Female Strong

Looking for a meaningful way for your 8-12-year-old daughter to honor MLK Day? Female Strong Camp is the perfect opportunity! Join us on Monday, January 20th with @edlongflavors in Elk Grove Village for our first Female Strong Camp of 2025! This Camp is all about celebrating creativity, curiosity, and leadership as we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of empowering others to create positive change. Girls will reflect on their goals, step into confidence, and turn their passion into action! This FREE one-day program is an amazing way for girls to discover their potential and see what they can be. The highlight? Learning hands-on about food science with our incredible sponsors at Edlong Flavor Solutions. Spots are limited, so don’t wait! Register today at https://lnkd.in/gAck2mNe

Thanks to the generosity of Goodera, our YEA! Chicago students received entrepreneurship kits filled with essential tools to fuel their growth and confidence in class last night! Each backpack includes a USB drive, business card holder, business planning guidebook, entrepreneurship success stories, planner, phone stand, and more to assist as our students as they continue developing their business ideas. We’re actively looking for 5 additional business mentors to volunteer with this year’s cohort starting in January! If you’re passionate about empowering the next generation of leaders, we’d love to have you. Find more info and submit your interest ASAP at https://lnkd.in/gTBwKrVy Shout out to the volunteers, sponsors, hosts, and speakers who make YEA! Chicago such a transformative experience for our students!

Another Female Strong program alumna doing amazing things! Congratulations to 2019 YEA! graduate & 2022 Jean Shuman Scholarship winner Ayra Mudessir on her first (but definitely not last) TED Talk!

Mark your calendars for Female Strong's first event of the year, our annual CEO Roundtable! Join us on February 5th to glean industry insights and business advice from female executives. As usual, our Young Entrepreneurs Academy students will be in attendance to ask their burning questions. This panel discussion will be moderated by Dawn Lauderdale, Director of Diversified Industries at BMO Commercial Bank. Stay tuned for the full lineup of panelists to be announced soon! Secure your spot for at https://lnkd.in/gytADwce. Interested in sponsoring a Female Strong event in 2025? Email [email protected] to learn more.

We can't wait to host more programs for girls in 2025, and first on the list is Camp with Edlong Flavor Solutions! Female Strong Camp is perfect for girls interested in... - Art & Crafts - Food Science - Goal Planning - Storytelling - Entrepreneurship We invite the 8-12 year old girls in your life to join us for this confidence-building program in Elk Grove Village on Monday, January 20th. Spots are extremely limited, so sign up today at https://lnkd.in/eSxvqFrm!

Calling women in business to join us as mentors for the 2024-2025 YEA! Chicago cohort! Mentorship is critical to success at all ages, and we pride ourselves on providing individualized support to our entrepreneurship students as they develop their businesses and prepare for launch. The ideal mentor is a professional woman with expertise in areas like strategy, marketing, or finance who is passionate about empowering young entrepreneurs. YEA! business mentors guide students through the process of developing the business plan and perfecting the pitch presentation. The commitment involves a virtual orientation on 1/13, weekly virtual mentoring sessions on Wednesdays from 1/22-3/5, and optional special events like the CEO Roundtable on 2/5 and the Investor Panel on 3/19. If you're ready to make an impact, complete the Interest Form at https://lnkd.in/gTBwKrVy. Spots are limited!

This holiday season, we invite your company to make a difference by partnering with Female Strong. With your support, we can continue to empower young women to become tomorrow's entrepreneurs, leaders, and innovators. Explore how your organization can make an impact by sponsoring our programs and initiatives in 2025. Reach out to [email protected] directly to start the conversation.

It takes a village to do the work we do at Female Strong, and we wouldn't be where we are today without ours! Thank you to all of our board members, volunteers, mentors, sponsors, donors, and advocates for your continued support of our mission. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Female Strong! 

This morning, Female Strong's current and former YEA! students were invited to attend a Behind the Scenes Event for TechRise Chicago's Season 4 Finale. Our young entrepreneurs heard the six finalists rehearse their pitches and participated in a practical pitch frame workshop led by Steven E. Shaw. Thank you Desiree Vargas Wrigley, Lucy Brennan, and the rest of the TechRise team for putting together another amazing student event. Best of luck to finalists Ayesha Kazi of ASL Aspire, Laura Epstein of Pulse Charter Connect, Gabriel Huertas del Pino of Arch Pet Food, Prarthana Gupta, of OrdrSmart, Stephane Manuel of TrueFiktion, and Camryn Ross of Fillow Inc. as they compete for the $100K grand prize this evening. Don’t miss the action—register to attend or watch the live stream at https://lnkd.in/gKpwgnN5!

We’re still buzzing from Saturday's inspiring Female Strong Camp at Brookfield Zoo Chicago where more than 50 girls participated in activities that nurtured their creativity, confidence, and collaboration skills. Highlights included: - Exploring aviary animal science - Setting goals & creating vision boards with kits from Paper Source - Writing letters to their future selves - Simulating risk management & asset protection - Learning about pollinator conservation from young entrepreneur Evelyn Halbach and taking home one of her EcoFrenzy board games This special program served twice as many girls as our usual Camps, empowering them to embrace their passions and take steps toward becoming future leaders. This incredible impact was made possible by the generous support of Gallagher Insurance Company, Florence Ann Romano & The Agape Foundation, and of course the team at Brookfield Zoo Chicago. Thank you also to our dedicated volunteers: Jennifer Baader, Stephanie Harper, Kelly Reina, Jen Tadin, Sarah Austin, Melanie Griffin Pugh, Emily Feldmann, Sabrina Patlan, Ashley Biggs, and Sarah Sleevi. Your mentorship and enthusiasm transformed the day for our campers! Interested in inspiring the next generation of female leaders? Stay up to date about upcoming Camps for your daughter to attend or host a Female Strong Camp at your corporate office in 2025 by visiting https://lnkd.in/gKU2c75r!