PowHerful

Soledad O'Brien started her Starfish Media Group as a way to control the kinds of projects she could work on as a journalist.

She was inspired by an Evangelical story:

Countless starfish have washed ashore on a beach and are dying off. A little boy is picking them up and tossing them back into the ocean in the hope they’ll survive. A man walks by and asks him why he’s doing something so futile.
“There are hundreds,” he points out. “What difference will it make?”
The boy picks up another starfish, throws it into the sea and says: “It will make a difference to that one.”

And so she created the Soledad O'Brien and Brad Raymond Starfish Foundation with her husband in 2011 in order to provide funds and resources for student scholars with the idea that helping one young woman can cause a ripple effect throughout her family, friends, and community - transform lives, one girl at a time.

Then, her PowHERful Foundation Summit Series began in 2012 in New York City as an annual, free daylong conference for high school- and college-aged young women focusing on educational, professional, and personal development.

In 2017, the Starfish Foundation became the PowHERful Foundation to better reflect the empowerment message they want to provide young women all across the country opportunities.

Starfish Scholar Program: Transforming Lives — One Girl at a Time

In 2017, Soledad O'Brien and her foundation, the Starfish Scholar Program, continues its philanthropic venture.

Focusing on disadvantaged young women and with a goal of helping a group of them complete their college education and begin careers, the foundation’s motto is “Transforming Lives — One Girl at a Time.”

O'Brien's day might well start at 5:30 a.m. and into a hair and make-up chair before appearing on television.

The day can include foundation business, conducting interviews, being interviewed and working on documentaries for her Starfish Media group.

Plus, Soledad is a wife and mother of four. Her evening might be devoted to family, public events, or dinner with her young scholars at her New York apartment.

“Our Scholars are young,” says O’Brien. “They haven’t been through the experience where the thing that was bad actually turned out to be a blessing, and the thing that was great turned out to be not so great. That’s what time gives us.”

Consider a Donation to the Starfish Foundation

Friends:

Young women in America need your help - Please donate to our foundation!

Our program works. Click below to see what some of our Scholars are up to.

Tierra just graduated from Berkeley Law.
Sheba Turk is a top news anchor in New Orleans.
Tassion completed her Junior year at Dillard.
Ariana graduated Smith and is kicking butt in her new career.

There are so many more young women to reach in 2017!

Donate today and help young women in America fulfill the promise of their potential.

Soledad and Brad

StarfishScholars.org

Starfish Foundation

The Starfish Foundation, started by Soledad O'Brien and her husband Brad, helps young women go to college, graduate, and give back to their communities. They recently sent out a request for donations to support their dreams.

Dear Friends:

Help us lift up girls in America - donate to the Starfish Foundation! 
Every dollar brings mentoring, career counseling and financial assistance to thousands of young women across the country.
Young women like...
Tierra who just graduated from Berkeley Law, Sheba Turk, a top news anchor in New Orlenas, Tassion, a Senior at Dillard and Ariana, who graduated Smith and is kicking butt in her new career.

There are so many more future leaders to reach in 2017! 

Donate today and help young women in America fulfill the promise of their potential. 

Soledad & Brad

Soledad O'Brien on Mentoring

Soledad O’Brien has mentored young women throughout her years in journalism. Now, through her scholarships and her Starfish Foundation, she is able to reach even more aspiring journalists across the country. She is especially focused on empowering Black and Latino youth to continue their education whether that includes journalism or not.

"When I was in my very first job in TV news, it didn’t even occur to me to get a mentor. I was 21. I was constantly busy and living in the moment. And, like a lot of people, I thought of it as a formal, stuffy relationship with someone at work.

But very quickly, my boss stepped up to be my mentor. She made me start thinking about my long term goals. She made me look at my job as a career, even a calling. It worked. I began working, not to fulfill the demands of the day, but for the long haul. I didn’t just want to intern at a local TV station, make some extra money and fulfill my curiosity about the profession. I wanted to become a journalist and I had a plan as to how to get there."

O'Brien believes that we need to change how people think about different types of mentorships. "There are so many different ways to be mentored. Mentors can be there just to help you through a moment. I’ve had mentors who jumped in for a season to support and guide me. You might just need to pick someone’s brain, or you might have a relationship with someone that lasts for decades."

Some of her advice about mentoring:

• The next time you need help with something, find the person who’s doing what you want to do. 
• Have a diverse range of people who can advise you on different aspects of your life. 
• Surround yourself with people who tell you that you can, not people who tell you that you can’t, or that you shouldn’t. Seek out those people and make them your mentor. Period.

Source: motto.time.com

The PowHERful Summit in New York City

The Soledad O’Brien and Brad Raymond Starfish Foundation hosted their annual PowHERful Summit in New York City, Saturday July 23. Entertainment industry veteran Shanti Das led the New York Health and Hospitals health panel and spoke specifically about the importance of mental health. Das spoke candidly to the young women about her struggle with depression and gave tips on to get help. “It’s important that you have a buddy system,” says Das, “make sure there’s a friend or a family member that you’re checking in with every day, so they know how you’re doing.”

read more 

Soledad O'Brien's Starfish Foundation Works With Young Women

On June 9, Soledad O'Brien and her husband, Brad Raymond, hosted their sixth annual benefit gala in New York for their Starfish Foundation.

This year's event is particularly focused on mentorship.

"When someone helps you out and picks you up and puts you on the right path, you sort of owe it to turn around and reflect back to them the things that you see are possible for them," O'Brien says. "Sometimes we need someone to tell you what you're good at and what you could do."

The foundation's support and education for young women helps with college and continues with advising them on their careers. This includes lessons on how to find an internship an how to dress for an office job.

The young women have conversations about knowing how to make sure you're being paid what you deserve, how to ask for a raise and how to walk away when you're not getting what you deserve.

More http://www.vibe.com/2016/06/soledad-obrien-starfish-foundation/

#BlogHer15 Announces Keynote Speakers Will Include Starfish Foundation Founder Soledad O’Brien

SheKnows Media, a women’s lifestyle digital media company, announced that #BlogHer15: Experts Among Us, taking place in New York, July 16-18, 2015. The opening general session will focus on next generation online content creators, activists and leaders.

Taking the main stage to present will be Anna Maria Chávez, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA, Soledad O’Brien, Founder and CEO of the Starfish Foundation, and Samantha Skey, Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer at SheKnowsMedia, along with girls and young women whose lives have been positively impacted by each organization’s respective initiatives, and who represent the next generation of “Experts Among Us”.

O'Brien is an Emmy Award-winning reporter and critically acclaimed author, speaker and philanthropist. She reports for HBO Real Sports, National Geographic, Al Jazeera and other media organizations. O’Brien and her husband, Brad Raymond, created the Soledad O’Brien & Brad Raymond Starfish Foundation to help disadvantaged young women get to and through college. O’Brien will be joined onstage by top Starfish scholars with diverse interests, talents and educational paths. Together, they will share their experiences, the opportunities afforded by their education, and goals for the future.

"I'm thrilled to be taking part in #BlogHer15: Experts Among Us,” O’Brien said. “I'm excited for the opportunity to share the Starfish Foundation's mission of empowering and educating girls, alongside Girl Scouts of the USA and SheKnows Media. Empowering young women is the top focus of my organization, from the 25 core scholars within our daily program to the hundreds of high school- and college-aged girls we reach through our PowHERful Summit. I'm excited to be bringing along a few of our fabulous scholars to the conference to highlight firsthand what our Foundation does."

SOURCE: www.businesswire.com

Starfish Foundation Hosts Fourth Annual Gala

Soledad O'Brien along with her husband Brad Raymond will host the annual fundraising event, "New Orleans to New York City Gala" on Thursday, July 24, 2014 at Espace in New York. The celebration is the biggest night of the year for the Starfish Foundation, created to provide promising young women a bridge between obstacles and opportunities.

Party guests will enjoy a cocktail reception followed by the evening's festivities which will include a special music performance by members of the Grammy Award-Winning trumpeter Irvin Mayfield and members of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. The event is proudly sponsored by American Family Insurance.

"We are excited to host The New Orleans to New York City Gala for the fourth consecutive year," said O'Brien. "It is always a great gathering as we honor our scholars and the commitment they've shown to pursuing their education. I look forward to celebrating with them and our supporters in a festive evening."

The annual gala will begin with an outdoor cocktail reception at 6:00 p.m., preceded by main event and concert at 7:00 p.m. All proceeds from ticket sales for the "New Orleans to New York City Gala" will fund scholarships for young women awarded by the Soledad O'Brien and Brad Raymond Starfish Foundation.

After witnessing the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2006, O'Brien and Raymond began privately awarding scholarships to young women who didn't have the resources for success. As their efforts grew, they officially formed the Starfish Foundation to expand their reach and help even more young women. Today the Starfish Foundation provides scholarships to disadvantaged young women in under-served communities and is committed to giving more than just financial assistance to its scholarship honorees. The Foundation creates a customized support program for each participant that reflects that person's specific needs. To date, they have provided support to 28 young women.

O'Brien is an award-winning journalist – she has been a writer, producer, reporter and a TV news anchor for NBC stations locally, NBC network news and CNN. About a year ago, O'Brien left CNN to start her own production and distribution company called Starfish Media Group. The company focuses on telling stories that often fly under the radar. O'Brien has won many awards including three Emmys she won for reporting in Haiti, Hurricane Katrina and the 2012 election. She's traveled the globe telling stories, but her two favorite places are New Orleans where her Foundation was launched after Hurricane Katrina and New York City where she lives with her husband and four kids.

news wire source