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Organization <br />Description <br />Grow Your W orld was co-founded by myself and Soteria Shepperson, <br />and our leadership and board are all women. W e are a community- <br />building organization that centers youth to build relationships across <br />ages and backgrounds and expand access to opportunities. Our <br />programming centers social-emotional practices and wellbeing as <br />well as student-centered curricula that lifts up young people's <br />identities and cultures. Our data shows that our programming has a <br />positiv e academic and social-emotional impact on the students we <br />serv e, who are predominantly students of color, students from low- <br />income families, and/or students from Spanish-speaking families. <br />Our programming utilizes a near-peer model, pairing college students <br />with 5th-12th graders to engage and motiv ate them and help them <br />build their networks of support. The model also incorporates college <br />students into the local community, which helps them dev elop local <br />buy-in and a sense of belonging here in Orange County. <br />W e currently run afterschool arts enrichment programming (4 <br />youth:2 staff) and the INKounter Project, which dev eloped out of the <br />Our Lens, Our Voice project, led by Emily Baxter (W e Are All <br />Criminals) and Soteria Shepperson (I AM SOTERIA), and funded by <br />Orange Cunty Arts Commission. The INKounter Project, for which we <br />are applying for grant funding, directly serv es justice-inv olv ed youth. <br />This program prov ides youth opportunities to explore their identities <br />through the arts as a way of fulfilling court-mandated serv ice hours. <br />Often, youth are from rural communities and hav e experienced <br />multiple Adv erse Childhood Experiences. <br />Has your <br />organization <br />undergone any <br />Diversity, Equity, and <br />Inclusion (DEI) <br />training? If so, <br />please explain. If not, <br />please explain any <br />barriers that have <br />prevented you from <br />receiving this <br />training. <br />Yes, our organization regularly participates and facilitates racial <br />equity trainings, as our mission and v alues hinge on inclusiv e <br />relationships. Trainings include but are not limited to: Racial Equity <br />Institute's 3 day training, Racial Equity Institute's youth 3 day training <br />(co-organized this ev ent), RECET's Equity and Inclusion Tools for <br />Children and Adults Part 1, Antiracism Tools, and Racial <br />Microagressions trainings. <br />Soteria Shepperson does consulting work in Racial Equity, and both <br />Suberman and Shepperson spend time adv ocating for equity at the <br />town lev el. Shepperson was the prior Race, Equity, Action and <br />Leadership (REAL) Coordinator, the racial equity leadership position, <br />at Inter-faith Council for Social Serv ices. <br />During FY22-23, will <br />your organization <br />receive operational <br />support funding from <br />the North Carolina <br />Arts Council or the <br />North Carolina <br />Department of <br />Natural and Cultural <br />Resources? <br />No <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: 15A660EC-5B01-4664-A912-162A942EEE16