“Because every sister needs a buddy”

In February 2009, iask kicked off our national sister buddy group program.  The “buddy groups” are simply small groups of women (5-12) who gather monthly or as often as they desire to come together in a sprit of sisterhood and fellowship under the iask umbrella.

What is a Sister Buddy Group:
It is a small group of women (who are all iask members) who meet together regularly based on local regions and zip codes. The goal of these groups is to recreate the close knit sisterly relations iask had when it was first formed by 16 women in May 2004. As we grew into a larger national organization we lost some of the intimacy and close fellowship that we enjoyed when we were growing. The sister buddy groups should gather regularly for fellowship, discussions, coffee, dinner outings, lunch, service projects, or peer counseling sessions as they agree to do so and are able.

Why Be a Part of a Sister Buddy Group:
All of us as professional women, working moms, single sisters, college students and aging women have a great many demands being placed on our time and on our emotional resources. We rarely have time for ourselves. Many of us are facing life challenges, health challenges, career and professional transitions, and relational challenges that are forcing us inward instead of outward. We rarely have time to socialize in a meaningful way with other women. Simply put—every sister needs a buddy. Everyone needs “connection” with other likeminded women and everyone needs to have a positive, transformational safe outlet in their lives that helps them to grow personally, professionally and relationally. That is what these groups are all about.

How Will We Operate Groups:
From March through June we operated as larger regional buddy groups in the DC Metro region and in our National Group. Now that  sisters have gotten better acquainted we will break off into smaller groups of 7-10 ladies within local zip code and regions by state starting in September 2009. All meetings should start out in the same manner, we will never choose the primary activity for the Sister Buddy Group but your group is asked to do certain things under the iask, Inc. umbrella. Buddy Group activities should include (but not be limited to)  Sister Buddy Groups Meetings/Outings/Book Clubs/Service Projects/Health & Wellness weekend trips, etc.

Requirements:

• Each Sister Buddy Group is expected to participate in a service project of your choosing that fits within one of the iask platforms (emotional wellness, health, career, faith based project, or relationships) either in your own group or in your region/state cluster and read at least one (1) book per year as an organization of sisters.
• All regular participants of the Sister Buddy Groups should be annual dues paying members of iask, Inc.
• As a sister of iask & a member of a Sister Buddy Group, we want you to understand that these groups are designed to be a place of solace, comfort and renewal for each woman present. These groups are an active tangible extension of the iask organization. They are our way of “staying connected” outside of our annual events, workshops, and the signature events. Anything that is shared within the meeting is confidential on your honor and should not be shared with anyone outside of the Sister Buddy Group. If an emergency or crisis situation becomes apparent with a sister or sisters within the group we have iask wellness coordinators who you can reach out to for guidance and support.

DC Buddy Group Cluster 1

MD Buddy Group Cluster 2