Since 2009, my girls mentoring program, Polished Pebbles, has positively changed the lives of over 600 girls. Girls in Polished Pebbles receive 60-120 hours per year of interaction and learning with positive role models. These young ladies build relationships over time during sessions held directly in their own schools or communities that help to positively affect their lives.
An example of just one of the many success stories of Polished Pebbles is Pertesha. After joining Polished Pebbles, Pertesha made many personal improvements that helped change her life from when she was in high school to where she is now.
A Polished Pebbles’ alumna, Pertesha sat down with me to discuss how being in Polished Pebbles and involved in programs such as the Bloomingdale’s Brown Bag Apprenticeship Program impacted her life.
THIS IS A STORY THAT SHOULD GO VIRAL! Please share and consider giving to Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring Program this holiday season by clicking here: www.gofundme.com/PolishedPebbles.com
I thank you for loving our girls, and your continued support!
Can we allow reality TV stars be the example of how women seem to NEVER get along?Do we as women in the community take the responsibility of doing the work to demonstrate for girls what REAL women working together looks like?
Examples of Women Working Together:
Which example will we choose to exhibit for our girls?
I’d like to share the story of two girls who both participated in Second Saturday’s Program of Polished Pebbles, the mentoring program I founded in Chicago. The Second Saturday’s program is monthly workshop that is free and open to girls throughout Chicagoland, but it also includes a network of girls who participate in Polished Pebbles’ after school programs through out the year, at different partnering schools and communities. Two girls from two different communities in Chicago, Altgeld Gardens and Dearborn Homes, met each other for the first time at the Second Saturdays Program, and struck up a friendship. Let’s say their names are “Tenisha” &” Mariah.” That friendship that started at monthly Polished Pebbles meetings turned into calling each other, sending text messages, and even working together at the same summer job.
As funding for education and youth initiatives seems to be frequently under fire in under-resourced communities, at the beginning of this school year, it looked as though our service to three of the communities of girls we worked with for two years would be cut. This meant that we would no longer be able to support the girls in the two communities that both “Tenisha” and “Mariah” resided in. Potentially losing the opportunity to work with these girls was devastating, because we didn’t want to jeopardize the relationship we had built with the girls of these communities. Additionally, many of our girls are facing so many challenges in their daily lives, including maintaining trust with people because they’ve been let down so often. We didn’t want Polished Pebbles to be yet another group of adults who let them down and broke their trust.
When the word got out to the women who volunteer and mentor with Polished Pebbles they put their heads and resources together. The were firm in ensuring we would be able to continue to work with these girls no matter the obstacles. Now, you must know this is a large and very eclectic group of women from different professions, backgrounds, neighborhoods, walks of life, veteran mentors, and women volunteering for the very first time. But, all differences were put aside when the best interest of our girls were involved. They raised the money to cover the costs for the girls to participate in the upcoming bowling trip, and the funds to bus them to our Second Saturday program throughout the school year.
Because of the support of these women working together, we are able to maintain our relationships with the three communities of girls . Because of these women working together, the girls didn’t have to again experience abandonment and a lack of love. The support of these women working together enables Polished Pebbles mentees to maintain their relationships with girls from different communities throughout Chicagoland that they’ve established in the Polished Pebbles Network. And, because of these powerful women working together, the friendship between our two girls from two different communities, “Tenisha” & “Mariah”, is solidified even further. Now, they can continue to SEE each other monthly and learn together at the Polished Pebbles Second Saturdays program-the place where they initially met.
#sisterhood
As the Role Models and mentors in this group mentoring initiative, Polished Pebbles, or any mentoring program in any city for that matter, it is our duty to foster a culture of seamless relationships of WOMEN and GIRLS Working Together in unison and purpose. From this story you can tell we’re doing just that. But, the work isn’t done. We have to constantly work to make sure that we are modeling what strong working relationships, friendships, and networks of women should look like, and that starts with how we plan and prepare for the work we do with our girls! Demonstrating positive examples of teamwork is definitely a “Cornerstone of Effective Mentoring.” We can’t let the poor and misleading examples depicted in reality TV series be the only examples of how our girls see women, and women of color ,interact. It’s a lot of work, but I’m encouraged. What a wonderful journey we’re embarking upon. I couldn’t be more excited to journey with a greater group of women!
Got my bags packed!
Kelly
KellyFairTheMentor
Want to get more tips and insight on mentoring urban youth and girls? Share and follow, www.kellyfairthementor.wordpress.com. Want to join us with mentoring at Polished Pebbles? Email us at info@polishedpebbles.
I recently accepted an invitation to appear on the web-based forum, “Speak To Truth with Carl West”. During the conversation, the Mr. West was surprised when I mentioned my current volunteer work with organizations outside of Polished Pebbles. Though there seems to be a huge struggle among organizations over resources and funding, I choose to operate under the belief that there is enough to go around. And, after so many people have donated their time, energy and knowledge in assisting with the development of Polished Pebbles, it is only right to continue to pay it forward and help others. It was with this in mind that this blog space was created.
I love my community unconditionally. And I enjoy working with others who feel the same because sustainable community efforts require community ownership in order to make an impact. Creating a framework in which community members are engaged takes a great deal of effort and commitment, but I’d rather share my knowledge with those interested in stepping into the youth mentoring arena, than for them to learn the hard way.
Continuous giving aids in the cultivation of relationships and opportunities. So as I share my experiences, I look forward to hearing back from you. Please feel free to ask questions, as this is an interactive medium. For extensive inquiries or consultation, please contact me at [email protected].
For the last four years, with Polished Pebbles, I have been empowering girls throughout Chicagoland to find their voices by equipping them with effective communications skills, providing access to proper mentors, and exposure to powerful life experiences. It has been an awesome experience to reach over 500 girls with the assistance of numerous organizations, businesses, and hundreds of volunteers and supporters. But, perhaps what’s been most amazing for me is the opportunity I’ve had to grow right along with the girls, personally and professionally. I often share with the girls that a big of part of my drive in starting Polished Pebbles lies in the truth that I too was a shy girl, and it took me until I got to college to really unleash my leadership abilities, and build my confidence.
I had a personal mentor of mine who always impressed upon me that “we’re always teaching, and we’re always learning.” I’ve had lots of growing pains building Polished Pebbles, and finding my voice in this new venture has been a journey. But, I’ve come to realize now that we’ve learned a lot in creating Polished Pebbles and growing it from a single site group mentoring program with less than 20 mentors and only 2 girls at our first monthly meeting, to a program that has served 500 girls through 15 program sites serving University of Chicago Charter Schools, Chicago Public Schools, and the Chicago Housing Authority. I feel impelled and that it’s my responsibility to our communities to share some of what we’ve grown through during this Polished Pebbles experience; this will include strategies that we’ve learned, and knowledge gained from staff, volunteers, partners, and of course our girls.
Every Thursday, you can expect a weekly update to this blog, “Kelly Fair The Mentor” including:
Encouragement and support in realizing the role each of us can play in impacting our youth
Tips and strategies on strengthening mentoring efforts in your communities
Insight from our rock-star staff, volunteers, and families, and of course our girls!
As I continue to grow and develop along with Polished Pebbles, I look forward to sharing the journey with you.
A couple of weeks ago at our Polished Pebbles’ Open House for interested mentors and volunteers, over 50 women made the commitment to challenge themselves to declare at least one thing that they have to offer the Polished Pebbles girls, community, and organization. They participated in a 7-day social media challenge were they included things like:
Quite often far too many of us feel ill equipped to tackle the issues in our community, but the reality is that we have everything that we need for healing and empowerment! So, join us and declare at least one thing today that you have to offer the Polished Pebbles community, or the girls or youth in your community! Is it your commitment, positive attitude, marketing skills, fundraising skills? What do you have to offer? Please let us know below in the comments section.
If you’re interested in volunteering or mentoring with Polished Pebbles in Chicago, email us at [email protected]. Our next mentor/volunteer orientation will be September 28th from 10 a.m.- 12 p.m. at the Chicago Urban League (4510 S. Michigan Avenue) or visit the Polished Pebbles page for more information http://www.polishedpebbles.com.
Interested in mentoring in other communities across the country, please check out databases of other mentoring programs at National CARES Mentoring Movement http://caresmentoring.org/.
