Motivating Young Women Inspires Mentor

By The Miami Herald - Posted on 10 November 2006

``You get hooked,'' says Jennifer Valoppi, of what has kept her going for almost a decade as the founder and president of the Women of Tomorrow Mentor & Scholarship Program. ``At the end of the day, it's about the girls - helping to motivate and inspire them.''
Running the show at WOT and anchoring two newscasts at WTVJ/NBC-6 kept Valoppi busy. Too busy. Though television journalism was her career choice, helping disadvantaged young women remained her passion - and in 2004, she decided to devote her time to the cause. ``It feeds into my love of psychology [her major at Oakland University in California],'' says the Emmy award winner.

WOT isn't exactly a run-of-the-mill philanthropic organization. The hook: bigwig contacts. Valoppi's cadre of 200 mentors includes doctors, lawyers, writers, entrepreneurs and judges.

The board of directors reads like a South Florida Who's Who directory - e.g., Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Judy Kreeger, and Don Browne, president and CEO of Telemundo International. Browne is a co-founder, and some volunteers are too, but the majority of mentors - and all the students - are female. Entirely on purpose.

``I think women are the ones most in need of help,'' says Valoppi. ``Research has shown that many men think women are inferior . . . but that's not what is holding us back - it's that most women agree.''

She drives the point home: ``Research has also shown that the women who are on top like being there, and don't want to help others get there.''

Not so with WOT volunteers, all of whom are happy to share their expertise and stories of how they rose to the top. WOT also doubles as a scholarship program - awarding money at institutions like DeVry University in Fort Lauderdale ($2,000 per semester for up to nine semesters) and the Miami International University of Art & Design ($10,000).

Valoppi remembers the day in 1999, two years after the original program launched, when the charity idea was hatched. She and a few board members were out to dinner, including Mariita Srebnick, president of Miami-based Scott Notions, a manufacturer of zippers, snaps and hangers.

``We were all just throwing some ideas around,'' Valoppi recounts. ``And Mariita said, `It's great that we're giving them the benefit of our experience, but let's go a step further and get them some resources.' ''

Today WOT reaches close to 1,800 young women in 91 South Florida public high schools and has awarded more than $1 million in scholarships to over 300 students. Many have become nurses, one girl went to Columbia University, another particularly proud student was the first in her family to go to college.

``I've had women come up to me, years later, throwing their arms around me, saying, `You've saved my life.' It's these gestures - and knowing you helped someone get on their feet - that makes all the effort worthwhile.''

Three days before Thanksgiving a few years ago, Valoppi got word that one of her girls was living in a shelter with her family. ``We worked the phones 24 hours nonstop,'' Valoppi says. ``Got them in temporary housing, helped the mother get a job and they all even got to sit down to a turkey dinner.''

The payoff was big. Within a few weeks, the girl went from a D and E student to A's and B's.

More excitement came during an Oct. 17 trip to Tallahassee. Valoppi went to the governor's mansion to pick up the 2006 Points of Light Award from Gov. Jeb Bush. The weekly award recognizes a Florida resident or organization that demonstrates exemplary community service.

``It's the state's highest honor so it really adds validity to what we do,'' says Valoppi. ``Very nice.''