by Kaylan Williams
It’s March, which means it’s Women’s History Month! This month is all about celebrating, highlighting, and commemorating women’s contributions to society and American History. During this time, it’s important to recognize all the ways that you can contribute. Here in Tallahassee, there are a number of fantastic ways to get involved. There are countless non-profits and businesses that you can support, not just this month, but all the time!
Junior League of Tallahassee
The Junior League of Tallahassee is a local nonprofit organization of women dedicated to improving the lives of and providing basic needs for local children and families, through “sustainable programs and strategic community partnership.” Racking in almost 14,000 hours of service over 61 total years, The Junior League of Tallahassee promotes confidence, develops leadership, and empowers young children and families. Each Year, JLT trains new members as volunteers and leaders in our community. But that’s not all, The JLT also has a Community Partner program, whose goal is to further their mission by funding a partnering non-profit, and assist them in launching or growing a project through JLT’s volunteer power, promotional power, and financial grant support capabilities. You can donate to JLT here, and find their website here.
Survive and Thrive Advocacy Center Inc.
Survive and Thrive Advocacy Center Inc is personally my favorite Tallahassee non-profit. As soon as you enter the website, you are welcomed with a plethora of very valuable information about sex trafficking right here in Leon County, the risks, and how to prevent it. They have tons of opportunities for training and education on how to recognize, report, and prevent human trafficking, which is so necessary. However, the feature that I admire most is that at the top of the opening website page, there’s a yellow button that says “Quick Exit” that takes you to theweatherchannel.com, in case someone seeks help on their page needs a quick way to change to screen. It’s simple things like that that could keep someone safe. It’s skills like this that make all the difference in the world. You can find more information about them here.
The Oasis Center for Women and Girls
The Oasis Center was created to be a community resource center for women and girls to come together, dream, achieve, and thrive. In 2007, the founder Kelly Otte noticed that there was no one organization focused on empowering and uniting women from all walks of life in our community. The Oasis Center was created with the vision of being a diverse environment that aims to be the central resource where women can become equipped with the tools to reach their goals, and a support system to celebrate with them as they progress on their journey. You can read more about the Oasis Center here.
Girls on the Run of the Big Bend
Girls on the Run is a nonprofit organization dedicated to “creating a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams.” GOTR Panhandle was founded in 2013, and by the end of spring 2021, they have served over 3,200 girls at over 50 sites in 17 seasons offering scholarships to girls at Title I schools in Leon, Bay, and Jefferson Counties! This organization does a fantastic job at inspiring young girls to be active in fun and creative ways, while also promoting confidence, happiness, and other necessarily and valuable life skills. You can find more informations about GOTR here, on their website.
These are just a few non-profits that I personally love, but the list is never ending! There’s are so many wonderful ways to get involved in our community, not just for this month, but all the time! Happy Women’s History Month!