Venture Watson is no stranger to the Texarkana community. She has worked with girls of all ages through coaching and mentoring, and has used her ability to connect with her students as a way to empower them to see the greatness and potential residing within themselves. “I have been coaching for eighteen years, and a few years ago I decided that I wanted to compete in a State Pageant to show my athletes that just because you dress sporty, doesn’t mean you can’t still dress up and feel amazing about yourself. I try to teach my girls that you have to dress for the job that you want. With my job I am able to empower our youth through coaching and mentoring programs. I have also created scholarship opportunities for the girls, in honor of my grandmother, as well starting my own scholarship pageant system. Because I have been blessed to do all of this, I decided to design a Girl Empowerment day to reach more girls in our area who need that push and encouragement,” said Watson.
Girl Empowerment Day, which will be held October 2nd, from 8:30-12:30PM at Arkansas Middle School, is open to any girl from AMS in grades 6-8. “With the help from recommendations by other community members, I have been able to open a few spots for other girls within the community to join us Saturday as well,” said Watson.
“Girl Empowerment Day is going to be geared towards empowering girls to see their full potential. Many of our girls have no idea the power they hold, and the potential that is buried within them. A lot of the girls in our area could really benefit from simply having powerful women donate their time, knowledge and experiences with them. Many of the presenters for Girl Empowerment Day are women and young adults who have worked hard to achieve success in their lives, and who are continuing to build paths for other girls and women,” said Watson. Speakers and sponsors for Saturday’s event include: local entrepreneurs Keshia, with the Keys Willingham and her daughter Bre Block (Liberty-Eylau’s Homecoming Queen), AMS Counselors Mrs. Rhone and Ms. Smith, Callie and Carly and so many more.
“I came up with the idea for a Girls Empowerment Day a few years ago. We had an amazing event before COVID hit and my plan was to continue it the next year. But with COVID, I had to find a time that would work for everyone. Since the start of the pandemic I have seen an increase in the number of girls suffering from depression, social media drama, and negative self-image problems. I knew that now was the best time more than ever to put this together again,” said Watson.
The Girl Empowerment Day event will hold much more than just speakers for the girls to listen to. “DJ Hollygrove is coming out to create a fun area for our girls to dance and have fun. We have sponsors from all over who will be providing the girls with food and door prizes. My immediate family and pageant family have donated items such as AirPods, Apple Watches, gift cards, limo rides, and so much more. The PRIDE academy has also donated items, and will be sending several of their female officers to the event to help,” said Watson.
Watson is also taking this event as an opportunity to create a list of girls who could benefit from support that lasts much longer than a day. “I will be using the names of the girls that attend to make calls throughout the years to check in on them. I want the girls to know that we care about them. Not just on the day of the event, but throughout the year as well. I will be able to call them, talk to them, provide them with gift cards for their successes that they continue to make and so much more. I am really excited about this opportunity because the more girls that we can connect with on this day, the more we can continue to encourage them to succeed in school, both socially and academically,” said Watson.
Girls coming to Girl Empowerment Day can expect to find live music, dance, support, prizes and so much fun. Every girl will leave with a motivational t-shirt designed by Watson. Girls will have the opportunity to ride in a limo around the AMS Campus thanks to Mont Bolden, and they even have the opportunity to win a free one hour limo ride for themselves and their friends. Students will make vision boards, do yoga, and hear from a panel of women who have businesses, and or whom have followed their dreams into their careers. “Girls will learn specifically how to set goals, and learn tips and tricks on how to achieve them. This day is going to be all about these girls. We want them to feel empowered. We want them to go home knowing that they have a chance and an opportunity to be whatever they want to be. They just have to work hard, and take what they learn from all of these successful women to help make their dreams come true,” said Watson.
If you would like to Sponsor the Girl Empowerment Event you can contact Venture Watson at venture.watson@tasd7.net or via Facebook Venture Watson. Venture is a local coach and author of the motivational book, “They Can’t Hold Me Down.”
