CEO of More than Peach joins both Ashoka & Acorns Advisory Boards
"As young people, and as we continue to grow, we are already making key contributions to our world. My goal is always to help improve the experiences of young people. That includes helping build whole spaces and ensuring our ideas and innovation are first credited -- and then elevated, dignified, and respected." -Bellen Woodard
CNBC Article: Gen Alpha kids are earning money. Here’s how parents can help them save and invest by Kamaron McNair
About Ashoka: "Ashoka is the world's largest network of social etrepreneurs" founded over 40 years ago and known as pioneers in social entrepreneurship.
Bellen & More than Peach Join Reading Rainbow!
More than Peach joins the new Reading Rainbow with host Mychal Threets. Check out the episode featuring MORE THAN PEACH: Changing the World...One Crayon at time narrated by Gabrielle Union.
Thank you for over 1 million views!
My Children's Book ballet brown: A Term, Attire, & Mindset
BALLET BROWN..DANCING WITH HEART
My newest children's book BALLET BROWN is now available on-shelf wherever books are sold! (TIME Cover Reveal). So what's BALLET BROWN about?
Shop BALLET BROWN by Bellen
Grab your copy TODAY to find out just how the magic happens! I encourage you to use the language and the mindset in your day-to-day.
because everyone deserves their right fit...
"Ballet pink" is a a beautiful color.., but that's not all. Pink was chosen in ballet as the most neutral shade to blend with the skin-tones of dancers when ballet originated in Europe. So having a shade neutral to your skin-tone is what ballet intends. Why? Because a dancer's "lines" and flow are central to ballet. Pink helps to elongate lines for lighter skin tones (consider the stage lights, also) and brown helps to elongate lines for brown skin-ttones Consider your right-fit and have the conversation with your studio today.
'ballet brown" alongside "ballet pink"
I coined the term for parity in how we discuss and advocate in dance.
Only a select-few local studios today advocate for young dancers to begin in what the art actually intends. If we say it, we can see it...and advocate for it when we don't.
While brown tights and shoes were introduced in the 70s by pioneer Arthur Mitchell, over fifty years later (50!), 99% + studios today still introduce dancers to ballet pink as an exclusive option. So "ballet brown" and BALLET BROWN compel us to invite more...without inequitable barriers.
I’d known ballet pink from the start but even with brown being added as options for tights & shoes, “ballet brown” still wasn’t exactly a thing. (“Hmm, that’s odd.”) So I began using that language as a little girl, first referring to a range of brown in ballet and then, to embrace the advocacy at-large. And now it's the title of my 2nd children's book too: Here to grow the experience of dancers, especially our youngest dancers so they begin on the right foot. It's also here to celebrate our “many beautiful colors” and grow how we see both brown and pink in ballet.
Learn more about "Ballet Brown" in the TIME Feature: https://time.com/collection/time100-voices/7085801/bellen-woodard-ballet-brown/
Top Story & Editor's Pick: Thanks Loudoun & Loudoun Times Mirror! ~Bellen
See how my crayons are more than crayons! More than Peach: There's magic here.-Bellen
MORE THAN PEACH (Bellen Woodard Original Picture Book) by Bellen Woodard available in more world languages where books are sold!
Written by Bellen Woodard, Illustrated by Fanny Liem, Published by Scholastic, Inc.
Bellen Woodard's inspiring 1st children's book, MORE THAN PEACH, is now available in Canadian French, and coming September 2024 in Spanish(!), wherever books are sold!
Order MÁS que DURAZNO (More than Peach in Spanish)
Share the sweet, inspiring story with exclusive back-matter with kids and classrooms around the world to empower and celebrate the power of ‘kidhood!’
This exciting addition to the More than Peach line of products is ready for pick-up at most stores where children's books are sold (but also tend to sell quickly)!
Learn more & ORDER copy today!
CEO & Pioneer of Bellen's More than Peach Project, 'Skin Color' Crayon Innovator, World's 1st Crayon Activist® & Scholastic Back-to-School Cover Story!
Bellen's inclusive crayons show how to be welcoming to everyone. Sparking an international movement, she’s inspired many and her crayons have become part of a global tapestry (including being held at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture and others)! #MoreThanPeach is about #MoreThanCrayons!
Scholastic Magazine: "A Color for Everyone" by Nicole Tocco
Photo Credit: Scholastic
Bellen Named TIME Magazine Top-5 Honoree for 1st-ever Kid of the Year !
TIME Magazine & Nickelodeon have named Bellen Woodard as a Top-5 Kid of the Year Honoree! The Honorees were featured on Nickelodeon's KOTY hosted by Trevor Noah. Thank you to Time, Nick, and the NICK/TIME Teams. Bellen, you've been our Kid of the Year! Congratulations to you and all of the young visionaries making such big differences.
