Currently Accepting ETS Applications!

Do you know an immigrant woman ready to make a living doing what she is passionate about? We can help!

We work with talented and high-potential immigrant, refugee and low-income women and help them monetize their creative or cultural assets, artistic abilities, knowledge and skills.

Perhaps you know someone who loves to bake, cook, make art, design clothes or teach your skills to others? Whatever her passion might be we can help turn it into business.

We are currently accepting applications and conducting intake interviews. The application is free and available online through the link below.

Tuition scholarships are offered based on need and merit to qualified women applying for our program. Learn more and apply now

With style and Grace!

Grace is the creator of Oracle Ink, a business that focuses on the writing of personalized inspired messages to individuals and for audiences during important life events.

Grace specializes in anything from song lyrics, excerpts to be read at funerals, and poems for all occasions. Grace started her business in order to utilize her talent for language while also fulfilling her desire to encourage and help people through sharing her gift for writing.

Grace learned about the Entrepreneur Training for Success program at Empowered Women International through a close friend who has always believed in Grace’s talent. Her friend found the program online and encouraged Grace to take the step and apply. Grace explains the feeling she still cherishes of “having someone in your corner cheering you on.”

When reflecting back on the program, Grace recalls a particularly inspiring presentation given by Tom Block. When she asked him what his creative process was like, she remembers him saying, “The muse visits those who show up to work.” Grace says that’s what she wrote in her notebook, and it has been an incredible motivation throughout her time in the ETS program.

Grace hopes that her determination and love for her craft will continue to evolve,

“Like me, it can only improve and get better with age! The more I learn, grow, and elevate, the better I am for myself, my self-expression of my business, and the application of the wisdom and experience I gain along the way from my customers!”

When looking towards the future, Grace envisions herself being, “gratefully solvent,” and turning a livable profit from her passion. She hopes for a loyal client base, and one that keeps growing so she may continue to share her talent with others.

- Samantha Hohl
Video and Film Intern

Entrepreneur Graduation and Holiday Artisan Marketplace!

Empowered Women International Presents…

Women Entrepreneur Graduation &

Artisans Holiday Marketplace

Sat. Dec 8, 3-6 pm,

Durant Center

1605 Cameron St., Alexandria

Yes, We Did It! — Entrepreneurs Class 2012, Fall Semester

Showcase of Graduate’s Micro-Businesses

Meet our entrepreneur women, learn about their newly launched businesses and discover how these women and businesses change our communities

Graduation Ceremony

Join us to support our courageous women entrepreneurs and be inspired by their stories

Sit-Down buffet of Homeade Culinary Delights by Chef Entrepreneurs

Graduation Keynote Speaker

Julie Kantor, Barrel of Jobs

Julie Kantor was the Executive Director of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Greater Washington DC Region. In this role, she was a recognized leader in the field of entrepreneurship education and grew the organization to serve more than 24,000 local youth.

She is the author of I Said Yes! Real Life Stories of Students, Teachers and Leaders Saying YES! to Youth Entrepreneurship in America’s Schools.

Artisans Holiday Marketplace

Purchase Your Holiday Gifts for Friends & Family from EWI’s Marketplace!

All art and gifts are made EWI alumni and local artists.

Proceeds benefit EWI and our local artists and creative entrepreneurs.

Holiday selection include handmade one-of-a-kind jewelry, scarves,

designer aprons, skin and beauty products, handmade books and notecards,

holiday ornaments and more…

This Program was Made Possible in part with Funding from:

The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, The Alexandria Commission for the Arts,

The Mason Hirst Foundation, The Washington Forrest Foundation,

The Giving Circle of Hope Reston, AmeriCorps Vista

The Tikkun Olam Women’s Foundation,  Capital One Bank

The James Family Foundation, The Sharing Montgomery Fund

Free of Charge. RSVP Now!

Don’t wait! Reserve your ticket for yourself and a friend.

EWI Featured in the Greater Washington Catalogue for Philanthropy!

EWI continues to gain notoriety in the philanthropic world, recently being recognized in the Greater Washington Catalogue for Philanthropy.

Every four years, a team of “one hundred fifteen reviewers from foundations, corporations, corporate giving programs, giving circles, the philanthropic advisory community, and peer nonprofits” evaluate non-profit organizations to find those of great “distinction, merit, and impact”.

This year, Empowered Women International was selected to be an exemplary organization, to be featured for the next four years in the catalogue.

This is an amazing honor for EWI, one that we share with our women entrepreneurs, whose talents and success constantly inspire us!

The Catalogue for Philanthropy just launched their new website today. Congratulations CFP! EWI has it’s very own profile page, which you can check out HERE. Be sure to see the upcoming events and links to our social media sites.

One feature on the CFP site that we particularly appreciate are the new ways in which you can give to EWI – from a simple donation to donating in someone’s honor, to adding EWI to a gift registry and sending gift cards, it’s all there and easy to use. Check out the features HERE and consider giving today!

Thank you Catalogue for Philanthropy for this incredible honor, and all that you do for non-profit organizations in the Greater Washington area.

Kate Campbell Stevenson Takes Women Back to the Future

EWI Chair of the Board of Directors, Kate Campbell Stevenson, is finishing writing a new one-woman show, Forging Frontiers: Women Leaders in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Kate’s new show will feature Louise A. Boyd, Arctic Explorer, who led SEVEN Arctic Expeditions in the 1920′s and 1930′s and in a change of format will also feature contemporary STEM leaders from NASA Goddard.
Forging Frontiers will debut in Baltimore and Montgomery County in January 2013.

More information about her various one-woman shows, performance rates, and booking dates contact

Kate:     kcmstev@aol.com or 301-622-1588.

Upcoming Performances with Kate Campbell Stevenson

October 27
Women: Back to the Future Performance and Workshop Women’s History: It’s Real! It’s Relevant!  It’s Revolutionary!
Teachers Retreat
Broward County, FL

 November 29-30
Keynote Speaker and Workshop Presenter
New Jersey Association of School Librarians

For more information, please visit

http://www.katecampbellstevenson.com/

Velma Crawford in “The Ties That Bind”

Velma Crawford, the ETS Graduate and apron extraordinaire, returns triumphantly to our EWI blog with a presentation about her life called “The Ties That Bind” that was held at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum on August 19th.

 

 
 

You may have heard her story before; in fact it’s tucked into every one of Velma’s aprons. With Velma, when you buy an apron you don’t simply receive an apron but the creator’s narrative as well. In “The Ties That Bind” Velma allows us to accompany her on a journey through her learning experiences with her grandmother, the poor daughter of an ex-slave who taught Velma the skills she uses to create her aprons, and her personal illness which was the catalyst to her apron creating.

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

While sick, Velma created aprons as therapy that gave “a peace in me”. She discovered that creating aprons allowed her permission to heal and opened up her awareness of sharing. She also learned of the impact women have on each other, how we touch each other’s lives, and how profound that can be. As her therapy turned into an obsession she turned her obsession into a business.

 
 

 
 
 

With Velma her aprons are truly a creation, not simply a garment to use, but a garment that speaks through colors and prints. When you purchase one of Velma’s creations you are purchasing a story that started with a woman born at the turn of the century and by having one you are becoming a living part of that legacy.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Velma Crawford – Veez Ties That Bind Slideshow

To learn more about Velma see our blog here and our website here.

Also visit her Facebook page here.

To contact Velma please email her at veeztiesthatbind@gmail.com or vee.crawford@gmail.com.
 
 

The Olympics give way to the “Year of the Woman”

While the Olympics are meant to inspire national pride and friendly competition, the London 2012 Olympics have brought yet another reason to celebrate to the foreground: the phenomenon NBC has deemed the “Year of the Woman.”

The signs are everywhere - there are more women than men in the U.S. delegation, women will be participating in every sport for the first time ever and every single country has sent at least one female athlete.

For the United States, women athletes are getting some serious attention for their Olympic achievements – especially from their younger fans. As Chris Jansing of NBC notes, more and more teenage girls are watching the Olympics, and the festivities have brought on a surge of participation in sports activities among young girls.

As recent news would suggest, this new burst of athleticism inspired by the Olympics can do wonders for our mindsets as well as our health. Not only does the participation of women in sports such as weightlifting and archery help to dissolve the distinction between men’s and women’s activities, but these iron-pumping, javelin-throwing role models have the power to change the perception of what women should aspire to be.

Take Zoe Smith for example! As one of Britain’s best female weightlifters, Smith was subject to a barrage of comments questioning her sexuality and critiquing her for her down-to-earth wardrobe. Zoe responded to these criticisms on her blog, saying “To think people still think like this is laughable. We’re in 2012!” Zoe’s focus on accomplishing her goals, rather than on whether she looks “pretty” while accomplishing her goals, sends the message to her younger fans that women have so much more to strive for than what we see in the media every day.

So what lessons will these inspiring women instill in you? Make sure to catch the last weekend of the Olympics to find out!

Are You Well “Like”ed?

How many pages do you “like” on Facebook? I just checked – I like 34 pages. Music groups, books, cooking blogs, schools, photographers, theatres…you name it, I like it.

These are a few of my favorite things...

Establishing your own Facebook page can be an excellent way to remind your customers of your business on a daily basis. The more active you are on Facebook, the more often your clients will see you and think about your company. The key is in striking that delicate balance between posting often enough and over-posting. How can you achieve that balance?

1) Think about your own, personal Facebook use: What companies do you like on Facebook? Which ones do you always pay attention to and look for? Which ones annoy the beejeebies out of you? Find a good role model and follow their lead.

2) Be creative: Don’t always post the same thing. Throw in a contest. Ask for feedback. Announce a sale. Reveal a coupon code. By constantly switching up your content you’ll have your customers on their toes, avoiding the “glossing over” catastrophe that plagues so many companies.

3) Pace yourself: Don’t post 10 things all at once. Rather, utilize all of the free scheduling software that’s available online, such as Hootsuite, so space out when you’re posting.

4) Interact: Always, always, always respond. If someone mentions you in a status, if they write on your wall, or post a picture of your product, you should always respond, thank them, or answer any questions they made have. If people know that you will respond, they will be more likely to initiate interaction. 

How do YOU use your Facebook page to promote your business?

Call for Recipes

We are still accepting YOUR favorite recipes! Do you have a recipe that your friends and family rave about? Do you view cooking as an art? Do you have an amazing recipe from your home country? If you answered yes to any of these questions then we want to hear from you! Send you best, most authentic recipe to emily@ewint.org, including ingredients and directions.

We can’t wait to see your tasty submissions!

What We’re Reading

5 Lessons Learned From A Day With 1000Women Entrepreneurs

- A very insightful piece from Women 2.0 recapping lessons learned from the Women 2.0 PITCH Competition. My favorite? “It’s not always business all the time”

How Tupperware Reinvented American Business

- A surprisingly insightful piece from the Etsy blog about how Tupperware changed the way business is done and how it did wonders to help women make their own money!

Getting Down With The Numbers (Women & Finance Go Together)

- An encouraging post from the ladies at Women 2.0 about how to get over financial fears. The key point I took away from it is that education is key.

Get That First Order – And Get It Right!

-The girls at Women 2.0 hit another home run with this post about how to get that first order (those of you on the Etsy shop – listen up!) It turns out that it’s not just about the product; great delivery is key!

So, what are YOU reading this week? We are always looking for new and interesting blogs to follow. Send any interesting articles you come across to emily@ewint.org