Dear Mama,

I thank you for introducing me to love.
It is because of you that I know what love is, how love looks, and how love should feel.
It is because of your unconditional love that I never have to go search for love in things or in man. Thank you for setting an example of what it is to be a woman. It is because of you I know the importance of self-love and self-respect.
Thank you for just being there. Having your listening ear means more to me than any gift you can buy.

Every year I am always trying to figure out what I should get my mother for Mother’s Day. I want to feel special, appreciated, loved. But what do you give a woman who has everything? Sometimes it’s the simple things that matters most. Sometimes mothers just want to HEAR you say how you feel about them. I told my mom these words and she cried. Operation: Dear Mama is complete.

How did you show your Mom how much you appreciate her on Mother’s Day?

Development: [noun] the act or process of growing, progressing, or developing.

Spring 2011, I presented my speech to become Chaplin. As I was writing my speech I did not want the Black Female Development Circle, Inc. to forget about the ‘D’ in BFDC: Development. If we are a part of this organization and are not developing, we will simply become Black females sitting in a circle every meeting. Every time we leave a BFDC meeting we should be inspired to develop ourselves in a new way!

Summer is a great time to work on one of our principles that coincides with development, self-actualization. According to the World English Dictionary, self-actualization is “the process of establishing oneself as a whole person, able to develop one’s abilities and to understand oneself.” It is developing yourself, discovering your weaknesses and enhancing your gifts, strengths and abilities.

Take some time out this summer and reflect on at least 3 things you would like to work on.

Maybe it could be revamping your resume,buying 2 new business suits, praying more often, applying to an internship to get more experience in the field you are interested in or reading that book you’ve been wanting to finish since the winter.

So… Give me a ‘D’! Develop those skills necessary to be the woman you aspire to be!

During Purple Power 2011, the National Board posed a very simple question to the collegiate voting delegates – “Would you like to elect your next Collegiate Representatives?” A very strong majority indicated that they would like the opportunity to select the person(s) who would represent their interests on the National Board.

Based on this desire of the collegiate body, the National Board took the necessary steps to amend our national constitution and…

We will hold our 1st election for the position of Collegiate Representative at Purple Power 2012 during the National Officer Meeting! To run for National Collegiate Representative you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

1. Candidates for the National Collegiate Representative position must submit in writing their application for Declaration of Candidacy to the National Director of Records by June 29, 2012 at 5pm .Declaration of Candidacy forms will be sent to all National Members this week.

2. The candidate for National Collegiate Representative must have been an active National Member for a minimum of one (1) year prior to candidacy.

3. Chapter Directors are ineligible to serve in the role of National Collegiate Representative.

In addition, nominated candidates who are deemed eligible will be given a chance to address the organization to discuss his/her qualifications and reasons why they should be selected prior to the vote of all voting delegates. The length of office shall be no longer than one (1) calendar year. Newly elected or appointed officers shall take office on October 1^st following the election at the National Purple Power Seminar and their term will end on September 30^th of the following year.

If you have any questions related to the position, feel free to contact your current National Collegiate Representatives or any other member of the National Board!

It is almost one of my favorite times of year for BFDC… PURPLE POWER SEMINAR!

August 25th we will celebrate the 5th Annual Purple Power Seminar, “My Sister, Myself: Women Inspiring Women” in Atlanta, GA at Spelman College! It has become one of my favorite times because I get to see all of your lovely faces! Some of my favorite BFDC memories happened during Purple Power and I cannot wait to make more! Besides the great location (HOTlanta), or the historic venue (Spelman College),  it is also great time for all the members to come together and fellowship with one another while learning valuable life lessons and skills.

The purpose of this Seminar is to explore womanhood and facilitate the members and friends of the Black Female Development Circle, Inc. through the process of personal development by utilizing the mission and purpose of our great organization. This year, we are also partnering with our National Philanthropy “Yes, I Am All That!”: Promoting Positive Self Esteem in an attempt to inspire high school students in the Atlanta area through hands on workshops geared specifically towards them! Last year in Tallahassee, the high school students had an amazing time with us during our workshops, resulting in a few wanting to attend colleges where BFDC chapters are established! How amazing is that?!

In addition to the National Board working with you, we’ll also be visited by motivational and inspirational speakers!

The Seminar will include:
* Developmental Workshops
* Special Guest Lecturers
*  Lunch
*  All needed Materials

I strongly encourage everyone’s attendance to this year’s Purple Power Seminar. The National Board and I have worked tremendously hard to ensure you get the best of the best! I promise it will be an event to remember!

Feel free to contact me at specialproj@bfdcinc.org if you have any questions or comments and/or need additional information.

SEE YOU ALL IN AUGUST!

Jazmin

March 30-April 1st The Black Female Development Circle, Inc held its first National Collegiate Leadership Retreat for all the chapters of BFDC.
Leadership is very vital to any organization but especially that of BFDC. As leaders and members in a organization it is important to know the mission and principles it was founded on. How can you build a house if you don’t have the foundation to make the structure? Here are a few things I feel will help you all when electing new e-board members.

1. Effective and accurate communication about our organization are also key in building a stable house. Do you know the BFDC Mission Statement?
What are the three principles of BFDC? What do they mean? If you don’t know please learn it!

2. Once you have your foundation you’re going to need the proper tools and workers to build your house. As leaders on your campus it is your responsibility to know and understand the purpose of BFDC and be able to educate your members, potential members, staff, etc.

3. Have a plan of action before every event, meeting, social, etc. Make sure your plan is easy to follow so that others have the ability to implement the plan without you being there. “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers”- Ralph Nader.

4. The communication of our house must be effective. It is important to get everyone involved by learning strengths and weaknesses. Have socials that are meaningful and allow you to get to know each other so that when situations of conflict occur, you will be able to talk to your BFDC sister in a way that will reach her best.

5. Lastly, the overall look of our house should reflect our mission. We are in the business of developing women. It is important to remember that everything we do is a reflection of the organization. Make sure your meetings and events stay focused on this. Make sure wherever you take BFDC it can be regarded highly from the appearance of your members to the decor of the events you put on. People take note when things look good, make sure events start on time and that BFDC is constantly raising the bar. Let The Black Female Development Circle house be a representation of class and growth at all times.

So as election time is approaching or for some has already happened make sure that you are asking the right questions and picking the right people for the position not just because you like them. What about your chapter do you see needs to be made better and what thing do you love and want to see stay? Make sure your leaders know these things and hold them accountable in the planning phases for the upcoming year school and throughout the semesters.

Nancy

First let me thank all the members that participated in last month’s Pay It Forward Project with W.O.M.E.N. (Women On Maintaining Education and Nutrition). Because of you, we donated over 100 pairs of NEW and UNWORN underwear to W.O.M.E.N. towards their Operation Panty Power Campaign,  a project created by W.O.M.E.N. to empower women. Together, we are spreading the message that “there is power in your panties” and “just because I put them on doesn’t mean you can take them off.”  HELLO! Each panty that was collected will have a label sewn onto them with the OPP logo and W.O.M.E.N.’s contact information. This is symbolic that women who have been raped, abused, etc have the power to take back what was taken from them and enables them to be empowered.

For more information about W.O.M.E.N., visit www.educatingwomen.org … BFDC IS DOWN WITH OPP!

Moving Toward a Safespace

“Women between the ages of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of
intimate partner violence.”

“Nearly one-third of college students report physically assaulting a
dating partner in the previous 12 months.”

“Nearly three out of four (74%) of Americans personally know someone who is or has been a victim of domestic violence.”

“On average, more than three women and one man are murdered by their intimate partners in this country every day.”

What do these statistics mean to you?

After reading that information and then answering the question myself, it was kind of hard understanding the world we live in. Women, (and men) are being abused everyday at home, school, and at work. So let’s move toward a Safespace!

For the Month of April, BFDC will be taking the role of advocates for our next Pay It Forward Project. This month, the UM AND FIU chapters we will be partnering up with Safespace Foundation, Inc. in Miami, FL. Safespace is “a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, that has been dedicated to providing safety and support to victims of domestic violence and their children. In addition to our community education and local and national outreach efforts, we also provide funding and support for services and programs in collaboration with the Advocates for Victims Program in Miami Dade County.” While the two Miami chapters partner with Safespace, the other chapters will do their part, passing out information from their local domestic violence shelters.

If you would like to participate, we ask that you take a little time out each week this month and pass out information about the local shelters in your city. This small gesture may change someone’s life. Think about it.

PLEASE TAKE PICTURES!

For more information about Safespace Foundation, Inc., visit http://safespacefoundation.org/

Imagine me loving what I see; When the mirror looks at me

 ’Cause I, I imagine me; In a place of no insecurities

And I’m finally happy; ‘Cause I imagine me

Letting go of all of the ones who hurt me; ‘Cause they never did deserve me

Can You imagine me?; Saying no to thoughts that try to control me

Remembering all You told me; Lord, can You imagine me?

Over what my mamma said; And healed from what my daddy did

And I wanna live; And not read that page again

Imagine me; Being free, trusting You totally

Finally I can imagine me; I admit it was hard to see You being in love

With someone like me; Finally I can imagine me

Being strong and not letting people break me down; You won’t get that joy this time around

Can You imagine me?; In a world where nobody has to live afraid

Because of Your love, fear’s gone away; Can You imagine me?

Letting go of the past; And glad I have another chance

And my heart will dance; ‘Cause I don’t have to read that page again

Imagine me, being free, trusting You totally; Finally I can imagine me

Many of us have heard this song, before but I have never taken the time to pay attention to the words and see how it relates to my life. Recently, a good friend played the song and paused it every now and then and asked me, and a few others, to reflect on the message. I realized I was constantly struggling and trying to overcome many of the things mentioned in this song.

Holding on to all of those things will only cause the hurt and pain to linger. So the best thing to do is to have faith and trust that God will take care of your needs. The Bible encourages us to seek God’s kingdom first, and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to us (Matthew 6:33). One of my favorite scriptures is Philippians 4: 6, 7 where it says do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God; and the peace of God that excels all thought will guard your hearts and your mental powers by means of Christ Jesus.

My goal is to be aware of when those issues arise and imagine myself letting it go and trusting in God so that I can fully achieve freeness of mind.

April

P.S Congratulations Dr. Sandra Miles! and thank you for continuing to inspire, encourage, and uplift the women of BFDC.

Spoiler alert!!!!

I recently saw Tyler Perry’s good deeds, which was his typical love story; homeless custodian falls in love with rich, knight in shining armor that sweeps her off her feet and moves her and child to Africa with him.  AWWWW how cute, right?

It’s great to have a fairy tale ending to our story, but what if we  don’t get it? What if we never get a Wesley Deeds and get stuck with a rude, abusive man like Charles? What then becomes of our story?

I absolutely adore Mr. Perry but I don’t feel he shows the strength of a woman. In this day and age, its imperative that we  have our own, that we are able to fend for ourselves, make a living for ourselves and be our own fairy tale. We need to be independent and not rely on a man to give us a house to live in or a free trip to Africa. Want to go out of the country? Work and save for it! Want that dream house? Get it!

If we happen to have a beautiful outcome like the women in his movies, thank God! If we don’t, that’s fine too. Happiness comes from within, not from men. Will we be the damsel in distress or the strong, self sufficient women God created us to be? The choice is ours!

Be blessed!

I had a chance to go to a local jazz event this weekend and was captured by the story of neo-soul artist Ledisi. She says she took a leap of faith, loved herself and made sure to be careful of whom she let in her circle.
Take a look at theses scriptures and reflect on your inner faith, self-love and inner circle.
FAITH : 1 Peter 5:7
Let Him have all your worries and cares, for He is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.
SELF-LOVE: Matthew 22:39
“… ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’”

INNER CIRCLE: Ledisi said to be careful who you allow in your circle. If they aren’t in your circle it doesn’t meant you don’t love them, you just love them from a distance.

Luke 6:27
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.
JOHN 13:34
“… Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another”

If you know of any quotes, sayings or scriptures like these leave a comment below.

As college students we eagerly await the time for Spring Break to arrive, so we can have a break from school. During spring break most college students go to the beach, hang out with friends, catch up on sleep or travel. This spring break a group of girls and myself from the Florida International University chapter decided to take part in Alternative Breaks. Alternative Breaks is an organization in our school that chooses a cause to work on and  bring awareness to in a different city, country or state. The topic that we choose was women’s rights .  Our location is Greensville, South Carolina !

While driving 13 hours ( yes, I did say 13 hours) I was nervous and excited to meet the girls that we would be working with for our spring break. Not knowing what to expect when we arrived to the location of where the girls would be, I was so surprised at how welcoming and friendly they were to us. Knowing that we would bring a smile to  their face and make a difference in their lives made my nervousness vanish away.

Spring Break in Miami would have been great, but making a difference for women’s rights and for these young girls is GREATER. When is the last time you made a difference and how did you do it ??