By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – It’s become one of the new catch-phrases in today’s world—“Paying it forward.”
But that’s the best way to describe what is happening in Slidell among more than a dozen businesswomen, who are part of the first SELF class.
Slidell Empowering Ladies & Family (SELF) was devised a year ago by local businesswomen Kathy Lowrey and Dionne Graham, after the two became better acquainted at a Christmas toy giveaway.
Graham is the director of Rainbow Childcare, while Lowrey is the general manager of the Northshore Harbor Center. Both were already volunteers for numerous charitable groups in the Slidell area, but after meeting, saw an opportunity to do more.
“When I went to Rainbow in 2011 to help Dionne with their Christmas program, it seemed so rewarding that I wanted to find a way to do more for some of the women we saw there,” Lowrey said.
“When I called Dionne to talk about it, she was so excited because she wanted to do something similar,” Lowrey said.
After some meetings and brainstorming sessions, they decided that women in the Slidell area needed to become mentors for other women who needed a boost in self-esteem and confidence.
“I kept thinking how fortunate we were to have had mentors and opportunities to learn,” Lowrey said. “I had a lot of strong women guide me, and they are a big reason I’ve been successful in the business world.
“I knew we had a lot of those same women right here who could mentor others,” she said.
SELF was born a year ago, with a plan to seek businesswomen in the Slidell area who would become mentors to other women—working together for a year. After starting in January, 2013, Lowrey said they currently have 13 pairs of women mentors and “proteges,” as they are called.
The two women meet once a week, and there are four retreats during the year that provide excellent training and information for the proteges. The first retreat was held earlier this year and provided a social/business climate that introduced many of the proteges to the business world in a way they had not previously seen.
“This is not so much about us telling them what they need to do,” Lowrey said. “It’s about helping these women discover themselves, their talents, and what path they might take for success in the business world.”
She said most of the proteges are in their 20s to 30s and come from varying backgrounds, many that included some difficult circumstances that they are now trying to overcome.
“At the first retreat we taught communication skills, showed how to overcome fear in their life and how to recognize the value in themselves,” she said. “As the mentor, we are doing a lot of listening since this is about trying to provide an atmosphere where these ladies discover themselves.”
Dr. Joan Archer is involved with SELF and is providing a “mentor for the mentors,” Lowrey said. “She gave us the direction we needed to be the best mentors we could be.”
The program will continue throughout this year, but Lowrey said they are looking for new mentors and proteges who would like to be a part of the program in 2014.
Businesswomen in the Slidell area working as part of the program are Anne Bowser, Carolyn Baringer, Carol Faciane, Dawn Sharpe Brackett, Kathy Lowrey, Barbara Doyle, Belinda Levy, Grace Marshall, Julie Watson, Pam Breaux, Patricia Brown and T. Augustine.
The members of the SELF Board are: Dionne Graham, Kathy Lowrey, Dr. Joan Archer, Hannah Rucker, David Kiviaho, Sharon Sandifer and Taffy Morrison.
Anyone interested in more information can contact Lowrey at 285-6393 or Graham at 646-1603. More information can be found online at selfinitiative@yahoo.com.