Baddies Back to School
Donation protected
"It takes a village to raise a child"
We hear that quote often but what does it really mean and what does it look like? Personally, I didn't understand the true meaning behind this powerful proverb that's been embedded in our culture for so long until recently.
So what does it mean?
Definition: an African proverb that means that an entire community of people must interact with children for those children to experience and grow in a safe and healthy environment.
Pretty self-explanatory right?
Here's my theory:
The influence of a child's community and environment is very vital to that child's upbringing. It is equivalent to the influence of parental advisory. It's like at home you can teach your child certain things all day long but what happens when that child is surrounded by a completely different environment? Take Jess for example, Jess is a very respectful young lady, she's never got in trouble in school, always get good grades, and for the most part has a really good upbringing. Jess spends the weekend with her favorite cousin Nia and notices that her cousin's parents are way more lenient than her parents. Nia can curse and have boys over. Jess goes to school that following week and learns that this is normal among her other friends. Jess feels left out and she addresses these issues with her parents but they are not buying into it. Guess what? A month later Jess gets caught sneaking a guy in their home. I think we pretty much can understand what happened here.
I said all this to say that it's been a real eye opener for me to see the influence of the community as it relates to our youth. We all have to be on one accord in order to prosper and positively influence our youth. Granted, we all have different values and beliefs and let's be clear, I am not telling anyone to change their moral views. What I am challenging you all to do is to look at the things we have normalized in our communities and ask yourself "are you ok with what's going on in your community?"
Think about the environment of your community. Is it clean? Are there centers for youth? What are the other children like on your block? What are their parents like? Is it safe to walk to the corner store? Really think and reflect about the nature of your community and then compare it to others. What similarities and differences do you notice? How can you not feel at least a little responsible for these things? I want you to sit and think about the ideal community you'd want your child to grow up in? What does it look like? What does it smell like? What are some of the businesses in your community? How are your neighbors? Think about what you can do to help get your community to the one you just created.
So how do we do it? Where do we start?
Unfortunately, I don't have all answers but I do hope to inspire others to see the importance of our influence on youth. Most importantly, sticking together to make our community stronger and a positive space for out youth to GROW!
Meet the Baddie herself
For those of you who know me and are familiar with my brand, thank you for continuing to support me and welcome to all my newcomers!
My name is Jhamilah Levy or known as "Mary Jhay" and I am a media influencer with a dire passion for youth development. My brand "Chocolate Baddie"is a media organization designed to empower women of color and inspire youth. I started doing radio a few years ago and was able to bring the culture together on campus using media. I interviewed everybody! Literally lol if you were doing something positive or had something going on I wanted to know and I wanted to share people's story (because we all have one).
From radio, I started working with a non-profit organization after graduation that allowed me to tutor and mentor high school students. This by far has been my favorite job strictly because of the relationships I've built with our children. It has taught me so much about myself and the dynamics of the struggle, mental illness, and pain in our communities. These things are so detrimental to our youth! So, I feel it is my duty to help them and I am committed to being an active server for our children.
What is Baddies Back-to-School?
Last year, I started a campaign to raise money to send some high school girls back to school in style, confidence, and motivation!
How did I do it?
I filled Chocolate Baddie logo bags with everything from school supplies, beauty products, hygiene products, clothes, and even some customized items with the Chocolate Baddie logo and their names on it. These bags were given to 6 high school girls with different backgrounds and stories. I wanted these girls to feel motivated about having a successful year. Most importantly, I wanted to show them that there are people who care and believe in them outside of parents and teachers. I know it sounds a little cliche but from my personal experience with youth this is a very big deal. Most of our youth are not motivated and they feel like adults don't care about them. Teenagers don't have role models anymore and pretty much think reality TV is reality. These bags were piece of mind for some of these girls, it was motivation, it was hope, it was knowing that someone cares and will advocate for you. It warmed my heart to see the responses and reactions from these kids. Something as small as a back to school bag can go a long way trust me.
So here's where you come in :)
I am proud to announce that The Chocolate Baddies will be collaborating with The BomberBraider Mz.Zee this year to help students start the year off positive. Ms. Zee is an unique hair braider from Detroit, MI. She has been doing hair for over 20 years and has a passion for helping others. We will be accepting donations to help students go back to school in style, confidence, and positivity. Last year, we raised $400.00 and I appreciate every last single person who contributed. It is my goal to raise double this year so I can reach more students and give them the confidence they need to motivate themselves and their peers. Let's do it!! It's one of my favorite times of the year because as a kid I LOVED back to school shopping. I am asking for your help to inspire some students this year. Every penny counts and I am grateful for any and all offerings. Thank you all in advance for the continued support. Let's get this village UNIFIED!
Check out some of the photos from last year below!
Keep up with us on social media!
FB: The Chocolate Baddies
IG: @thechocolatebaddies
FB: Zipporah Isreal
IG: @thebombbraidermz.zee
We hear that quote often but what does it really mean and what does it look like? Personally, I didn't understand the true meaning behind this powerful proverb that's been embedded in our culture for so long until recently.
So what does it mean?
Definition: an African proverb that means that an entire community of people must interact with children for those children to experience and grow in a safe and healthy environment.
Pretty self-explanatory right?
Here's my theory:
The influence of a child's community and environment is very vital to that child's upbringing. It is equivalent to the influence of parental advisory. It's like at home you can teach your child certain things all day long but what happens when that child is surrounded by a completely different environment? Take Jess for example, Jess is a very respectful young lady, she's never got in trouble in school, always get good grades, and for the most part has a really good upbringing. Jess spends the weekend with her favorite cousin Nia and notices that her cousin's parents are way more lenient than her parents. Nia can curse and have boys over. Jess goes to school that following week and learns that this is normal among her other friends. Jess feels left out and she addresses these issues with her parents but they are not buying into it. Guess what? A month later Jess gets caught sneaking a guy in their home. I think we pretty much can understand what happened here.
I said all this to say that it's been a real eye opener for me to see the influence of the community as it relates to our youth. We all have to be on one accord in order to prosper and positively influence our youth. Granted, we all have different values and beliefs and let's be clear, I am not telling anyone to change their moral views. What I am challenging you all to do is to look at the things we have normalized in our communities and ask yourself "are you ok with what's going on in your community?"
Think about the environment of your community. Is it clean? Are there centers for youth? What are the other children like on your block? What are their parents like? Is it safe to walk to the corner store? Really think and reflect about the nature of your community and then compare it to others. What similarities and differences do you notice? How can you not feel at least a little responsible for these things? I want you to sit and think about the ideal community you'd want your child to grow up in? What does it look like? What does it smell like? What are some of the businesses in your community? How are your neighbors? Think about what you can do to help get your community to the one you just created.
So how do we do it? Where do we start?
Unfortunately, I don't have all answers but I do hope to inspire others to see the importance of our influence on youth. Most importantly, sticking together to make our community stronger and a positive space for out youth to GROW!
Meet the Baddie herself
For those of you who know me and are familiar with my brand, thank you for continuing to support me and welcome to all my newcomers!
My name is Jhamilah Levy or known as "Mary Jhay" and I am a media influencer with a dire passion for youth development. My brand "Chocolate Baddie"is a media organization designed to empower women of color and inspire youth. I started doing radio a few years ago and was able to bring the culture together on campus using media. I interviewed everybody! Literally lol if you were doing something positive or had something going on I wanted to know and I wanted to share people's story (because we all have one).
From radio, I started working with a non-profit organization after graduation that allowed me to tutor and mentor high school students. This by far has been my favorite job strictly because of the relationships I've built with our children. It has taught me so much about myself and the dynamics of the struggle, mental illness, and pain in our communities. These things are so detrimental to our youth! So, I feel it is my duty to help them and I am committed to being an active server for our children.
What is Baddies Back-to-School?
Last year, I started a campaign to raise money to send some high school girls back to school in style, confidence, and motivation!
How did I do it?
I filled Chocolate Baddie logo bags with everything from school supplies, beauty products, hygiene products, clothes, and even some customized items with the Chocolate Baddie logo and their names on it. These bags were given to 6 high school girls with different backgrounds and stories. I wanted these girls to feel motivated about having a successful year. Most importantly, I wanted to show them that there are people who care and believe in them outside of parents and teachers. I know it sounds a little cliche but from my personal experience with youth this is a very big deal. Most of our youth are not motivated and they feel like adults don't care about them. Teenagers don't have role models anymore and pretty much think reality TV is reality. These bags were piece of mind for some of these girls, it was motivation, it was hope, it was knowing that someone cares and will advocate for you. It warmed my heart to see the responses and reactions from these kids. Something as small as a back to school bag can go a long way trust me.
So here's where you come in :)
I am proud to announce that The Chocolate Baddies will be collaborating with The BomberBraider Mz.Zee this year to help students start the year off positive. Ms. Zee is an unique hair braider from Detroit, MI. She has been doing hair for over 20 years and has a passion for helping others. We will be accepting donations to help students go back to school in style, confidence, and positivity. Last year, we raised $400.00 and I appreciate every last single person who contributed. It is my goal to raise double this year so I can reach more students and give them the confidence they need to motivate themselves and their peers. Let's do it!! It's one of my favorite times of the year because as a kid I LOVED back to school shopping. I am asking for your help to inspire some students this year. Every penny counts and I am grateful for any and all offerings. Thank you all in advance for the continued support. Let's get this village UNIFIED!
Check out some of the photos from last year below!
Keep up with us on social media!
FB: The Chocolate Baddies
IG: @thechocolatebaddies
FB: Zipporah Isreal
IG: @thebombbraidermz.zee
Organizer
Mary Jhay
Organizer
Chicago, IL