We’re looking for 14 people to commit to donating $14 monthly from Nov. 2023- Nov-2024

Be 1 of the 14: https://givebutter.com/Awgt

We were founded in 2009 by former State House Representative Bee Nguyen who wanted to share the joy of sisterhood with teens in metro-Atlanta. As the daughter of immigrant parents, founder Bee Nguyen watched as her father worked two jobs while her mother, with limited English proficiency, raised five girls in an unfamiliar country. Having fled from Vietnam, and after enduring unimaginable hardships her parents always emphasized the value of education and economic independence. Bee soon discovered within herself a talent for entrepreneurship and an innate love for women and girls. Combining these passions, Athena’s Warehouse was born to be a safe haven for young women facing poverty, and hardships related to their immigrant status.

Our program brings students across various age groups, grades, and ethnicities together in a collaborative, healing space. Students work together to solve social issues through volunteering, advocacy and civic engagement initiatives. Student culture is uplifted and celebrated at every opportunity through music, poetry, free writing, and sharing meals together. We work to increase a participant’s connection to their cultural sense of self by providing culturally relevant programming, foods, and hiring staff which are similar in ethnicity and age to our student population. For example we ensure that students have access to museum exhibits, listen to music from theirs and other cultures as well as try foods from a different nation each week. When students speak bilingually it is encouraged and affirmed by our multilingual staff. Studies show that when students have a tangible sense of self that is aligned with their culture they tend to have a higher rate of self-acceptance and self-esteem. When students know the history of colonialism, slavery, and the long-lasting impacts of racial injustice then they are better able to form a stronger sense of self which helps them to conceptualize microaggressions and racial bias that they experience in academia making it more likely for them to persist through these challenges and obtain higher education degrees. We speak openly about relevant local, national, and international instances of racial injustice such as the story of Lake Lanier which we included in our conversation about how to start a career in Geographic Information Sciences. Our space places healing at the forefront of every activity, when students have a space to heal together working on their needs as individuals they have a greater capacity for compassion towards the needs of others. Racial solidarity is not easily obtained through subtle interventions so we are intentional in how we communicate this as a program goal to the students. We will achieve our community development goals by reaching more youth with the emotional support they need, continuing to break barriers to accessing therapeutic intervention and providing a safe space for discussing issues they and the community are facing.

Our staff and board are mostly of youth who have participated in our programming. Current participants can even join the Community Advisory Board of the organization, attend board meetings, join or form committees, and offer feedback quarterly through the advisory board. Students are surveyed every other week and have an open dialogue with the staff about program plans. We struggled to secure operational funding prior to the pandemic so going into the pandemic we were already facing a deficit, however we did receive funding from the SBA to pay staff. We also receive funding from Raksha for youth outreach to the South Asian community specifically. This grant will help to ensure we have the materials to support our growing network of students across different schools and counties who have been joining our workshops virtually but would like to offer them in person workshop work opportunities requiring transportation access and more yoga mats for example.

Who Run the World? GIRLS -Panel & Happy Hour

By Athena's Warehouse

Who Run the World? GIRLS -Panel & Happy Hour