We would like to invite you to support our mission of empowering women across the world on March 1, 2025, 5-8 pm, for our 11th annual Empower Her World fundraiser. The event will take place again at the Mirro Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and feature our global marketplace, international food, fun live and silent auctions, a fashion show, and moving stories from women around the world. Over the past decade we have trained nearly 600 women in business development and financial literacy and with your help, we will easily train 600 more.

We are asking for your help in changing the way women think about money, business, and their worth in places all around the world. From a small village in Zambia to a group home in the bustling capital of Ecuador, we are meeting women where they are to give them the skills they need to make a living for themselves and transform their own communities.

Did you know the United Nation reports 388 million women live in extreme poverty internationally (living on $1.90 per day or less)? Women still only earn 77 cents for every dollar a man makes and, at the current rate, it will take 257 years to close that gap. Not to mention, women living in fear of domestic violence: globally, 26% of ever-partnered women aged 15 or older have experienced physical or sexual violence from their intimate partners.

Our curriculum, Unlocking Your Design, teaches women how to think about money and develop businesses, increasing their financial independence and reducing their risk of living in poverty or being trafficked.

In 2023 and 24 we partnered with Casa Mis Sueños in Quito, Ecuador, an organization that supports victims of sex trafficking and exploitation. We trained mentors of young women engaged in the program so they could provide interpersonal support and equip them for a successful life after trafficking. As we look to our future, we hope that you will support our mission so we can continue providing training and resources to Casa Mis Sueños.

Also in this time period, we trained over 30 women in Chongwe and Lusaka, Zambia, in partnership with CURE Hospital. A majority of the women in the program have children with cerebral palsy, meaning your support will help them to better care for themselves and their dependents with disabilities. One of the women we trained was able to buy a bicycle to take her child to school, rather than carrying him, because she learned about saving in Unlocking Your Design.

We also provided Unlocking Your Design to 9 women right here in Fort Wayne, IN, at The Dream Center and Studio Vwazen, as well as over 15 other business workshops for women and creatives.

We hope that you will consider a sponsorship for our 2025 fundraiser and join us for the festivities!

Jody Hemphill Smith Print - Blue Eye Cat