"An empowered woman is an unstoppable woman," Princess Vixen of San Angelo's Minority Alliance Council stated this morning at the Women's Empowerment Conference at the Business Resource Center.
About 20 women, some with their children, were in attendance and eager to learn more about being a strong, independent woman and how to overcome some hardships in their lives.
"This is a conference to let women know their value and their worth, whether that is through getting them higher education, GED classes, or helping them become citizens through the Integration Immigration Project, or finding a job," said Vixen.
The conference was formed by members of the Minority Alliance Council: Event Coordinator, Mary Palos; Treasurer, Linda Meza; Vice President, Will Reyes; and Public Relations, Princess Vixen.
The Council members explained that the idea came to them after holding a garage sale and deciding what to do with the leftover items.
"We were just like, 'We should donate this,'" Vixen said. "'We should have some kind of empowerment conference to uplift women.' So, here we are."
In addition to providing the attendees with resources and free clothing, they also received empowering messages and information.
Several speakers were welcomed at the conference, including Crystal Garcia-Ward from the Rape Crisis Center.
Ward spoke of "radical self love," and explained that "the main type of violence in our community is what we call oppression."
She interacted with her audience and got them talking about the types of ways women can be oppressed in society; answers, such as how women are expected to look and act, were given from the audience.
Besides the uplifting messages, other incentives for coming included free food and a large goody bag containing coupons, pens, lip balm, and other items women are sure to enjoy.
Just a few of the businesses that donated items included:
- Starbucks
- La Grande Radio Station
- Ulta
- Mrs. Baird's
- Campus Donuts
- Hidalgo's
- Sands Finance
- Conexion
- Concho Educators
- Avon
- Mary Kay
- Thrive
Vixen noted, "You name it; anybody I asked, I didn't get a no on this."
She added that the community coming together is what this event is all about.
Vixen said, "It's amazing that not only these women came to be empowered, but that there were other people willing to assist. That is beautiful."
The members of the Minority Alliance Council explained that this is the first conference they have held, but due to the success, another one is in the works. They said the next one will be held on a Saturday and will be "even bigger."
The next Women's Empowerment Conference is anticipated to be held in September at Workforce Solutions.
For more information, please visit the Minority Alliance Council Facebook page.
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