We| KAN Komera Ambassador Network Chapter Guide “If you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction. Remember also that you are indebted to life until you help some less fortunate person, just as you were helped.” – Melinda Gates Welcome to the Komera Family! Thank you so much for your interest in starting a chapter of the Komera Ambassador Network! We are so excited for you to join our family! Let's work together to energize & mobilize young people to become self-­‐confident global change-­‐makers. Komera Mission In Rwanda, "Komera" means "be strong, have courage." Komera builds self-­‐confident young women through education, community and sport. We| KAN Mission We|KAN is dedicated to motivating young women to become intrepid change agents, for themselves, their communities, and the world through a training program focused on developing self-­‐confident young women. Komera Chapter Checklist: 1. Find a faculty advisor and form a leadership board 2. Find a related club at school/community and partner with them! 3. Become an official school organization 4. Hold weekly club meetings 5. Stay up-­‐to-­‐date with all things Komera 6. Plan a fundraiser 7. Raise awareness about Komera and our mission 8. Go CRAZY on social media! 9. Build a Komera Club family 10. Have fun! What YOU Can Do! 1. Letter Writing Party! Gather a bunch of your friends together and hand-­‐write letters to your representative in congress about an issue that concerns you. Legislators are there on Capital Hill to represent us, the people. Receiving a swarm of constituent mail can greatly impact the way a legislator votes on a particular issue. Letter writing parties are a great way to make change happen. SAMPLE LETTER Date The Honorable ________ Office Address United States House of Representatives/United State Senate City, State, Zip Dear Representative/Senator ______________: Today, more girls than ever are in school around the world. But they aren’t always learning the knowledge and skills they need to thrive. Right now, the global community is deciding whether and how to address this crisis. As world leaders gather at the United Nations occur the next year, it is critical that the U.S. government supports a development action plan that improves learning outcomes for girls and boys. All girls deserve the chance to obtain the skills and education they need to thrive in life. You have been an outspoken champion of girls here in the United States. I ask that you make the same commitment to girls around the world. Please urge the United Nations to develop a learning goal in its post-­‐2015 development agenda, which is being created as we speak. When girls get a good education, there is no limit to how far they, and their communities can go. Sincerely, Your Name Your Title Your Address Your City, State, Zip Your Phone Number 2. Shop! Grab your friends and head to the mall! While you are there stop into your favorite retailers and ask the sales associate, “What is your ethical trade policy?” If they do not know the answer, make sure that they bring it to their manager’s attention. Retailers are MOST concerned about your experience at the point of sale. Here is how to do this: 1. Research Ethical Fashion -­‐First things first: what are ethical fashion practices? 2. Look Into the Practices of your Favorite Stores - Go online and look at the company’s website. They are require to include information on social and environmental responsibility. - There are now also numerous tools that make it easier for you to learn about a company’s supply chain. o Free2Work o Free2Work Apparel Industry Trends Report o Slavery Footprint o Fair Trace Tool o GoodGuide 3. Hold them accountable! - Get a group and head to the mall! o Take your research from above, be it good or bad, and tell the retailers your thoughts. If they do not have ethical practices ask them to change, and if they do share with them your appreciation. Going into the store matters. It matters because on the floor in the store is where and when retailers are most interested in you. It is at this point, point of sale occurs. Retailers spend a lot of time and money creating a shopping environment that you find pleasing, so if that is affected in one way or another due to their ethical trade policies, they will listen. YOU HAVE THE POWER! 3. Run-­‐A-­‐Thon! Host a school Run-­‐a-­‐Thon! Runners and walkers of the event can collect pledges prior to the event and then earn money for every lap/mile/etc. completed on the day of the event. Hosting a Run-­‐a-­‐Thon would not only benefit Komera, but also allow the students an opportunity to be directly involved in helping to support other students receive the gift of education. If you can’t run, host a nigh/day of sports benefiting Komera! Greens Farms Academy, a partner of Komera, hosted an event “Pack the House” where four different school sporting events were held throughout the night. The proceeds of the refreshments, along with donation boxes and Komera merchandise went to Komera to benefit those pursuing an education without the means to do so. Host a run at your school & another! If you have a partner school somewhere, try to have your schools join together to run for Komera, if you don’t have a partner school search for one abroad. Form a relationship that will last and introduce the students to a new international network. One teacher and his students from China hosted a run for Komera that raised over $2,000 for the young women in Rwanda. This is an amazing opportunity for your school, staff and students to be introduced into the international network, working toward a bigger goal for all. 4. Swag Sale! Sell Komera swag. It is a simple as that. You can go to online shop www.komera.org/shop and pick out the items that you would like to sell, determine the quantity you will need, and then we will ship them to you. 5. Local Shop Donations! See if a local shop (coffee shop, restaurant, etc.) would be interested in donating a percentage of their sales for the day. REMEMBER! Be strategic about the dates of these fundraisers. Think about what people are buying at their time of year-­‐ is it warm, will they want frozen yogurt, etc. You can approach the subject by promising the local establishment that you will send more traffic their way on the day of the fundraiser. Or, you can get creative! If the shop doesn’t want to donate a percentage of sale, ask them if you can sell some Komera swag from a small table in their shop. Where there is a will, there is a way! 6.Film Screening! Find a documentary that YOU find to be important and screen it! Find a space, and we will help you get the film. Here is a list of a few great films for screenings: 1. Girl Rising 2. I Am A GIrl 3. To Educate A Girl 7. Skype with the scholars! Set up a time to Skype with the scholar in Rwanda! Ask around and see if any other students and/or faculty would like to join. 8. Social Media Takeover Challenge! You have two weeks to increase Komera’s reach on all of our social media platforms. Social media is VERY important to Komera, it is our voice to the community. It allows us to introduce Komera to those who otherwise would never know about us and our programs. It allows us to increase our donor base, which greatly impacts our ability to provide better programing to the scholars. Additionally, it allows us to keep the Komera community engaged and informed on all that is happening with Komera. 9. Bring Komera to YOU! Host Komera at your school. We will come and present at your school about Komera, Rwanda and girls’ empowerment. Afterwards we will sit down with the Komera club to check-­‐in and brainstorm future plans for the club. More Information! Interested in some more information about the steps for creating a chapter, fundraisers, and/or your leadership role? Contact us at [email protected]!