Mentor Morayo Faleyimu and Girls Write Now Senior Communications Advisor & Editor Molly MacDermot attended the Bustle event at The Wing to talk about mentoring and Girls Write Now’s work.
When the terrific team at Bustle (for and by women who are moving forward as fast as you are) invited Girls Write Now to speak at The Wing, a self-described “home base and social club for women” we immediately emailed Girls Write Now Mentor Morayo Faleyimu, who has been a Girls Write Now mentor for five years. Morayo emailed a quick response: “I would be happy to participate! Thank you for thinking of me.” The result? Morayo inspired a room full of women and talked about the power of mentoring. What transpired was action — the audience mobilized their efforts to do good and engaged in a plethora of meaningful activities. Morayo spoke about her mentee, Maryclare, their pair sessions at Barnes & Noble on the Upper East Side, and the work they have already started on Maryclare’s personal statement for college.
Several audience members asked for more information on mentoring (learn more about how to apply!) and Morayo led a successful letter-writing activity with the writers rolling up their sleeves and picking up their pens to answer our prompt: “What do you know now that you wish you knew as a teen?” We collected over 40 thoughtful, wisdom-filled letters tucked in envelopes artfully decorated with sayings and stickers that we hand-delivered to our mentees for graduation gifts. Girls Write Now was also joined by City Harvest and the Coalition For The Homeless, and the other activities included making healthy snack packs, as well as much-needed hygiene kits for the homeless.
Words of Wisdom: Excerpts from our Letters…
- “Dear Amazing Girl of 2017, I’m a 36 year-old Black woman in the Sciences. I wish I put myself out there more. Take more risks to learn new things, to meet people not like myself, to ask them questions and not be so shy.” — Remi
- “My advice would be to work for the future without discounting the voice and value and insight you have today, now. You will grow and get better, but you’re also amazing as you are. Right Now!” — Kelsea
- Excerpt from a letter: “Dear Dreamer, Looking back, I learned that you must stay true to yourself. Dream big. It is when you do something that is scary or out of your comfort zone…anything is possible.” — Katie
