The YouthQuest Foundation has teamed up with GRL-PWR founders Bria Toussaint and Royal Phillips to expand their girls’ empowerment program.
The Foundation connected Bria and Royal with the South Carolina Youth ChalleNGe Academy in Eastover, where they spent last weekend teaching a group of female Cadets how to build self-esteem and be positive role models. Now that these at-risk teens are familiar with the curriculum and class activities, those who choose to continue with the program can work with Bria and Royal to become official GRL-PWR mentors for younger girls.
South Carolina is the third state to get a taste of GRL-PWR.
It started in Virginia three years ago when Bria and Royal were students at Freedom High School in Loudoun County. They had been through challenges that are common to at-risk youth, including low self-esteem, poverty, divorce, domestic violence and family tragedy. At age 16, Bria went through the ordeal of confronting her father’s murderer in court. Instead of becoming victims of their situation, Bria and Royal bonded and created a program to help other at-risk girls. GRL-PWR won first place in last year’s Loudoun Youth Step Up competition, which our Foundation sponsors. Step Up gives teens the opportunity to develop solutions to problems they see in their communities.
Encouraged by the recognition from YouthQuest and Loudoun Youth, Bria and Royal turned GRL-PWR into a nonprofit organization and set their sights on reaching more girls. As freshmen at Spelman College in Atlanta, they launched a GRL-PWR class for 5th and 6th graders at a charter school. They’re starting a program on the Spelman campus to train students to be mentors for younger girls.
The YouthQuest Foundation will continue to help Bria and Royal take GRL-PWR to Youth ChalleNGe academies in states from coast to coast.