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USC Rites of Sisterhood youth mentoring program
Community
Service*Leadership*Sisterhood*Self-Determination*Self-Responsibility*Self
Discovery* |
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Our Mission Rites of Sisterhood (ROS) is an organization of college
and professional women dedicated to fostering the social, emotional,
spiritual, and cognitive growth of young adolescent women through defining
the essence of sisterhood. Using self-determination, self-responsibility, and self-discovery as
our three core principles, ROS strives to strengthen the University of
Southern California’s surrounding community by guiding young women of color
through the uncertain years of adolescence. |
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Fun Facts About ROS: * Rites of
Sisterhood was founded during the 1997-1998 academic school year on the
campus of USC * Red and
Black are the official colors of ROS * ROS is a
multicultural youth mentoring program that seeks to empower teenage girls
through mentoring * Our motto
is “Sisterhood is Colorblind” Interested
in joining Rites of Sisterhood? Please
e-mail us at ros@usc.edu to find out
how you can get involved in the community! Contact Us E-mail: ros@usc.edu Fax: (213)
740-3298 Mailing Address: Rites of Sisterhood 3601 Trousdale Parkway Student Union 415 Los Angeles, CA 90089-4899 Website: www-scf.usc.edu/~ros Myspace Page: www.myspace.com/uscros |
The
Rites of Sisterhood youth mentoring program was founded during the 1997-1998
academic year by five ambitious undergraduate students pictured here at the
2005 ROS Kick-Off Dinner (from left): Tanya Morgan, Toyah Brooks, Mako Fitts,
Danielle Harvey, and Amber Raspberry. Our
visionary founders developed Rites of Sisterhood with hopes of strengthening
the University of Southern California’s surrounding community by helping to
lead young women of color through the uncertain years of adolescence. Since
its inception, ROS has distinguished itself as a unique mentoring program
that emphasizes group dynamics and focuses on the enrichment and empowerment
of young women of color. Although
the five founding members of Rites of Sisterhood have graduated from USC and
established successful careers, they continue to support ROS.
Participants
ROS
mentees are young women of color, ages 12-16, who are members of the
community surrounding U.S.C. Mentees are recruited from 5 local middle- and
high schools: Dorsey Senior High School, 32nd
Street USC Performing Arts Magnet 7137, Crenshaw
Senior High School, Foshay Learning Center, and Manual Arts High School. If
you attend one of these schools, please contact your School Counselor or
Principal to find out how you can get your ROS Application! Mentees
are required to apply to the program each year. Please see the Membership
Page for more information about the application process. Resources Rites of Sisterhood is a non-profit community
service organization, so all of the funding we receive is re-invested into
our program. We utilize funding resources that are made available to us by
the University of Southern California, which includes Philanthropy and
Leadership Fund. ROS has continued to flourish with the help of
local elected officials, such as Los Angeles City Council Woman, Jan Perry,
and Los Angeles Unified School District Board Member, Monica Garcia. ROS also
holds fundraisers during the summer to raise money for our upcoming programs
and events. Rites of Sisterhood also sends funding proposals
to potential Corporate Donors twice a year, and we reach out to past ROS
mentors who are now USC Alumni. If you are an alumnae and you’d like to
contribute to ROS, please e-mail us. These resources are priceless to our
movement as well as the young women who depend on ROS for guidance. If your company would like to provide financial
support to Rites of Sisterhood, you can request a complete funding proposal
by e-mailing us at ros@usc.edu with the Subject Line: “Corporate
Sponsorships.” Once your request is received, we will send you a Corporate
Sponsorship Packet within 10 business days. If you would like to volunteer to speak at events
and/or Saturday Sessions, please e-mail us. We also accept in-kind donations for the
following items: §
Food (for various events) §
Busses §
Group tickets to theme parks,
theatres, and/or sporting events §
Tee Shirts §
Decorations §
Banquet Halls §
Binders and Notebooks §
Stamps §
Envelopes §
Tri-fold poster boards Action Through
weekly “Saturday Sessions” and off-site activities, R.O.S. guides its mentees
on a yearlong rite of passage by emphasizing the importance of our three guiding
principles: Self-Discovery, Self-Responsibility and Self-Determination.
Sessions are held in the fall and spring on Saturdays from 10:00am to 1:00pm
on the U.S.C. University Park campus. Free breakfast is included and is
sponsored by the USC Philanthropy Fund.
ROS
addresses issues of low-self esteem, lack of resources, and the need for
strong role models within the communities and neighborhoods of South Los Angeles.
We serve as “big sisters” to our mentees and form lasting bonds that allow us
to share our fears, thoughts, and hopes in a supportive environment. Many of
our participants create lasting friendships with one another and stay in
touch even after their time in the program. Honoring Women of Color Educational Initiative Rites of Sisterhood’s
newest educational initiative “Honoring Women of Color” kicked off in Fall
2005. “HWC” is designed to educate ROS Mentees about historically significant
women of color. As women, and especially as minorities, we cannot know where
we are going until we know where we came from. At 11 am each week, ROS has
scheduled 15 minutes at the beginning of each “Saturday Session” to discuss
the significance of these women and many others who have affected our lives
and the lives of many to come. HWC will give ROS mentees
a foundation upon which to build a wealth of knowledge. This educational
initiative will also help ROS mentees develop computer literacy while also
helping them to cultivate their research and communication skills. College
preparation and the pursuit of higher education will be reinforced through
theme of self-determination, which is central to the values of Rites of
Sisterhood and the HWC program. Each year at ROS’ Annual
Black History Month Celebration, ROS mentees have an opportunity to implement
the knowledge they’ve gained from HWC when they present poster board projects
depicting one woman of color who has impacted their life. This allows ROS
mentees to share what they’ve learned with their parents, mentors, and the
community. Diva and Lil Diva of the Month Diva
and Lil Diva of the Month is a special program designed to acknowledge the mentors
and mentees who the extra mile for Rites of Sisterhood! Each month, the
sisters of ROS nominate mentors and mentees based on session attendance,
participation, timeliness, and leadership in sessions. |
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