The spirit of WordCamps lie in the local community and the people who come together to learn and build things around WordPress together. To carry on this spirit of community, WordCamp Milwaukee, has added a new event for the 2014 camp. We wanted to find another way to give back to the Milwaukee community in general and decided a good way was to find a local non-profit, get as many WordCamp Attendees as possible in a room for a day, and build a free website!
First, I’d like to introduce the non-profit we will be working with. We reached out to members of the Milwaukee community to find a non-profit in need of some web help which was also really making a difference in Milwaukee. We are very pleased to have found My Sista’s KeepHer. Shelly Davis and Tina Nixon lead this amazing program that is out to help young women and girls in Milwaukee love themselves.
In their own words, they describe My Sista’s KeepHer:
My Sista’s KeepHer was created to inspire and encourage young girls to love themselves and each other through the art of self expression. This is accomplished through weekly workshops which involve writing exercises, open forum expression, and positive interaction in a group setting. It is led by National Poets Tina ‘Ms. Jazzi’ Nixon and Shelly Davis. We use writing, with poetry as the foundation, to foster self expression. We believe “When you stand and share your story in an empowering way, your story will heal you and your story will heal somebody else.” ― Iyanla Vanzant
During the school year we facilitate 4-6 week workshops at various schools. Our motto is once a part of My Sista’s KeepHer, always a part of My Sista’s KeepHer. To stay true to that we do 3 aftercare incentive programs, annually. The Dream Big Spa Day is a one day event focused on building self awareness and self esteem. The purpose is to encourage self worth by providing a variety of spa services for the purpose of improving health, well-being, beauty and relaxation. The Mother & Daughter Pajama Party is a 2-3 day event where we nurture the first relationship known to us, that between mother and child. The purpose is to restore, strengthen and promote healthy mother daughter relationships. And last but certainly not least we close out the year with our F.I.R.E AWARDS (Females in Recognition of Excellence). This is a celebration that bridges the gap between the youth we work with and the elders in the community. We will honor 6 women in the community & 6 students. This event promotes unity, self expression and restores power to the youth.
On Friday, July 25th, starting at 8:00am all WordCamp Milwaukee attendees are invited to get together to begin building a website for this amazing group. We are looking for people from all areas of the web to join in and help out including designers, developers, content creators, and more. Come meet at the WordCamp venue, the UWM School of Continuing Education, early on Friday morning. We will begin shortly after the Workshops start and will also be moving down to the Bucketworks co-working space on the second floor of the Grand Avenue Mall Plankinton Building later in the day.
Our goal, is to by the end of the day have a functioning website where My Sista’s KeepHer can blog their latest news, feature information to help young women, show upcoming events, and let people know how they can help their cause. The Charity Hackathon is being led by Kara Buffardi of 10up. Show up on Friday or email milwaukee@wordcamp.org if you need more information and we will put you in touch with Kara so you too can help make a difference in Milwaukee.