Local organization supports women-led causes and seeks to impact one girl at a time
By Ann Craig-Cinnamon
“The fastest way to change society is to mobilize the women of the world.”
Those were the words of early 20th-century philosopher Charles Malik. That sentiment is the premise of an organization called Women Like Us that supports women-led movements.
Fishers resident Deb Myers is the president of Women Like Us which has grown to have local, national and even global reach. Myers says the organization, which is a 501(c)(3) public charity, is dedicated to encouraging, empowering and engaging women and girls to make a difference globally and locally.
“Essentially that’s what the whole program what and the foundation is: Empowering women to make change. And so if we empower them and educate them at a young age, hopefully the path they take in life will be happy and healthy. They have choices. They have confidence to be able to move forward. Ideally, that is what it is all about,” said Myers.
She and co-founder and CEO Linda Rendleman started the organization in 2009.
“We support women-led causes. We support women that are changing the world. Our mission statement is ‘We bring those together of like mind and spirit, who want to make the world a better place by lifting up the work of women around the world,’” said Rendleman.
Women Like Us does this in several ways. They do it locally through a program called One Girl at a Time and they do it through humanitarian trips to impoverished countries.
One Girl at a Time is a free program in which girls are nominated by their high school to participate in monthly meetings in which issues such as health, nutrition, bullying, eating disorders, career counseling and even interview skills are discussed. As many as 20 girls are chosen and of that number, four are awarded an end-of-year trip to Costa Rica to participate in a humanitarian venture. Currently, the program is conducted at North Central High School but in the past six years it has been held at many other local schools as well.
“We’re recognizing the need for this. The counselors I’ve talked to will tell you the same – that the schools are so big, they’re spread so thin and their liability issues are so different that they can’t counsel the way they used to. And they might have 200 kids to one person so that personal level of mentorship isn’t there,” said Myers. “We’re talking about some of those media-driven issues like what makes a beautiful girl. They spend 90 percent of their day on social media and TV and this is what they are aspiring to: If I look like this, dress like this and am this thin, (that) makes me a successful person.”
The trip to Costa Rica is part of the Women Like Us humanitarian travel program in which volunteers engage in a variety of initiatives such as helping to get a school started, helping to bring clean drinking water to a village, teaching English, giving dental treatments and teaching healthy habits. Myers says not only are the girls helping those who are less fortunate, they are learning valuable life lessons about giving back.
The organization also travels to India and Uganda and recently returned from a trip to Kenya, where they are involved in helping a preschool founded by local artist Nancy Noel.
Women Like Us also gets involved in local issues that directly affect women according to Myers. “We have city-wide campaigns every year that directly tackle issues like human sex trafficking and the importance of giving back in your particular communities. And so when you hear this buzz in the city about a specific topic, oftentimes we are at the helm of creating that noise,” she said. The organization was on the Indiana Attorney General’s task force on sex trafficking when the Super Bowl was held in Indianapolis in 2011 and they hold regular symposiums on a variety of issues as well.
Women Like Us is made up of volunteers and relies on corporate and private donors and fundraising events to sustain their programs. They hold a Tea and Speaker series every fall that addresses an issue that has been dealt with throughout the year.
“We’re creating awareness and educating through the tea. The symposium that we recently had brought together like-minded individuals in the city that specialized in areas that come together to promote, create change, lead discussion, learn from each other on how to make our world a better place,” said Myers. The next Tea and Speakers series will be Oct. 14 at Union Station in downtown Indianapolis and features Robin Emmons, a woman who grows fresh food to feed the homeless in her community.
Myers said the “women effect” is about changing the world lovingly.
“I think when my kids started to grow up and I realized how blessed I was and especially coming from a family of strong, supportive women, I realized the power of when we all get together and try to do great things,” she said.
To find out more about Women Like Us, the One Girl at a Time program, or to buy tickets for the Tea and Speaker series go to www.womenlikeusfoundation.org.
Women Like Us Afternoon Tea & Speaker Series annual fundraiser
Tuesday, Oct. 14, 1 – 4 p.m. with VIP reception 4:15 – 5:30 p.m.
Historic Union Station
123 W. Louisiana St., Indianapolis
Speaker: Robin Emmons, CNN Hero and founder of Sow Much Good
Activities: Silent auction, networking, marketplace
Reservations: womenlikeusfoundation.org or 888-958-3674
