2025 Education Foundation for Freedom (EFF) Empowering Young Voices (EYV) Summer Impact Report

MISSION

EFF empowers women and girls through arts, cultural, entrepreneurial, and educational experiences that build leadership, coalition, and community well-being.

GOALS

EFF nurtures artistic expression, mentorship, and entrepreneurship as pathways to healing, self-determination, and social change. Our goal is to expand our programs and deepen our impact, ensuring that women and girls are central to building sustainable and thriving communities.

EYV serves girls ages 8–18.Based in Columbus’s Near East Side, EYV cultivates self-confidence, social emotional development and mentoring of young artists for community leadership and sustainability. We provide hands-on arts and literacy enrichment workshops with professional arts educators, culminating in a youth-led showcase at the annual Columbus Women & Girls’ Fest featuring a visual art gallery, vocals, dance, and poetry. 

Empowering Young Voices (EYV) Summer Highlights

Engagement

26 girls completed a 6 hour per week, 10-week program with 90% attendance, earning stipends of $400.00 each. Indirectly we impacted more than 200 girls via our CBUSWGEST lunch and learn educational workshop at the CBUSWGFEST facilitated by ROX!

Literacy Enrichment

Areas of focus: argument development, spelling, professional writing, understanding audience, purpose, and mastery of writing conventions.

Post-Program Score: Class average:

Elementary: 83%

Middle Grades: 71%

High School: 82%

Visual Arts

Areas of focus- line, composition, perspective, texture, media, art forms, Black women artists, curation, critique, process and technique.

Post-Program Score: Class average 67% 

The class average does not fully reflect the development and confidence they built. These students were able to present their art gallery to attendees and sell their creations at the CBUSWGFEST.

Vocals

Areas of focus-Knowledge of select disciplinary definitions and practices, skills and habits of mind that evolve over time and vary with individual practice: vocal exercises, breath and volume control, ear training, harmonizing, style development. Outcomes are classified as novice or proficient vocalists.

Post-Program Score: Class average

75% novice

25% proficient

The numerical results do not fully capture the students’ strong performance abilities or their significant growth in captivating an audience as their CBUSWGEST performance demonstrated.

Dance

Areas of focus- Knowledge of dance feet positions-1st-5th, participants’ performance skills comfortability, instructor’s assessment of participants’ performance skills, participants’ choice/ opinion of choreography, instructor’s assessment of participants’ choreography skills, and knowledge of stage directions. 

Post-Program Score: Class Average

Class average 87%

Poetry

Areas of focus-A “tool bank” of poetic devices, with definitions, source texts and videos. The terminologies/tools- metaphor, simile, anaphora, imagery, epistolary, kenning, concrete words, and abstract words. Students must be able to incorporate the devices into their creations.

Post Program Score:

Class average 87.5%

Sample girls’ summer program reflections:

–It’s helped me by making me want to read more and write. High School student

–How to keep trying no matter what. How to sing correctly. What I learned was how to use my voice. Middle School student'

–I learned how to express myself with body movements. Middle School student

–Like it made me feel good and more confident and I love the program. Elementary School student

EYV was able to obtain grants from the City of Columbus, The Department of Neighborhoods, The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio, and the Ohio Arts Council. We need your support to help us keep the program going and growing.

With your support we can increase our contact hours and serve even more girls in summer and during the school year. All of our girls deserve engaging, safe and affirming spaces. Please consider making a donation today for Giving Tuesday. Contact us if you would like to get involved in any way. 

With gratitude, from our board members, teachers, community partners and supporters xoxoxo!

Donate to Education Foundation for Freedom

By Check:

Education Foundation for Freedom

484 Stone Shadow Dr, Blacklick, OH 43004

By our Paypal Charity link:

https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/2415784

By Cash App:

$edforfreedom

or contact us at eforfreedom@gmail.com

THANK YOU!

Stay tuned for our end of year report including Columbus Women & Girls’ Fest Impact Report!