Greetings TRG Family and Friends!

We've just returned home from an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G journey to South Africa to deliver TRG’s 10th Anniversary Leadership Conference!! Our theme this year -"T(our)G" - focused on encouraging our fantastic students to take ownership of their lives and to place their futures and the future of TRG in their own hands. This issue of our newsletter features the highlights of this year’s journey through Cape Town, Johannesburg, and finally Durban where our students and alumni took an active part in a five-day empowerment week including:

• Our 10th Annual TRG Leadership Conference
• 9th Annual Alumni Outing
• First Biennial Women’s Retreat
• 10th Annual Bishop Gregory L. Dixon Uniform Day
• And the 10th Annual Goodwill Games! 

Our workshops this year were AWESOME! Our students walked away with powerful foundation-building skills that will carry them through their school years and prepare their footing for forward-thriving lives as they contribute to their communities and the world at large! Titles/topics included:

• Who Am I? - Tiffany Williams, MA
• The Power of Belief: Your Vision Is the Beginning of Everything Great - Lakenya McClough, MPH
• Interpersonal Relationships: Thriving in this thing called "Life" -plus- 😢😑😳😖😤: Understanding and Identifying Depression and Suicide - Erin Thuston, MSW
• Sister to Sister - Women's Only Session: Tammeca Rochester, MBA 
• Brother to Brother - Men's Only Session:  Jabu Maseko & Simon Moruakgomo
• The "I’m Grown I Vote” Workshop - Flojaune Griffin Cofer, MPH
• My Critical Community - Sherrae M. Hayes, PhD
• Plus much, much more!

Click here to read more about each of the 2016 Leadership Conference workshops (click through each image for more info)!

On Friday, July 1st, TRG launched the First Biennial Women's Retreat! Every other year, rotating with our Men's Retreat, we give our alumni a chance to pause and build upon their former TRG journey and their current life lessons. This year our alumni women, as well as their invited "sistah-friends", took part in a full-day of reflective activities facilitated by returning volunteer and Founder of Our Rightful Place, LLC, Christi Ketchum, and co-facilitated by Sherrae M. Hayes, Ph.D. The day included:

• A Courageous Conversations Space
• Several activities highlighting their strength(s) through struggle
• Analysis of Beyoncé's "Formation" video in relationship to their lives
• A touching closing ceremony on the beach shores of the Indian Ocean

We would tell you more, but the rest of what happened is between the sisters and sisterhood that started that day and still continues to support each other across oceans via group chat and social media!

This year, I volunteered for the first time with TRG.  My purpose was to be of service to the organization and the students...and to learn. Teaching the workshop called “The Power and Purpose of Vision” bridged the message of love, faith, health, and life all the way from the United States to 120 students in a township in South Africa. Connecting experiences from how vision served to create success in my own life and translating that to students was unforgettable. The time spent singing with the children, dancing, and the smiles on faces reflecting joy and hope for the future. It connected me in such a universal, deep, and profound way that although I began the journey as a volunteer, at the conclusion of the conference, I had gained another family half way around the world. I am forever grateful for my TRG sisters - their courage and leadership. There is still an amazing need for time and resources.  So, do you hear it?  Yes, that is the call, the call to serve. It's your turn! To learn more about how you can join us next time - click here!