Among all the schools, civic groups, and community organizations that celebrated Women’s History Month, one event that stood out most was celebrated with LOVE — the Ladies of Valor Empowerment, that is.
North-Miami based LOVE commemorated the national event by hosting its fifth annual “Women Who Dare
With LOVE,” on Mar. 23, with key support by the Alliance of Career Development Non-Profits (ACDN). The two organizations joined forces to pay tribute to the extraordinary achievements of American women during a fun-filled day of inspiration and empowerment at Johnson & Wales University’s Wildcat Center in North Miami.
In keeping with its mission to inspire underprivileged women and girls of all ages to achieve personal and professional success, LOVE saluted executive director of Family Action Network Movement (FANM) Marlene Bastien, MSW, LCSW with its “2019 Woman Pioneer Award.”
The career-focused day of enrichment also featured a panel of dynamic speakers who discussed their paths to success, and some of the personal and professional challenges they encountered along the way.
Moderated by Hot 105 Radio personality Shelby Rushin, speakers were:
Ismare Monreal, dean of Students, Johnson & Wales University-North Miami Campus;
Natacha Alexandre, vice president of Business Sales & Service Manager, City National Bank, and
Aida Smith, vice president/store manager, Macy’s.
“We are thrilled to welcome such an impressive panel of high-achieving women who are making history in Miami through their dedication to our community and leadership in their chosen fields,” said Alourdes Pierre, founder and CEO of LOVE.
Sponsored by National Smart & Sexy Day, one of the largest privately held lingerie companies in the U.S., the fun-filled day of learning, motivation, and dress for empowerment was made possible through a partnership with ACDN, Johnson & Wales University, and Macy’s Aventura.
“LOVE’s annual Women’s History event allows us to shine a light of awareness to the important work of our dedicated members and the lasting impact they have on the lives of thousands of deserving people in our community,” Pierre continued.
Alliance with ACDN
Aligned with the national Alliance of Career Development Non-Profits network (ACDN), LOVE is one of numerous ACDN member organizations across the U.S. to host similar celebrations during March. The events share a common goal of motivating and enlightening women and teenage girls, in order to help them achieve self-sufficiency — and have fun in the process.
Nationally, this program was launched in 2012 by ACDN, a national organization of independent, community-based member organizations who provide career skills training development to low-income women and teenage girls, This local L.O.V.E celebration is sponsored by Ariela & Associates International (Smart & Sexy Day).
“One of our primary goals is to help women feel good about who they are, because feeling good is looking good,” Pierre added. “Such an event surely helps us to instill in the LOVE ladies and in participants of our sister program, Youth of Valor Empowerment (YOVE), the knowledge and confidence to achieve self-sufficiency through employment and leadership development.
About LOVE
Based in Miami-Dade County’s Haitian American community, Ladies of Valor Empowerment is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to empowering and educating underprivileged women through professional development training and by helping women achieve self-sufficiency by providing professional clothing and career development services — at no charge.
The Youth of Valor Empowerment’s Step It Up program is a leadership development/after school component of LOVE, with a mission to mentor, develop, and equip high-risk high school girls, ages 14-18, to lead themselves with confidence and integrity, become college bound, career focused, develop their potential, and be ready to join the next generation of women leaders for tomorrow.
For information, contact Alourdes Pierre at 786-615-2234. Also visit www.yove.org.
