Grant Club girls are pictured with speakers from the 3rd Annual Rebel Women Luncheon, held March 18 at the Harland Club.
The 3rd Annual Rebel Women Luncheon was an inspiring celebration of International Women’s Day & Women’s History Month. Held March 18 at the John H. Harland Club and hosted by our Champions Club for GIRLS women’s giving society, the event featured a panel discussion centered around “Breaking Down Barriers” to achieve equality for women and girls.
Moderated by BGCMA Trustee and GEEARS Founding Chair Stephanie Blank, the panel featured three rebel women, who shared their stories of breaking down barriers in their respective professions: Erica Bolden, Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Equity Engagement for Mercedes-Benz; Solange Claudio, President & COO of Moxie; and Melissa Proctor, Chief Marketing Officer for the Atlanta Hawks.
BGCMA President & CEO David Jernigan, 2021 Matthews Club Youth of the Year Honesty R. and 2020 BGCMA Youth of the Year Nila S. also provided remarks. Legendary news anchor Monica Pearson served as emcee.
“You may be familiar with the popular children’s book Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls,” Pearson explained to guests. “Boys & Girls Clubs created a curriculum based on this book, highlighting great women throughout history. Rebel girls learn to question ideas that are unfair, choose to be themselves even when it’s not popular and create a better world for others. BGCMA’s Champions Club for GIRLS wanted to inspire and connect women by creating a space to promote the rebel in all of us.”
In addition to Champions CLUB for GIRLS events like sports bra fittings, career panels, and “Girls Talk: Self-Love,” BGCMA continues to offer impactful programs specifically for young women including:
- GEM program – Girls Empowering Movement, a statewide initiative to increase physical activity and fitness levels of Georgia’s middle school girls through activities designed and led by girls.
- SMART Girls – a small-group health, fitness, education and self-esteem program that helps young women build skills for eating right, staying physically fit, getting good health care and developing positive relationships with peers and adults.
The Rebel Women Luncheon was made possible through the generous support of several sponsors: CRLG, Ryan Companies, i2i Leadership Group, Highland Bakery, Danielle Hegedus, Vicki Montet, Extra Good, Jason Kersey, Realtor, R2T and Lord of the Pies.
To learn more about the Champions Club for GIRLS or BGCMA’s girls-centered programming at BGCMA, please be sure to read the latest BGCMA article in the Saporta Report, “Igniting Rebel Women: Community Volunteers Champion Girl Empowerment at Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta.”
