Saturday marks the second annual Local Ideas Festival put on by a grassroots student group started at Central High School. The group’s mission is to empower women and girls both locally and globally. KSMU’s Theresa Bettmann has more.
http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/free-event-empower-girls-women-takes-place-saturday-springfield_58605.mp3
“Inspiring women and girls to change the world” is the mission of the group Girls 4 Good, according to spokesperson Emma-Quin Smith. She says the group was started by a Central student just a few years ago and continues to grow. Smith says members work throughout the community to inform and inspire women and girls, like partnering with area elementary schools as mentors.
“We also raise money for global projects. We fundraised for an all-girls school in Kerala, India. And we raised enough money a few years ago to build sanitation facilities and a new cafeteria for them. So really we just exist to help make the world more aware of the various women’s issues that exist throughout the world,” Smith says.
Smith says the group is excited about the festival and the variety of things it will offer.
“Shawn Askinosie [of Askinosie Chocolate] is our keynote speaker. He’ll be talking about changing the world through the world of chocolate. We also have sessions on overcoming sexual abuse, a session on the history on women’s rights, we have a great women’s health session, we have information about women in third-world countries regarding the education and medical care, and we also have a free self-defense class with Chris Dunham from Dunham Martial Arts that we are really excited about,” says Smith.
The event will be from 1-4 pm Saturday at Central High School in Springfield. It's free and open to the public. You can find a link to more information about Girls 4 Good below.
