I’m so excited!
I’m finally well enough into my Peace Corps service that I can start implementing side projects and clubs.
Back in mid-November, one of the wonderful girls that routinely attended my Window on America speaking club, Marina, approached me about re-starting a local chapter of “I Am That Girl,” which is a spin-off of a book written by Alexis Jones, focused on helping women find their passion and purpose.
A former volunteer at my site had started a local IATG chapter during her service, but sadly, it fizzled out once she ended her service and returned to the U.S.
Marina approached me and Crystal, the other female volunteer in Khmelnytskyi, and asked if we’d have any interest in restarting the club.
The answer was a very obvious “of course!”
Marina — who is an incredibly driven and motivated young woman — told us, great! She’d already done all the legwork and worked with WOA to make sure we could use it as a venue. She’d also already started the Facebook group!
She told me and Crystal — as well as Inna, another young woman who frequents the Friday night English club at WOA — to meet her at a local coffee shop to start planning!
Because Marina and Inna were SO passionate about their project, I let them take total control. I helped them with some of the aspects of planning — like setting agendas, finding presentation layouts, giving ideas and guidance, but I let the two of them lead the new club.
Less than a month later, we had our first meeting.
Marina and Inna did great! About half a dozen young women arrived for the evening, and over tea and cookies, all the ladies introduced themselves, explained why they were joining the club, and set the focus for their club going forward.
Since November, we’ve hosted several meetings and have touched on different topics and subjects.
We’ve talked about everything! We’ve hosted meetings on time management and goal setting, self-love and self-care, healthy vs. toxic relationships and sexism.
One of my favorite club meetings was when I got to introduce the girls to the lyrical genius of Lizzo.
That’s right. We had an entire club focused on self-confidence and empowerment, courtesy of Lizzo.
We’ve also hosted casual movie nights where we played movies like “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and “The Grinch.”
And, every meeting comes with a pre-meeting meeting courtesy of Marina, who is always an absolute delight to work with.
You’re going places, girl!
Anyway, I can’t WAIT to see how this club progresses over my time here. Marina and Inna are both so motivated and bright, and I really hope the two of them continue to raise future leaders here in Khmelnytskyi so that this time, the club will continue well after my Peace Corps service comes to a close.
This post was originally published Feb. 16, 2022. Its timestamp has been updated to better reflect the timeline of my Peace Corps Service.
