year in review

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The Calabash Consortium, Inc. is an empowerment mindshare (registered as a Caribbean and U.S. 501 (c) (3)) non-pro�t organization) founded in 2009.

Our Model:The Calabash Model © — the ideology that EVERYONE HOLDS A RESOURCE TO EMPOWER ANOTHER.

Our Mission: Though global in scope, as impelled by our Model, our current focus is on advancing the development of Caribbean youths and communities through the obilization of resources and collective action.

We believe that every entity (human and other) is a vessel — a calabash — �lled with resources to empower others.

We seek to achieve mission-driven results by mobilizing resources and collective action to strategically position Caribbean youths in their communities as an informed and engaged constituency to help overcome the most pressing socio-economic challenges facing the region.

ORGANIZATION: MISSION AND MODEL

MESSAGE FROM FOUNDER AND CONVENER

YEAR IN REVIEW: CREATING AND CULTIVATING BETTER OUTCOMES

The Sailing

Brighter Days Summer Camp

MYjOURney

YWEEP

OTHER WORK: YWEEP Conversations

Partnerships and Organizational Expansion

Awareness Campaigns

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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DEAR CALABASHES,

2010 is over and as we reflect, we give thanks to you from the bottom of our hearts and on behalf of all the people we have touched — for your support of the Calabash Consortium.

A little over a year ago this organization was an idea fuelled by a need. Today we are an impassioned team making strides to scale our impact.

In May, members of the Caribbean Diaspora in New York experienced our first major awareness campaign and benefit at the New York Tımes Centre. Dahved Levey, DJ Fadelf, Geffrey Holder, Wyclef Jean, and numerous companies and distinguished guests came out in full support to raise aware-ness surrounding youth development issues in the Caribbean.

In August, we delivered a week-long leadership and empower-ment program; MYjOURney™, for the Brighter Days Summer Camp, targeting students ages 7-13 from rural areas in eastern Trinidad at the University of Trinidad and Tobago.

In November, we conducted the Young Women’s Education and Empowerment Program (YWEEP) Symposium; a one-day forum, that comprised transformative, exposure-driven and educational activities designed to empower young women in Trinidad and Tobago.

Your contributions buttress our efforts. We are proud that over 85% of funds raised have gone into programming and we are humbled by the testimonies we have received from the people we have touched.

2010 saw the coining of the Calabash Model©, an ideology premised on the awareness that everyone holds a resource to empower another. Leveraging this model, we move boldly into 2011 to mobilize resources and collective action to advance the development of Caribbean youths and communities.

2010, we call it a great year. 2011, we declare it to be beyond great.

SINCERELY,

Geoff K. Cooper

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CREATING AND CULTIVATING BETTER OUTCOMES...Introduction

Over the past year our singular focus has been to achieve mission-driven results; to create and cultivate better out- comes for Caribbean youths and communities.

Guided by the potential and aspirations of the people we serve, we pursue our mission with both excellence and compassion and therefore seek to serve as a dedicated force in improving the well-being of our target demo-graphic.

Our approach is a multi-prong one; we have developed impact initiatives, created and leveraged collaborative efforts and provided strategic interventions — all focused on creating and cultivating better outcomes.

CALABASH (ca-la-bash)A plant – a bottle gourd – a fruit – a utensil

– a vessel – a resourceOne of the first cultivated plants

in the world…

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THE SAILING

In May 2010 we executed our official U.S. Launch and first major awareness campaign and benefit — “The Sailing” in New York at the New York Times Center. For this event we worked with Consul Generals from Caribbean countries, Dahved Levy, Geoffery Holder, Wyclef Jean, and numerous companies and distin-guished guests to raise awareness surrounding youth development issues in the Caribbean.

Awareness Campaign/Benefit:

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Youth Development:

Summer 2010 for the Calabash Consortium was nothing short of rewarding. In August the Brighter Days Summer Camp targeted 75+ primary school students from eastern Trinidad and delivered leadership and empower- ment programs coupled with sports, science and arts and culture activities. This 5-day collaborative camp with Shashamane Sunrise and the University of Trinidad and Tobago proved to be a life-changing experience for both the students and the volunteers involved. The Camp also provided an avenue to pilot seminars and workshops to be used in our secondary school Calabash Caravan.

BRIGHTER DAYS SUMMER CAMP

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Empowerment and Goal Setting:MYjOURney™

MYjOURney™, our signature empowerment workshop provides participants with the tools and inspiration needed to achieve their dreams by charting roadmaps for their future. Throughout the year MYjOURney™ was delivered at numerous forums with the goal of cata- lyzing self-empowerment among participants. Frequent and strategic program delivery allowed for the fine-tuning of a concrete curriculum and for the development of best practice in curriculum delivery at various age group levels.

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In November, the Young Women’s Education and Empowerment Program (“YWEEP”) Symposium made its mark as a watershed event in young women’s em-powerment. YWEEP brought empowered women and men to the fore to empower less empowered young women ages 15-29 through a riveting day of power-packed sessions. Young women were educated, ex- posed and empowered to make decisions about their lives and take appropriate and responsible action to improve their life prospects. The numerous amazing speakers all exercised the Calabash Model and also affirmed the theme as every-one left empowered in many ways.

Young Women’s Empowerment:YWEEP

“I AM POWERFUL — She has the power to change her world; You have the

power to help her do it.”

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A forerunner to YWEEP, YWEEP Conversations continues the impact. The premise of this conversation based initiative is to engage young women as YWEEP Champions to sustain and scale the impact of YWEEP by engaging members of their communities in dialogues concerning developments issues facing young women.

Over the past year the Calabash Consortium has actively sort to expand our base of operation through partnership development, this is true to our founding ethos. We have formalized and /or commenced partnerships/programs in New York, Trinidad, Tobago, Barbados Suriname and St. Lucia.

In an effort to raise awareness surrounding major development issues and interests in the Caribbean we created and released communication on major issues facing Caribbean people, in particular youth. These included: The Earthquake in Haiti, International Year of Youth, World Youth Day, HIV/Aids, etc.

YWEEP CONVERSATIONS

PARTNERSHIPS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXPANSION

AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS

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AlizéAmericana Vodka Beyoncé Parfums and Coty Inc.Bmobile Board MembersBP Trinidad & Tobago LLCCaribbean Tourism OrganizationCentral Bank of T&T Financial Literacy ProgramClaudia Pegus Designs Ltd.Debbie Gordon Dex CosmeticsDiana Des Boise Public Relations Inc.Earth Strong Trinidad and TobagoGillette Group of CompaniesGeoffrey and Peggy Brown Giorgio Armani Cosmetics,Global Peace Initiative of WomenGolden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill

We seek to build partnerships that uniquely position us to get things done — to create and cultivate better outcomes. Therefore, partner relationships are integral to our success. Our approach is built on collaborating and new models of organizing, which seeks to create a consortium of stakeholders — thereby increasing the scale, reach, influence and potential impact of social sector stakeholders in propelling development. We are convinced that forging strong partnerships is critical for eradicating the pressing challenges we face. We wish to acknowledge our diverse community of partners. They include, but are not limited to the above:

Jamaica Tourist BoardLisa Holley PhotographyLuke Lashley Photography MACO Magazines Mapau Recreation Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs (MYSA) - T&TMonroe CollegeMod-Exec Ltd.Shashamane SunriseSpice Island Beach ResortThe Standard Hotel HollywoodThe Saint Lucia Tourist BoardTobago House of AssemblyThe International Labor Organization The Lilly Foundation for Human DevelopmentThe University of Trinidad and Tobago U Caribbean Health Digest

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KEEP IN TOUCH

JOIN US IN

CREATING AND

CULTIVATING

BETTER OUTCOMES...

USA 301 East 57th Street, 3rd Floor Attn: GPIW New York, NY 10022 F: 1(866) 829 2822 EXT. 501T: 1(646) 792 3871

Trinidad and Tobago26 Kelly StreetWoodbrookPort of Spain, Trinidad, W. I. F: 1(868) 628 6909T: 1(868) 766 9254info@calabashconsortium.org www.calabashconsortium.org

Photos: Luke Lashley Photography, Lisa Holley Photography, The Calabash TeamDesign and Layout: Debbie Gordon © 2011 The Calabash Consortium. All Rights Reserved

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