For the month of February, Flourish conducted community service to acknowledge Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. The statistics are startling!

"1 in 3 women are victims of domestic violence. In terms of dating violence (violence in a relationship where two individuals are not living in the same home) , 1 in 3 adolescents are victims. For years South Carolina ranked the deadliest state I America for femicide (a woman is murdered by a man). Now SC ranks No. five in the same category.  "

Flourish mentees partnered with the Naomi Project, a local non-profit with the mission of uplifting women and children who have been victims of domestic violence. The Naomi Project was founded by Mrs. Joyce Ford in 2006 to fulfill the need for counseling, financial planning, mentoring and a safe environment free of violence in the Pee Dee Area. The mission of the project was inspired by the Biblical Book of Ruth. Mrs. Floyd aspires to lead women in the area as Naomi led Ruth.

For this month’s meeting,  the mentees watched the film Hidden Figures. This film
captured a visionary trio that crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big. Throughout the movie, the girls showed multiple expressions.

Later we grabbed a bite to eat  and discussed how the mentees felt about the movie. To describe the movie, the girls used the words "inspiring," "motivational," "teachable," and "empowering." Mentee Destiny Wilson stated “I loved Dorothy’s passion to stick together and not leave anyone behind”.

Some mentees also felt that women today don’t fight as hard for their rights as women of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Mentee Tameisha Lasane said “Women nowadays act like they don’t care as much as they should."
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Summing up the discussion, the mentees thought watching them film was a great learning experience, and that women can do anything they put their mind to.

By Briana Lambert

This year's winter retreat was in Savannah, Georgia. We chose to retreat in Savannah because of it's rich history, warm weather, and southern hospitality.  Before beginning our retreat, mentors and mentees first participated in community service at The Door of Hope Christian Church where they organized and sealed holiday cards.

Our first stop in Savannah was the City Market. The City Market is at the heart of Savannah's historic district and features many unique shops, specialty eateries, performing musicians, and art galleries featuring local works.

Savannah has a host of southern eateries but the unanimous dining choice was Sisters of The New South. Denita, an employee of 7 years at Sisters, was so gracious as to tell us the rich history of the popular soul food eatery. Sisters was founded by 8 sisters and 2 brothers as a small soul food resturant that has now expanded into a franchise that includes two Savannah locations and another location in Atlanta, Georgia. We dined at the flagship location and enjoyed southern comfort foods like macaroni and cheese, butter beans, turkey wings, fried chicken, corn beef hash, cabbage, corn bread, and the best string beans we've ever tasted.

After enjoying a great meal, it was time for Secret Santa where we all exchanged gifts by playing the game "White Elephant." In the game, each player gets to choose a gift but can also choose to take another persons gifts. Overall, it was obvious that our gift giving was more about entertaining each other than receiving!