We are excited to share the Crittenton Chronicle, our new monthly Newsletter!
October Newsletter
Halloween Edition: Do You Know What’s Really Scary?
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Black and Brown teen girls are still recovering from the nightmare of the last year, but our Crittenton groups are saving the day.
GROUPS ARE BACK! HOW SPOOK-TACULAR!
We are overjoyed to see our Crittenton programs back in person. Our girls have made it clear that our organization’s support and weekly group meetings are vital to their well-being. That’s why we need your help more than ever to sustain our programs, our girls, and their families through this ever-evolving pandemic. Join us on November 18 for our anniversary celebration. You will hear directly from our girls about what your support has meant to them, and why it’s important to preserve Crittenton’s sacred sisterhood.
CSGW’S SPINE-CHILLING NEWS STORIES
This month, we were honored to be featured not once but twice in The Washington City Paper.
Our girls regularly tell us how caregiving responsibilities have weighed on them during this pandemic. More work at home on top of uncertainty at school has led to increased stress and poor mental health. This is not exclusive to DC. A 2020 World Economic Forum report further confirmed that COVID contributed to gender inequities among women and girls.Click here or on the image above to read about how young girls are holding our city together.
Girls in DC are waking up empty fridges and going to bed wondering whether they can continue to live in their homes. As an organization, we work diligently to support Black and Brown teen girls in managing the disproportionate effects of the pandemic. We know first-hand that, normal wasn’t always great for everyone, and it certainly has been hard for teen girls. Read this powerful story about how the pandemic has triggered a housing and food insecurity crisis in DC.
BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: KYMBER LOVETT-MENKITTI
We are screaming for Kymber. She is the Co-Chair of our 133rd celebration and serves as the Regional Director for the Maryland/DC Region for Keller Williams Realty International. In that role, Kymber leads the growth of 19 offices with close to 5,000 real estate professionals across the region. She is one of the youngest female executives named to the role in the company’s history. In addition, Kymber was the President of Sales for The Menkiti Group and Keller Williams Capital Properties (KWCP), two companies recognized for growth, innovation, and demonstrated success and achievement in the residential real estate industry. She led strategy for the MG Residential sales team and built a local team of real estate professionals who have brokered the sale of over $1 billion in residential real estate, representing over 2,300 homes sold. Kymber is also Chair of the CPMG Foundation, a joint project of The Menkiti Group and KWCP created to support the housing, education, and youth needs in the DC Metro area.
THIS YEARS CELEBRATION IS A REAL TREAT!
NOVEMBER 18, 2021 @ 6:30PM
Get Ready For A Night To Remember!
Transformational moments: We’ve all experienced them. Those moments—some big, some small—ultimately have an enormous impact on our lives. This year’s Crittenton Celebration theme is “Moments that Matter”—and we’ll be highlighting some of those moments in the lives of our girls and the distinguished community leaders we will be recognizing. Join us as we applaud the amazing girls of Crittenton Services of Greater Washington at this crucial annual fundraising event that powers our organization’s vital work. By attending our Anniversary Celebration, you too can create a Moment that Matters for hundreds of teen girls. Register for the event HERE.
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School is back in full swing and so are we. All of our groups are back and better than ever. Here’s how…
NEW CRITTENTON PROGRAM COORDINATORS
We’re excited to announce that our program team is growing. We’ve brought on four new program coordinators to support our girls in the new year. Each coordinator is certified in trauma-informed care and their invaluable skills and experience will help teen girls achieve any and every goal they set their mind to! Without further ado, meet our new program coordinators and read their bios on our website.
CRITTENTON PROGRAMS ARE BACK
The last year has been so difficult for our girls, so we are over the moon to be back in the classroom. We start each year off with team-building exercises so that girls can make new friends and feel comfortable joining our sacred sisterhood. Over the next 22 weeks, girls will learn how to take control of their mental, physical, and emotional health, and also how to set positive goals and create healthy relationships. We can’t wait to share their journey with you. Visit our website to learn the schools we’re currently present in and how you can enroll your teen girl.
CRITTENTON IN THE NEWS
This was a big month in the news for Crittenton. Read about some of our biggest media moments yet.
HOW TO DEAL WITH BACK TO SCHOOL STRESS
At the beginning of the month, our President & CEO, Siobhan Davenport, sat down with Jeanette Reyes, an anchor at FOX5 DC, to share tips for dealing with back-to-school stress. According to recent Center for Disease Control data, there was a 50.6% increase in suicide ideation among teen girls. Siobhan connects with parents of teen girls in this segment and lends some helpful advice on connecting with your daughter and supporting her this school year. Listen to this important conversation here!
Crittenton Girl Yanica Mejias, 17, Gaithersburg High School
Crittenton Girl Jamese Logan, 15, DuVal High School
“No Time To Be A Child,” discusses how teen girls, especially Black and Brown girls, took on extra responsibilities during the pandemic like caring for younger siblings, working additional jobs to contribute to the financial stability of their families, and even fighting for dignity and racial justice— all while struggling with young adulthood and virtual school. We could not be prouder of Yanica and Jamese, two of our brave and brilliant Crittenton girls, who participated in the story. We are also grateful to our program coordinators who serve as that trusted caring adult and support system to Crittenton girls in need.
BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT:
ANTONIO TIJERINO
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are delighted to share that Antonio Tijerino is this month’s board member spotlight. Antonio is the President and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, an organization that identifies, inspires, prepares, and positions Latino leaders in the classroom, community, and workforce. He has also served as the director of public relations in the communications department for the Fannie Mae Foundation, a manager for corporate communications and spokesperson for Nike, and an account supervisor for the Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolf public relations firms in Washington. Antonio’s commitment to Crittenton’scommunications task force and the governance committee make him a major contribution to the work we do and the vital connections we have in our community. We are proud and honored to have a powerhouse like Antonio on our team.
SAVE THE DATE: NOVEMBER 18, 2021 @ 6:30PM
Get Ready For A Night To Remember!
Transformational moments: We’ve all experienced them. Those moments—some big, some small—ultimately have an enormous impact on our lives. This year’s Crittenton Celebration theme is “Moments that Matter”—and we’ll be highlighting some of those moments in the lives of our girls and the distinguished community leaders we will be recognizing. Join us as we applaud the amazing girls of Crittenton Services of Greater Washington at this crucial annual fundraising event that powers our organization’s vital work. By attending our Anniversary Celebration, you too can create a Moment that Matters for hundreds of teen girls. Register for the event HERE.
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Summer is in full swing and we are helping our girls RISE and reach BEYOND the pandemic. Here’s how…
RISE Summer Program
Helping Girls RISE Above The Pandemic.
In Montgomery County, we are hosting the RISE Summer Program– a four-week internship and career development opportunity for rising juniors and seniors. Our Crittenton girls engage in hands-on learning in potential career fields while also learning about employer expectations, professional and transferable technical skills, and various career options.
BEYOND Summer Program
Meeting Our Girls Where They Are, Empowering Them To Move Beyond
In DC, we launched the BEYOND Summer Learning program in response to COVID’s impact on our girls’ grades and emotional wellbeing. For six weeks, our girls will work alongside our phenomenal team of positive youth specialists and have a safe, nurturing, and supportive environment that is focused on building their literacy skills, social-emotional learning, and trauma response. Our girls will also participate in mindfulness activities, and field trips, cooking lessons, and more to relieve some of the stress from this past school year.
CRITTENTON IN THE NEWS
July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. Siobhan Davenport, recently sat down with Janice Robinson (JR) Celeste, Founder & Publisher of Successful Black Parent Magazine to share tips for parents to support their children’s mental health.
During our spring needs assessment, 63% of our girls reported feeling more stressed than usual. That is not surprising when you consider that our youth suddenly took on additional caregiving responsibilities at home, lost loved ones to COVID-19, and were thrown into a completely virtual learning environment without all of the tools or resources needed to succeed.
This month, we are proud to spotlight our phenomenal Board Member, Natali Fani-Gonzalez. We cannot say enough positive things about her. She co-chaired our Crittenton Cupboard Campaign which raised over $5,000 to for the emergency fund to support our girls this summer.
Her impact doesn’t stop there. She’s a social, economic, and environmental justice advocate who is leading change in Maryland. She currently works as the Vice-Chair of the Montgomery County Planning Board and serves as Commissioner for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, a bi-county agency established by state law that regulates real estate development, plans transportation infrastructure, and manages the park systems in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties.
Save the date for our 2021 Anniversary Celebration
Thursday, November 18, 2021 @ 6:30 PM
Join us as we applaud the amazing girls of Crittenton Services of Greater Washington and honor distinguished community leaders, at this crucial annual fundraising event that powers our organization’s vital work. By attending our Anniversary Celebration, you can make a fundamental difference for hundreds of teen girls. Invite to follow but save the date on your calendar today!
