Over 500 of our supporters joined us on October 12 to celebrate ten years of Powerful Voices work in the community.  With your support, we raised more than $90,000 for our programs.

The 2005 Luncheon honored both of our programs, Girls RAP and STAGES. Alumna Jay Jay Voorhees spoke of the impact of STAGES on her life and introduced our speakers. Five girls from our programs- Aviona, Emily, Jenise, Katesha and Ashley- offered a powerful spoken word performance about their dreams for themselves, their communities and the world.  To download the text of their performances, go here.

The Honorable Judge Patricia H. Clark spoke about the importance of gender-specific programs like STAGES for the girls and families that she sees in her court every day. Alumna Gardenia Vivas-Jimenez spoke about the impact of Girls RAP on her life, and her hopes for her future.

Thank you to everyone who listened so intently to girls, shared their dreams with us and made such strong commitments to supporting girls to achieve their dreams.

More about our speakers:
Gardenia Vivas-Jimenez, born in 1987 in Mexico City and was raised in Seattle, joined the Girls RAP program when she was a student at Washington Middle School. Her time in Girls RAP encouraged her to seek out opportunities to get involved in her high school and in the community. As a senior at Franklin High, she has been involved with the Technology Access Fund, worked with Environmental Justice Youth Advocates and served on the Common Cents Youth Board. After graduating, she hopes to attend a four-year college and someday become a teacher.

Judge Clark is the chief judge for the Juvenile Division of the King County Superior Court. In 1987, Judge Clark obtained a Juris Doctor degree and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington. Before being appointed to the bench, she worked as a prosecutor, an educator and a constitutional commissioner where she focused on at-risk youth. Since she was elected to the bench in 1998, Judge Clark has used the power and the possibility of the judicial system to improve the lives of children, adolescents and their families. She has led efforts to erase racial disproportionality and to address the specific needs of girls in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. She has been a strong supporter of prevention programs that help keep young people out of the detention system altogether. She was recently honored with a 2005 Voices for Children Award from the Washington state Children's Alliance.

For news items featuring Judge Clark:
Juvenile arrest rate at 20-year low; But, for girls, it continues to rise

A new court exists to help reunite families

Lessons learned in Washington's King County

To Judge Clark, punishing kids is not the point; She finds unusual ways to get to juvenile offenders

You can read more about our 2004 Luncheon, featuring keynote speaker Pramila Jayapal, and our 2003 Luncheon, featuring our keynote speaker Melinda French Gates.