An Update on Our Atlanta Training Program

Pictured above: Rep. Kim Schofield and Training Coordinator Allison Glass presenting ABCs of People Power at Habitat for Humanity.

9to5 Georgia is wrapping up year one of an Economic Empowerment grant from the Atlanta Women’s Foundation which focuses on supporting low wage earning women. This project has allowed us to expand and reignite our Metro Atlanta-based training program, as well as providing support for our GOTV efforts last year which resulted in 9to5 registering over 6,000 people to vote.

A Leadership Development and Training Coordinator was hired last November to carry out the training components of the project, which includes providing trainings for the groups which are a part of the grantee cohort comprising of direct service organizations. This has been a great opportunity for 9to5 to reach over 300 women who are new to advocacy and organizing and were introduced to 9to5 via the trainings we provided. We’re thrilled to have made some great new organizational partnerships with groups like Literacy Action, H.O.P.E., Inc, Refugee Women’s Network and Per Scholas. We’re also happy to have re-engaged with some great partners such as Habitat for Humanity, Our House and Nicholas House.

Through these organizational partnerships, we have offered 34 trainings based on three areas: job retention skills, workplace rights, and civic engagement and advocacy. Some of the trainings offered include: Interviewing Skills, Job Applications and Resume Writing, Conflict Resolution, Time Management, Family/Work Balance, Equal Pay and Salary Negotiation, Workplace Discrimination: Your Rights and How to Use Them, Power of Participation, ABCs of People Power and Grassroots Lobbying.

A particularly great session occurred recently at a training of ABCs of People Power with soon to be homeowners with Habitat for Humanity. This training introduces people to advocacy, helping them understand the link between the issues that impact their lives with the policy actions needed to address the issue at its root. We had a special guest join us, Representative Kim Schofield of District 60, who is also a 9to5 Georgia Board Member. Rep. Schofield shared her powerful story of first becoming an advocate, some of the ins and outs of the legislative process, as well as sharing her perspective on being a state representative.

Lastly, we were able to take action on the spot thanks to our Lead Organizer, Shanda Neal, joining us and doing a brief presentation on our current campaign around winning a state based earned income tax credit. After learning about the initiative, training participants were invited to join a letter writing campaign in which they wrote letters encouraging our legislative targets to support the Georgia Work Credit, as well as signing petitions in support which will be delivered to lawmakers. This session exemplifies the integrated approach to trainings we want to embody; teaching people new skills and theory and connecting them to action to put theory into practice!

If you are part of a group or organization which is interested in having us come do a training, or if you’d like more information, please contact Leadership Development and Training Coordinator Allison Glass at allison@9to5.org or via phone (404)222-0037.

Pictured to the left are training participants from Per Scholas doing some group work during an Interviewing Skills workshop. Per Scholas is a computer science training program that focuses on recruiting women of color into the technology field.