Space Of Her Own (SOHO) is an art-based mentoring program serving local at-risk 5th-grade girls. The program offers participants yearlong, one-on-one mentoring through engagement in the visual arts.
We are happy to announce that 13 girls graduated from the 2009-2010 SOHO program! Click here to see the end-of-year video for that class. Congratulations, graduates!
How SOHO Began
As a result of a citywide survey of Alexandria’s teens and parents and community focus group studies, it was concluded that at-risk girls would be most successful in avoiding juvenile criminal activity and improving social skills and self-esteem through engagement in long-term mentoring involving art activities. A partnership between The Art League and the Alexandria Court Service Unit developed, and SOHO was conceived!
Now in its eighth year, SOHO runs for a full year, starting each fall and running formally through June, followed by community service activities across the summer. SOHO serves 12 to 15 girls each year, selecting girls who are at-risk for delinquent behavior, come from low-income households, and are creatively inclined.
How SOHO Works
Girls are each matched with an adult, female volunteer mentor from the community. Together they meet weekly to participate in team building activities, learn life skills lessons, eat a healthy dinner, and participate in an art lesson taught by a professional Art League artist. SOHO uses evidence-based life skills curricula to teach girls about nutrition, refusal skills, self esteem, communication, relationship building, friendship, sexual health, decision-making, and more. In art lessons, girls and mentors work together to create expressive artwork for the girls’ bedrooms, which may include pillows, personalized lamps, wall hangings, memo boards, marbleized memory books, and silk clothes.
Click here to see this year's schedule of activities.
The program was inspired by popular HGTV and TLC programming, and upon completion of the year, girls and mentors work together in teams to remodel the girls’ bedrooms, being sure to include ample lighting and study space. All of the girls’ artworks are incorporated into the rooms, giving each girl a true “space of her own.”
In May 2009, SOHO was featured in the Washington Post. Click here to read the article! To see the video of last year's program, including room renovation before & after photos, click here.
Volunteering with SOHO
Volunteer mentors must make a one-year commitment to SOHO. They attend SOHO sessions every Thursday evening from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at The Art League in Old Town, Alexandria. Sessions run from late September through June. Across July and August, girls and mentors participate in community service activities on their own time.
If you are interested in volunteering as a mentor for SOHO, contact Kate Gelatt at 703-519-1741 or kateg@theartleague.org or Linda Odell at linda.odell@alexandriava.gov.
SOHO Supporters
SOHO is offered completely free to its participants, and all mentors serve on a volunteer basis. The program depends entirely on the generosity of the individuals, foundations, and companies that provide financial support to fund art lessons and projects, and the mentors and other volunteers who generously give their time, energy, and skills to the program. We give our thanks the following corporate and foundation sponsors and in-kind donors for supporting the SOHO program:
Alexandria Youth Fund
Washington Area Women’s Foundation / Rainmaker’s Group
Otto Whalley Family Foundation
The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia
The Meltzer Group
Dominion
Alive! (Alexandrians InVolved Ecumenically)
Bittersweet Catering
Daughters of Jerusalem Sisters of Mercy
Restaurant Eve
If you are interested in supporting the SOHO program, please contact Kate Gelatt at kateg@theartleague.org or 703-519-1741 or Linda Odell at linda.odell@alexandriava.gov.
The 2009-2010 SOHO Class & Mentors
To see photos of this year's SOHO class in action, visit The Art League's Facebook page, or click here.
