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Doula Scholarship Program
Are you getting excited about the upcoming Maternal* Support Practitioner (aka Birth Worker or doula) Training?!  We sure are! And we are extra excited about our Birth Worker Training Scholarship Program! Did you know that we ensure that our whole team reads all of the applications submitted? For the upcoming application process, we will be keeping an eye out for submissions that match the spirit of the bebo mia community.  Want to know more about how to write a winning application? Read on to learn all about this session’s awards!
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Clear Light Birth Mindful Advocate Scholarship Award
The applicant of the Clear Light Birth Mindful Advocate Scholarship Award must have a background in social justice advocacy (professional or volunteer), be multilingual and plan to offer their services to families who do not speak English as their primary language. The candidate must have an interest in mindfulness as a self mastery practice and as a catalyst for equity and collective healing. This scholarship is provided in collaboration with Clear Light BirthÂ
The Black Moms Connection-it Takes a Community Scholarship
The applicant of the Black Moms Connection – it Takes a Community Scholarship must be between living and or working within Canada or the United States, in the field of reproductive health and justice and must work with Black communities. The winner of this award must be a parent and have the personal lived experience as a Black Mother. This scholarship is provided in collaboration with Black Moms Connection.Â
Gold Coast Doulas- Ask the Doulas Podcast Scholarship
To apply for this award, the candidate must be low-income and/or diverse individuals who plans on focusing their business around postpartum doula work. This scholarship is provided in collaboration with Gold Coast Doulas
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The Global Doula Project Scholarship
The applicants of The Global Doula Project Scholarship must live outside North America. Candidates need to have an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for social change. There are 4 full scholarships being provided in collaboration with The Global Doula Project.
The Gina Mundy Award
Applicant of this award must be between the ages of 18 and 50 and be living in the United States. They must intend to work with clients as a childbirth doula and have a personal experience with childbirth, whether as a parent, a close family member or previous work in birth-related professions. The candidate must have a goal to work with families to help them have a safer childbirth and prevent birth trauma. A letter of recommendation must be submitted from a professional in the field, such as midwives, obstetricians, or other doula, who can attest to their dedication and suitability as a birth doula. They must also read Chapter 1 of the book “A Parent’s Guide to a Safer Childbirth” which is free at ginamundy.com under the resource tab. This award is provided in collaboration with Gina Mundy.
beU Complete Empowerment Scholarship
The applicant of the beU Complete Empowerment Scholarship must identify as female or non-binary, between the ages of 18-35, reside in the United States or Canada, with preference given to those in rural or underserved areas. The candidate must have personal experience or a strong interest in holistic health practices, and a history or passion for supporting women through significant life events, such as childbirth. They must show a strong passion for assisting birthing individuals who have experienced trauma or who lack access to adequate resources and must demonstrate a commitment to becoming a holistic and empowered doula, intending to work with diverse and underserved populations, providing compassionate and holistic support to birthing individuals. Candidates must show evidence of previous community involvement through volunteering, advocacy, or educational outreach, and have a plan to use their doula training to positively impact their community, focusing on holistic and empowering birth support. They also must be pursuing certification or further education in becoming an empowered doula, with a clear vision of how they will use their training to empower and support birthing individuals through holistic practices. This award is provided in collaboration with Tansy Rogers-beU Complete
Informed and Inclusive Birth Worker Scholarship
The applicant of the Informed and Inclusive Birth Worker Scholarship must belong to an underrepresented community and reside in the United States. They must either be currently practicing or planning to undergo training to become a full spectrum birth worker (supporting pregnancy, postpartum, abortion, or loss) in the next year. Upon acceptance of the scholarship, the candidate must also submit 500 words or less about the impact they would like to make in their community based on their own experiences and from undergoing the bebo mia training. This scholarship is provided in collaboration with The Educated Birth.Â
The Body Liberator Award
The Body Liberator Award recognizes an applicant who is fiercely committed to breaking down the systems of oppression around the size of bodies: including, but not limited to weight stigma, fatphobia, eating disorders, movement, body image etc. This person is leading the charge around promoting freedom, respect, autonomy and love for folks in bigger bodies. They may be doing this work through their own personal growth/experiences and/or through their work/volunteering/business etc.Â
The Intersectional or Bust Award
This award recognizes an applicant whose project idea or business plan works to dismantle the impact of structural oppression in reproductive health in their community. The recipient will position their unique understanding of the interconnected nature of race, gender, sexual orientation, ability and class to create opportunities that directly challenge these oppressive forces. By working directly with people whose lives are impacted by these destructive forces, the recipient’s contributions will increase access to opportunities for individual empowerment and make steps toward a sense of equity and justice for BIPOC and/or 2SLGBTQA+ individuals within the healthcare system.   Â
The BIPOC Doula Journey Bursary
The BIPOC Doula Journey Bursary recognizes a Black, Indigenous, Person of Colour applicant who demonstrates an aptitude for birth work, client care, and a genuine desire to start and grow their own doula business.
The Queers for Queer Care Award
The Queers for Queer Care Award recognizes a person who self-identifies as being a part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and who also plans to serve 2SLGBTQIA+ clients. The recipient’s business plan will use their intimate understanding of the challenges that 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals face to help them navigate healthcare systems that are commonly cisgender and heteronormative, to ensure that their clients are treated with dignity and respect throughout their journey of reproductive health, birth, and parenting.
The bebo mia Be Brave Award
The bebo mia Be Brave Award recognizes an applicant whose lived experience has afforded them a deeper understanding of their worth and potential. The recipient will demonstrate this connection through their resilience of spirit, positive attitude, and willingness to meet challenges head-on. Their business plan and personal goals reflects the spirit of bebo mia’s mission: to connect folx to their intrinsic value and power through excellent, evidence-based doula care, prenatal and/or childbirth education.
The Birth Justice Award
 The Birth Justice Award recognizes an applicant whose project idea or business plan works to dismantle structured inequality and challenge the lack of consent and violence that is commonplace in reproductive health and obstetrics. The recipient understands that the experience of violence and trauma greatly influences early family life and parenting experiences. The recipient seeks to create change by advocating for choice, informed consent and improving the outcomes for individuals and communities with whom they engage. Â
The Philanthropy Award
The Philanthropy Award recognizes an applicant whose project, personal goals, or business plan includes a component of paying it forward. The recipient will demonstrate a spirit of altruism and exhibit a dedication to generosity, and will have a solid plan around how they will use their doula training to give back to their local community or to underserved populations.Â
**NOTE: We reserve the right to not award one or more of the scholarship program if the criteria is not met in the applicants.
The #bebobabes couldn’t be more proud and excited to be working alongside the awesome Birth Worker Training Scholarship Program! Our group of committed team members are student-centered and compassionate and are 100% dedicated to the responsibility of reviewing each and every scholarship application our community forwards to us with integrity and respect. We are committed to offering each application the full consideration that the person who wrote it deserves.
Want to learn about some of our past scholarship recipients? You can check out some of the winners on our blog if you search the term ‘scholarship‘.
Want to apply for the doula training scholarship program?
Applications Are Open!
The deadline for application submissions is:
August 30th, 2024 at 11:59pm PT
Scholarship winners will be announced:
September 17th, 2024 at 1pm ET
Want a handy dandy guide for the application process?
Click here!Â
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*bebo mia believes that language matters. We acknowledge the ongoing debate that the term/word maternal is experienced by some as inherently gendered and thereby oppressive. We hear this and we encourage folks to take up titles, names and words to best align with their values and practices. We have spent time consulting with educators, community, healers and organizers and in service of taking up a spectrum of feminine energy as a means to dismantling the patriarchy and, in turn, toxic masculinity, we want to explore taking up some historically feminine words. We feel that this action is just one of many ways in which we can counterbalance the inherently toxic masculine energy present in online and birth spaces. This is why, after years of surveys and community consultations and mentorship we have arrived at a meaning for the word ‘maternal’. We believe maternal to symbolize ‘protection, nurturance and care’ and we would like to invite anyone who feels connected to this to try this term on and see if it fits. It’s ok if it doesn’t. You get to call yourself whatever you like!
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BLISS IN BUSINESS RETREAT
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It’s been a dream of mine to become a doula, because no one valued my opinion of doing a natural birthing in a natural environment instead of going the route of giving birth in a hospital. I do believe that everyone is in charge of their destiny, and this is mine.