St. John's University Empowers Women
The UNICEF Club at St. John's University in New York hosted a Women's Empowerment Panel for Women's History Month! National Council member, Alice Wu, gets the inside scoop on how they made this panel a success!
Have you ever been in situation in a group in which you had an ingenious idea, but you couldn’t find your voice or kept having your voice smothered by others? As one UNICEF student leader among the almost 800 clubs around the country, I know how difficult it can be to easily share successful events and ideas with other clubs. By highlighting an outstanding UNICEF Club and the details of a successful event that they have undertaken and have learned from, this interview blog is meant to be your voice! This monthly blog will feature different clubs from across the nation, and will hopefully not only encourage you with by being connected to thousands of like-minded individuals through your passion for UNICEF, but will inspire UNICEF Clubs like yours to share their story. Happy reading!
*Don’t forget! Step 1 in hosting an event is to get it approved by UNICEF USA through the Fundraising and Event form!*
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This month I chatted with St. John’s University in New York about their recent Women’s Empowerment Panel. Their unique event with two special panelists created a crucial discussion about women’s rights at their university, and I hope it might prompt similar discourse at your school as well!
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Basic Club Questions
Q: How many members are a part of your club?
200
Q: What year was your club was founded?
2014
Q: What is the structure of your leadership team and if it was different previously, what changes have you implemented to cultivate a stronger team?
Top 4:
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Chairs:
Social Media
Event Coordinator
Q: How frequent are your club meetings?
Three general body meetings every semester
Event Questions
Q: Who/what inspired this event?
Women's History Month
Q: When did the planning for this fundraiser begin?
In mid-March
Q: How much money was spent on producing the event?
$55
Q: What are some resources that were used to produce the event?
Connections: the panel speakers that attended the event are companions of the president. She met them while participating in past United Nation Conferences.
Q: What kind of entertainment, food, drinks, etc. was provided at the event?
Pizza and soft drinks
Q: If you had any food and drinks at your event, did you get it donated? Do you have any advice in doing so or great places to recommend reaching out to?
In the past, we have partnered with Chipotle to donate food to our event such as to our Trick or Treat Ceremony in October for which they donated 80 burritos.
Q: How many people attended the event? Did this number match your initial estimates?
20, it didn't match our initial estimate but this event was put together last minute!
Q: How many people participated in planning this event?
3
Q: What were a few highlights of the event?
The students that attended came up at the end of the event and shared how much they enjoyed the panel as well as the open discussions that were held throughout the panel. Even though this event was for Women's Empowerment we had couple of male students attend and they also participated in the open discussions. Everyone was very respectful of the topics and opinions that were shared. Our two panelists helped us delve into the many dimensions attached to women’s empowerment efforts around the world!
Q: What were some challenges that your club had to overcome and how did you solve them?
The challenge that the club faced was honestly trying to book a room, it is quite a rigorous process at our university to get a room for an upcoming event.
Q: What advice do you have for other clubs that would like to host a successful event like yours?
If you have an idea for an event do not hesitate to make it a reality. It will be a stressful process making it come together but with the right people and commitment anything is possible.
Q: Who would you like to thank for helping to facilitate this event?
The president, Mah Noor
A big thank you goes to UNICEF SJU for not only helping to organize an outstanding event, but also sharing the details with us! We hope that this interview blog will help you and your club plan your next event. Feel free to email them if you have any questions! Contact them at unicefatsju@gmail.com. Thanks for reading!
-Alice
