Mentorship > Girls Hub
Young Women of Toledo
Young Women Circle is an opportunity for intersectional and young females ages 15 to 26 to share, discuss, and debate constructively to help build empowerment. YWC strives to emulate our three pillars to Educate, Engage, and Empower through diversity & inclusion while advocating for women’s economic empowerment.
YW includes various activities throughout the Fall & Spring seasons such as opportunities to be part of the Genius Circle Series Program, Apprenticeship (serve as Task team), the Talking Circles and GroupMe Networks, attend our Power Hour and Advocacy Seminars, Mentorship and Volunteerism. **see below under activities and program calendar.
Opportunity for High School: Start your own YWOT chapter at your school! If you’re interested in starting a YWOT chapter in your school, we’d love to connect and help you! Email us at info@womenoftoledo.org for further details.
If you'd like to become a mentor for our Builder, please contact Nina Corder at nina@womenoftoledo.org.
Girls Hub is a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) summer program/activity for girls and young women ages 12 to 17 that offered workspace in trades and construction, through classes in woodworking, architecture, and art.
June 2022: Our intensive four-session of one-week-long summer programs teach girls, and young women how to use tools, build real-world projects and connect with their advocacy interests. The program will focus on skill-building and a few woodworking projects that combine creative construction skills and design challenges in response to social challenges.
Project: Seats at the Table
Materials + tools: a handsaw, wood glue, sanding sponge, hammer, nails, drill, impact driver, screws, plywood, and redwood dimensional lumber.
Our Builders will have the opportunity to learn and hone creative and vocational STEAM skills with support from local STEM groups, Mentors, Women in Construction, Manufacturing, Engineering, Arts, and women’s Architects. Integrating Mentor’s technical skills and support, we believe Girls Hub will equip our Builders with the empowerment and tools to build the space they want to see.
Timeline: June 5 to July 1, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 4 pm, supported by Mentors, Artists, YWOT Apprentices, and Summer Counselors.
Team 1 Rosie Riveter (Industrial): June 6 to June 10
Team 2 Emily Roebling (Engineering): June 13 to June 17
Team 3 Rose Ondrus (Hardware): June 20 to June 24
Team 4 Katherine Johnson (Mathematician): June 27 to July 1
Young Women of Toledo Program: Girls Hub
So, let's BUILD a chair.
Your seat is your identity and what you care about.
The table is where decisions are made.
So we are teaching Young Women participants, known as 'Builders' to build and bring their seats to the table.
With the support from our STEAM mentors, the Builders will use their creative voices and power tools to build their individual chair that represents their personal uniqueness while examining the value of identity, voice, and lived experience in civic spaces.
During each week in the month of June, we anticipate a group of 15 individuals Builders to meet in person for hands-on training on how to use bigger power tools, such as the miter saw and band saw, with proper safety and guidance, to create their chair project with a theme - ‘Build your Seat at the Table’. We also integrated activities and discussions about female leadership, confidence, STEAM careers, fear, bravery, and how to support each other as girls and women.
Why Girls Hub: According to census.gov (2021), Women are nearly half of the United States workforce but only 27% of STEAM workers and 10.3% of construction jobs are held by women. We know women are underrepresentation in STEAM and the trades. These are problems of access, support, culture, and inclusion. Other than teaching our Builders how to use tools, build real-world projects, and expose our youth to the STEAM field, this project also will teach about representation, power, and social change.
The Space - Workshop
Women of Toledo is located on the 3rd Floor of the historic Secor Building in the heart of Downtown Toledo. A former school space for the Horizon Science Academy, we took over the space in 2017. Since then, with the support from the Secor building management, Zaleski Development we have been patching and painting the walls, refinishing the floor, built out four different spaces which include:
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An office area.
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A meeting room with a projector, whiteboards, and seats 14-18 people depending on the activity.
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A classroom equips with wheels on the table/chair for collaboration and seats up to 24 depending on activity.
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An open 1500-square-foot common space dedicated to woodworking and carpentry area.
What to expect or the week's lesson plan: Builders must commit to attending a 5-days session, Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 4 pm.
Builders can choose the week and group to participate. *Subject to change
Preliminary weekly lesson plan & activities:
Expectations: We will be using a speed square and a tape measure to layout and mark the pieces, a handsaw and clamps to cut each piece to fit our design, and a drill, a driver, bits, and screws to attach the legs, and seat, back, and braces. Everyone designed their chair with elements that expressed their personalities and stories. Customization included painting, upholstery, mosaic, textiles, and more!
**Attribution: Foundational content and concept of the Girls Hub of A Seat at The Table project provided by Girls Garage and A Seat at the Table by Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate
