Throughout March, WTOP is celebrating Women’s History Month. Join us on air and online as we honor the achievements of women in our community.
At 9 years old, Carolyn Deol wanted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women getting the right to vote by creating an organization which encourages young people to be involved in the democratic process and give back to their communities.
Now, five years later, “The Yellow Roses” continues its work by honoring some inspiring women during Women’s History Month.
“We’ve done so many things in the past five years, and one of them is our Women’s History Month of service, which this year will be our fourth year of doing it,” Deol said.
Deol, now 13 years old, lives in Rockville, Maryland, with her family and started the organization from a home schooling lesson that began during the pandemic.
Deol said this year’s service projects will honor three influential women.
On March 23 at the Olney Library, the organization will honor Alice Paul, who was a leader in the women’s suffrage movement and led the charge to get the 19th Amendment — which gave women the right to vote — passed.
“We’re going to be reading about Alice Paul in the book ‘Miss Paul and the President,’ because she’s one of the first women that we honor when we started our organization, because she is a suffragist, she fought tirelessly for women getting the right to vote,” Deol said.
The book is a children’s book by Dean Robbins which tells Paul’s story.
“She’s very inspiring,” Deol added.
From March 24 to 31, the Yellow Roses will honor Dolores Huerta of New Mexico, who helped form the National Farm Workers Association, which looked at the needs and addressed the concerns of farmworkers.
“We’re collecting used long-sleeve shirts to help protect farmworkers from the sun and from pesticides,” Deol said.
Shirt donations will be accepted March 30 and 31 near Lake Needwood in Rockville, among other spots in the D.C. region.
Also on March 30 and 31, the organization plans to honor Mamie Todd, who was known for her social work in the state of Maryland. The organization plans to do so by assembling self-care kits for women arriving at House of Ruth, which is a shelter for victims of domestic violence.
“These kids provide women with essential items that they need to care for themselves, such as deodorants, shampoo, bar soap, toothbrush, toothpaste,” Deol said.
Mamie Todd helped create the Department of Child Protective Services in the state and played a pivotal role in the creation of the University of Maryland School of Social Work.
“She is an incredible advocate from Maryland, actually, that not many people know about,” Deol said.
For Deol, the organization began because there were few options for those under age 18 to give back.
Whether the group’s work during last year’s election to make sure voter information is accessible, to its many activities like handing out a thousand mugs for seniors around the region, Deol said she has enjoyed watching the organization grow.
Deol’s mother, Kate Amburgey, said her daughter continues to amaze her each and every day.
“I am absolutely so proud of Carolyn for all of the leadership that she has demonstrated at such a young age, and I just see her as such an example for other young people that you can achieve and you can reach for your goals and really help your community,” Amburgey said.
Deol said she hopes to show that you’re never too young to get involved. She has big plans too, hoping to establish the Yellow Roses School of Social Justice one day.
“It would be like a summer camp or something like that, where people can bring their kids to have an in-depth learning curriculum about different social movements,” Deol said. “I think it would be a really cool way to get other kids inspired.”
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