Ruby Bistro, and The Gallery at Flat Rock.
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Suzanne Camarata, owner of The Gallery at Flat Rock, speaks to the Gem Girls.
At each Flat Rock business, the girls heard the personal and career stories of women who had once been just like them - wondering where life and careers would lead. The girls also had an opportunity to ask questions and contemplate the world of possibilities stretching out before them as they progress through their own lives.
Faculty Sponsor, Carrie Cheek, sees first hand the impact that the GEM program has on her student charges. “They get to see that the world is bigger and more diverse than they may realize,” she explains. “GEM helps open their eyes to the infinite opportunities and possibilities for the way their future can look.”
Virginia Spigener, owner of The Wrinkled Egg, talks with GEM girls
Suzanne Camarata, owner of The Gallery at Flat Rock, is also a member of Women United and was especially pleased to host the young visitors. She told the girls that if there was something they really wanted to try, they should go for it. “There's a way to make it happen,” assured Suzanne. “Find mentors and friends that will help you.”
Virginia Spigener, owner of The Wrinkled Egg, showed the girls around her iconic store on Little Rainbow Row and related to the girls that her “career path” had been a long and meandering trek. Ultimately, however, she discovered her passion and has now spent the past 33 years doing exactly what she loves. Afterward, Virginia emphasized the importance of encouraging young women. “Even in this day and age, women in business face extra challenges when it comes to earning respect in the business world. I love to encourage other young girls to pursue what they want.”
Women United volunteer, Pauline Carpenter, was drawn to the organization precisely because of the GEM program. “GEM drew me to Women United. When I was growing up, I had women that invested in me and being a woman that can invest in a young lady at these ages, it's just important to me.” She added, “Some of them get to see people that look like them and understand there are people besides their immediate family that actually care and are willing to help them pursue their dreams.”
Mary Ellen Kustin, Program Manager for United Way of Henderson County, hears from local educators how much they appreciate the GEM program as well. “They tell me this is why they got into teaching. They want to be resources in their student’s lives beyond the curriculum and test standards. Helping their students navigate through life is a big deal for them.”
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Photo by Jaime Seymour-Newton
The last stop on the tour of Flat Rock was at Blue Ruby Bistro and Bakery where the girls heard from Lesley Milhas about what it takes to own and operate your own restaurant. Best of all, there were fresh cookies and drinks for each of the girls. When it was time to leave, the girls assembled for one last group photo to document for posterity a productive day of meeting with and talking to some of the women who make Flat Rock such a special place to live and work.
Then the group of 11 animated and chatting girls boarded their bus to return to school - and to a future full of more opportunities and possibilities than they had realized just two hours earlier.
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Read more about Women United and the GEM program here.
