Transformation is at the heart of PEARLS for Teen Girls mission, and their next fundraiser: a story slam event, “Cheers!,” featuring PEARLS alumni, that will focus on the stories of success within the sisterhood.
“We are going into our 30th anniversary, so to celebrate we’ve selected five women that are PEARLS woman from past graduating years and are having them explain how PEARLS has influenced their success,” says Sydney Zahradka, events and development coordinator at PEARLS.
Through the stories of five PEARLS alumni, the story slam aims to celebrate change and the empowerment that comes alongside personal growth and community. The event, which is tomorrow (Nov. 9) at 6:30 p.m., will be at the Cooperage and will have multiple raffle prize giveaway, complementary hors d’oeuvres and more.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
“We want to stress the idea that PEARLS girls are sisters.” Zahradka says. “Once you are a PEARLS girl, that never changes. It isn’t a club you join in middle school, but a network that extends onward for the rest of your life.”
Another goal of the org’s story slam is to increase awareness of their organization among a younger audience.
“We are excited to have a really strong lineup for alumni telling their success stories.” Zahradka says. “We hope this helps introduce PEARLS to guests who have never heard of it, as this is a community fundraiser. The story slam is titled, “Cheers!” so we hope we can toast to those younger girls looking to become the rising leader in their community and connect them with women in leadership roles, showing positive examples of what women can achieve.”
Zahradka has been working closely with alumni to workshop each story to be shared.
“At PEARLS, we know the power of story.” Zahradka says. “We wanted to do a story slam because we hope to empower our girls to tell their own story. We are big on giving our girls the platform to speak their minds.”
PEARLS is an organization working to improve the quality of life and strengthen Milwaukee’s community through empowering young women. The organization caters to girls fifth through twelve grade and focuses on leadership, professional development and goal setting.
“We essentially help girls grow up. We empower them to be their best selves. Most importantly, we meet young women where they are and help each young woman define what success and happiness looks like to them. Most of our work is done within community centers and schools around inner city Milwaukee,” Zahradka says.
PEARLS cost of programming is free, making it as accessible as possible to girls who want to participate. The story slam event’s fundraising goal is to raise $30,000 to go directly to the organization’s programming wing, while also highlighting past alumni successes.
“We want to serve as many girls as possible. When our girls succeed, we all win. When you empower a girl, you empower a whole community. We don’t only impact our young woman, but her family, peers, and the Milwaukee community at large,” Zahradka says.
Tickets for “Cheers!” are available online.
