I think I had one on Thursday night, at the Women in Finance event in Sydney.  Guest speaker was Jessica Brown, founder of the Lifechanging Experiences Foundation and the Sister2Sister program.

The Sister2Sister program is well known to some of you who are seasoned Big Sisters.  When I asked you earlier in the year for suggestions on a charity that sphinxx should align with, some of you suggested Sister2Sister.  I’m glad you did, because that’s the reason I attended the event on Thursday and as a result I learned that:

– Every year, the SISTER2sister program takes in up to 50 “Little Sisters” who are at risk teenage girls
– Each “Little Sister” is assigned a “Big Sister” mentor for the duration of the 12 month program
– At the end of the 12 month SISTER2sister program, the girls have been equipped with the knowledge and skills to help them break the cycle of trauma and/or abuse.  Little Sisters develop an increased confidence in themselves and their abilities to have greater control over their lives and futures.

The Lifechanging Experiences foundation was set up by Jessica Brown who, as a teacher, saw first hand the impact that trauma, abuse and suffering has on the prospects for teenage girls.  On Thursday, Jess shared her experiences and motivations for starting the program, and her aspirations as the program embarks on national expansion.

It is mind blowing to think that in this day and age, intervention programs like Sister2Sister are necessary just to give young women the basic opportunities that we all take for granted, like a safe home environment.  For many of the Little Sisters, the program gives them access for the first time to role models who actually get out of bed in the morning and go to work for a living.  So it’s reassuring that there are people like Jessica in our community who have taken on these tough challenges and are tackling them head on.

It seems only appropriate that sphinxx get behind such an inspirational leader like Jess in her endeavours to change the fortunes of these young women whose prospects would otherwise be limited to the cycle of abuse they’ve been born into.  So you’ll be hearing a lot more from me about Lifechanging Experiences, because from 1st July, sphinxx will be donate a proportion of revenue from all our programs to supporting the Sister2Sister.

In the meantime, find out more at www.lifechangingexperiences.org