Why Our October Curvy Girl of the Month, Yasmine Arrington gave away $50,000
You guys have shared with me that my Curvy Girl of the Month series is inspiring. I think that's because the women profiled are always pushing and striving for greatness. Our October Curvy Girl of the Month exemplifies this ideal.
Yasmine Arrington -- activist, entrepreneur, student and plus model. I first met Yasmine virtually, through this blog actually. She's a subscriber and she even posted an entry in the Curvy Girl Diary. I met her in person at the Curves Rock runway show we were both a part of this past July. Trust me Yasmine's postitivity and sweet spirit is contagious. She and I will have a live Twitter chat, later this month, but enough from me, here is Yasmine in her own words:
Who is Yasmine?
I am a multi-faceted young professional. I am a plus model, motivational speaker, radio personality and the founder and Executive Director of the non-profit ScholarCHIPS (For Children of Incarcerated Parents).
Photo by Eric Costle of Lov is Lov Photography
Yasmine, with friends and family at a ScholarCHIPS benefit concert at Elon University in Elon, NC.
I graduated from Elon University in May 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Communications and History and I am now working on a Master of Divinity degree at Howard University. I am also working as an education fellow at Hager Sharp, a PR firm in D.C.
OK, y'all let me interrupt the interview briefly here to tell you how awed and inspired I am by Yasmine’s ScholarChips program. The non-profit provides college scholarships to high school students whose parents are incarcerated. Yasmine realized there was a need based on her own experience in 2010, as a college bound student who grew up with an incarcerated parent. Yasmine is pretty modest so she didn't tell me this in her interview, but after some research I found out that to date, ScholarCHIPS has awarded over $50,000 in college scholarships, positively impacting 23 scholars!!
OK, back to the interview or as Beyonce would say... CARRY ON!
How are you embracing the #FortheLoveofCurves mantra and living life to the fullest:
I embrace #FortheLoveofCurves daily! I take pride in being a fashionable, curvy girl. I travel to multiple cities throughout the year to walk in curvy fashion shows and to model for various clients’ clothing websites. I also aim to encourage other plus and curvy women to embrace their bodies through positive posts on my social media channels, as well as sharing encouraging words with people in person.
Are you working on any upcoming projects?
You can see photos from our most recent awards ceremony on our Facebook page and website!
Additionally, we are preparing for DC's Half and Half’s annual marathon 5k race which will be Saturday, November 7, 2015 at 8am. Proceeds will go to ScholarCHIPS. You may register on thieir site. Hurry, slots are filling up fast! If you’d like to receive updates from us, you may subscribe or email us requesting to be placed on our mailing list.
You are welcome to donate to ScholarCHIPS at any time via www.scholarchipsfund.com. I, as well as, my scholars am always grateful for the support
If Yasmine's story sounds familiar, maybe you saw her featured in November 2012 on BET's Black Girls Rock and awarded the Making A Difference award. I told y'all this woman is phenomenal!! If you are interested in having Yasmine come and speak to your organization, youth group, women's group, or congregation you may email her directly at yarrington@elon.edu.
Yasmine encompass the word model in two ways, she’s a role model and she is also a plus size fashion model, so If you’re interested in having Yasmine model for your brand you may reach Yasmine at her personal email listed above.
Photo by Rick Jones of R Jones Photography.
To keep up with Yasmine and her busy schedule, you may check her out on:
Twitter and Instagram: @Yazziespeaks
ScholarChips
Twitter and Instagram: @Scholarchips
If you want to know more about any of the amazing entrepreneurial women profiled on Curvy Girl Chronicles, subscribe to this blog. And if you want to tell YOUR story, subscribe or shoot me an email, you could be the next inspiration for thousands of women.