Discovering Passions, Building On Strengths

“ I learned that you never know how people are until you make a move to know them.” -Taijai

At Space of Her Own, 5th grade girls from Alexandria and Arlington public schools are exploring the arts and learning about self-expression with the support of dedicated staff and volunteers.

SOHO girls discuss a variety of topics at the beginning of each week’s program, geared toward improving communication skills and increasing knowledge of how to maintain healthy relationships. Each session is led by SOHO’s program directors, who have been working to build upon the lessons from previous years. The girls are thrilled to join them every week: Mariama enthusiastically announced that “the special thing about being in SOHO is that I get to meet new people and have a good program director.”

During these lessons, the girls learn to recognize their strengths and work from what they know. So far, the girls have discussed topics such as personal strengths and weaknesses, self-image, healthy communication, emotions and advocating for one’s desires and needs. SOHO has helped Makayla realize that she can “be funny and be smart and be helpful to everybody.” Janel wants to work on being open-minded, and Amaya knows that she “can meet new friends quickly.”

The girls have also been exploring their “sparks,” special interests that “get them up and out of bed” in the morning. For Sierra, discussing her sparks has taught her how to “be happy for what [she has] gotten.” She knows that she loves music and stepping, and feels “happy whenever I hear those kinds of things.” The girls discuss these passions and how they can use them to contribute to the world.

Across the board, however, mentees share an interest that trumps all: the desire to come to SOHO to be with their mentors. Sierra says that her “favorite part of SOHO is coming to see my mentor because I feel like I am wanted and I have a lot of friends here,” and Makayla’s art projects are so much more fun because her mentor is always “helpful and nice.” For the girls who may not have consistent support—whether it is the guidance of a role model, a shoulder to lean on or even simply a listening ear—the close relationship with a mentor is the most important of all.

About Us

SOHO is a creative mentorship organization that serves pre-teen girls by providing yearlong mentoring through engagement in life skills instruction, nutrition and cooking classes and healthful dinners, creative art activities and meaningful community service projects. Each volunteer mentor makes a one-year commitment to the program, which fosters long-term relationships and culminates in the renovation of each girl’s bedroom, HGTV-style.

Mission:

Provide disadvantaged girls with social, emotional, academic and creative enrichment through mentoring and visual arts instruction

Vision:

To reach disadvantaged girls and prevent juvenile criminal involvement

To have a lasting impact by fostering one-to-one mentor and peer group relationships beyond the one-year program

To engage all participating youth through art instruction and empower them to see the visual arts as an endeavor at which all can succeed and which can serve as an outlet for self-expression and creativity

To develop life skills in the areas of healthy eating, social skills, anger management, conflict resolution, etiquette and community service

To provide every participant with a personalized space of her own that encourages creativity, conveys a sense of value and worth, and gives a lasting reminder of her circle of support and care

Contact Us

To learn more about our program, Space of Her Own, or our brother program, Space of His Own, please contact recruitment@spaceofherown.org or call Haley Bader at (703) 746-4687. Visit our website, www.spaceofherown.org, for more information.