You Make It is a holistic empowerment programme for young marginalised, unemployed and underemployed women to enable them to claim a right to their city and become active in the cultural, social and economic life of it. Our founding CEO, Asma Shah, set up You Make It from her kitchen table because she had experienced her own journey in overcoming barriers to achieve and felt compelled to help others do the same.
If we do not raise £30,000 from you all, we risk closing our incredible charity in 2019.
London is of course a wealthy city, but we work with women from some of the most deprived boroughs in the country who risk falling through the cracks without us. What we have achieved since our inception is incredible - of over 200 women we've recruited mostly from local job centres:
* Over 90% have stuck to our programmes;
* 82%of these have gone on to gain full time paid employment, work on their own creative start ups, or have accessed formal education;
* 81% feel happier as a result of YMI;
* 82% feel more connected to a new professional and social network;
* 83% report BIG increases in their confidence because of what we offer them.
Based on employment outcomes and the holistic support and health services we provide for women, independent evaluators have calculated that per cohort we make a state saving of approximately £408,000 across a 3 year period. We currently run two cohorts each year.
Our success is down to us working with women from the inside out, focusing on development of self esteem, self awareness, and mental wellbeing as much as anything else. This approach is critical as we work with women who not only have to get ahead work wise, but who also have a range of personal issues to overcome, including a lack of confidence, self worth, and struggles relating to depression often linked to previously undisclosed abuse, trauma and neglect.
Our 6 month long programmes include 1-1 therapy, deep and caring relationships with our small but perfectly formed YMI team of three, 1-1 mentoring, tailored and inspiring workshops that rotate around amazing venues traditionally outside of their reach, business start up experience and support, work placements matched to individual interests and aspirations for longer term work, and a truly inspiring graduation event.
Please spend a moment reflecting on any privilege, luck and support you've had, and help out someone who needs their luck to change. With you funding onwards work in 2019, that can happen!
Let the network of empowered young women grow. We've seen them leave us to do amazing things, they've gone on to create jobs with their own start ups, they've become artists who actually earn from their creative talents, they've used their new found confidence and voices to set up their own life changing organisations dedicated to helping others. Basically they've made the VERY MOST of anything we've provided them access to and they've made the world just that bit better.
Before you take a look at our amazing rewards, which include some fantastic experiences and products provided by not only our own women creatives, but all our partners at large, we'll leave you with this one quote from a graduate who emailed our founding CEO on International Women's Day:
“You saw something in me long before I felt it and because of you, I value myself in a way that I could have never of imagined. You Make It unleashed the woman I was born to be, after the depression, poverty and thoughts of suicide locked her away. Getting out of the negative cycles isn't easy, but your idea that you continuously work on made me know that it is possible and I could never go back to being the mediocre me. You have birthed so many of us into women and helped us to find ourselves in this world that systematically tries to write us off. Thank you. You have not only changed my life but my son's, my family and friends and the many people I can inspire by just being. Nurture A Girl, Raise A Nation”
Thank you for visiting our page - please don't let this all stop!
You Make It team
EXAMPLES OF OUR REWARDS:
The Natural Wine Tasting will take place on Thursday 22nd November (6-8pm) at The Shed (https://www.shedlondon.com/).
The Public Speaking Master Class with Beyonder will take place on Tuesday 18th September at 6pm (location TBC).
'Queens of Africa' Prints by artist Onyinye Iwu:
Examples of previous work done by Arene Designs for Bespoke Water Colour Painting Reward:
Photos of the Tommy Hilfiger Rewards:
T.H. Camera Bag 1
T.H. Camera Bag 2
T.H. Women Baseball Cap
T.H. Women Bomber (front)
T.H. Women Bomber (back)
T.H. Women Wool Parka