Tag: mentoring program

Investing in the Future of Black Girls

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As many of you know, Kelly Fair was an ambassador for the Chicago Community Trust at the On the Table Discussion Tuesday evening. We had our discussion with a diverse group of people from community service members (social workers, school counselors, etc), teachers, businessmen, and even officers of the court. She lead her topic, Investing in the Future of Black Girls, with inspiring community leaders to teach them that everyday citizens are agents of change. Kelly Fair has often focused “on the other side of the crisis”. Black girls are living and developing in the same communities as black boys, yet they do not receive as much attention. Their fight is an invisible one. Polished Pebbles, Kelly Fair, and On the Table 2015 brought a voice to that struggle.

This year, Kimberlé Crenshaw released a report, Black Girls Matter: Pushed Out, Overpoliced and Underprotected. According to Crenshaw:

Ideally, the conversation Black Girls Matter: Pushed Out, Overpoliced, and Underprotected engenders within communities and among philanthropists, policy makers, stakeholders, and advocates will lead to the inclusion of girls in efforts to address school discipline, push-out, and the pathways to incarceration, poverty, and low-wage work. We are especially hopeful that ongoing efforts to resolve the crisis facing boys of color will open up opportunities to examine the challenges facing their female counterparts.

Crenshaw and Kelly Fair agree on multiple points. Like Crenshaw, Fair believes more research, media, and communities need to focus on young, African-American women. From sex trafficking to school discipline, our girls are in danger in their very communities. As local community leaders, you are able to make changes, to be a voice for this invisible fight! We want to empower you to stand up for your community, for your young, black girls. For all of those who already have, thank you for your courage, for all of those who have yet to do so, thank you for reading our message. We want to continue our discussions! Comment, share, and spark conversation with those around you. Because together she will shine!

From Polished Pebbles and Kelly Fair, thank you to all who attended Polished Pebbles facilitated On the Table discussion. We appreciate your voice, heart, and presence. Thank you to Chicago Community Trust for allowing us to share this conversation with our community.

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Kelly Fair: Ambassador to Chicago Community Trust

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If you don’t already know, Kelly Fair will be serving as an ambassador for the Chicago Community Trust “On the Table” discussions!

I’m Kelly Fair and I’m the founder of Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring Program. Founded in 2009, Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring Program has been intimately involved in developing and implementing successful youth development programs. I’m motivated to continue my work in mentoring, because I’m a successful byproduct of strong Chicago-based youth mentoring and job readiness initiatives. So, I know personally that mentoring works, which is why am excited every time a new company jumps on board to providing career-related mentoring to our girls.

Watch this video to learn more about Kelly Fair and Polished Pebbles’ role at “On the Table”:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xddz31GkmKk&w=560&h=315]

For more information, click here…

You Should Know: L’Oreal Thompson Payton

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unnamedWe want you to know L’Oreal Thompson Payton!

A Charm City girl in the Windy City, L’Oreal Thompson Payton is a professional storyteller with a penchant for people and a passion for purple. When she’s not busy writing, L’Oreal enjoys reading, dancing and devouring delicious cupcakes. Follow L’Oreal on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and visit her blog at LTintheCity.com.

How did you first get involved with Polished Pebbles?

I started volunteering with Polished Pebbles in January 2014. I had recently moved to Chicago and I desperately wanted to “give back” to the community. Helping young girls, especially young Black girls, has always been a passion of mine and I wanted to get involved with an organization that did just that. I came across Polished Pebbles in a Google search and, coincidentally, was later introduced to the founder, Kelly Fair, in my previous position as the Digital Content Editor for JET magazine. I recall attending the Second Saturday program that January (it was a Zumba class) and immediately falling in love with the program and the girls.

What is your role as a mentor for youth, primarily young, black girls, in your community?

As a mentor, my primary goal is to serve as a positive role model for young Black girls in the community. I’m always available to help and offer advice and really just be their biggest cheerleader. We all need someone in our corner cheering us on and shouting, “You can do it!” I believe in our girls and I want to be an example to them that anything is possible. I want them to see what I’ve accomplished and know that they can do it, too.

Who are the stand-out mentors in your life?

Wow, I have so many! First and foremost, my mom has constantly demonstrated what it means to be an upstanding daughter, wife, mother, business woman and woman of God. She is my rock.

Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to have several female editors who’ve taken me under their wings. Because of those editors, I’ve learned valuable life and career skills that I firmly believe have contributed to my overall success. I simply wouldn’t be here without the wonderful women (and loving men) in my life.

What ignited your passion for giving back to the community?

In middle school, I was constantly bullied for being smart (I skipped a grade), talking “White,” and for being ugly. There were nights when I prayed to God to make me White so I would be more beautiful. I literally hated the color of my skin and felt so unworthy. As an adult, I’ve realized I’m probably not the only girl who’s ever felt this way and it’s my personal mission to help young girls so hopefully they never have to feel that way.

How do you define philanthropy? How do you engage with it?

The Greek definition of philanthropy is “love of humanity.” For the most part, I think people typically equate philanthropy with rich people who donate a lot of money to a good cause. So I don’t consider myself a philanthropist in that sense of the word, but rather the original Greek version: I have a love of helping young girls.

There are plenty of ways to make a difference–whether it’s donating your time, money and/or talent; however, I do believe it’s important to “put your money where your mouth is,” which is why I contribute to Polished Pebbles on a regular basis. It’s an organization I truly believe in so I want to invest in our girls and help them succeed.

What is one barrier affecting young, black girls you have identified? Any solutions?

Nowadays, there are so many programs, such as My Brother’s Keeper, dedicated to helping young Black men, which is both awesome and necessary. But what about the girls? They live in the same neighborhoods as these young men, but it seems as though their needs and issues are often overlooked. I think programs like Polished Pebbles are part of the solution, but we can’t do it alone.

We need big companies to make an investment and show are girls they are valuable and worthy. For example, Google donated $190,000 to Black Girls Code last year…that’s a huge step in the right direction and other companies should follow in their footsteps. But the real work starts at home with positive role models in the community leading the way.

Do you have any final thoughts for us?

My hope is that every young Black girl will grow up knowing she is beautiful and worthy. I want each of them to feel empowered to accomplish their dreams and goals.

Happy Holidays!

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From KellyFairtheMentor and Polished Pebbles, we want to say MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS! May the holidays be a blessing to you and yours. Thank you for all that you do to support our girls!

If you would like to give a little gift this holiday season, consider donating to Polished Pebbles. It can be a one time, monthly, or annual donation. The upcoming 2015 is sure to be filled with many more activities and programs to enrich the lives of our girls. We would love your support! Donate here…

Let’s keep taking care of one another!

Celebrating Another Year of Mentoring Girls in Chicago!

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As you complete either major projects, summer initiatives, or even programming years with your youth mentoring programs, it’s always important to celebrate your victories through documentation and photographs.  It’s a great way to historically document your achievements as an organization, the achievements of the youth that you serve, demonstrate the achievements of contributing staff and volunteers, and it also serves as some evidence of your potential impact as a youth mentoring program.  This celebratory documentation can be in the format of individualized letters or communications with pictures directed towards specific stakeholders like partnering schools, organizations, and sponsors. You can share it in printed or electronic newsletters, or on social media as well.  And, it also can give you a great opportunity to motivate potential donors to give to your organization as well.  So, to mark the end of another successful programming year with my mentoring program Polished Pebbles I’ve decided to share some of our year-end newsletter with you!  Enjoy!

And, if you feel moved….you can donate to Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring Program here: GIVE!!!

Thanks,

Kelly

KellyFairTheMentor

 

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Spends His Downtime From Harpo Studios Supporting Youth Mentoring!

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More Than One Way to Support Youth Mentoring

Over the years, as we’ve continued our work with Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring Program, we’ve been fortunate to have our work supported by a network of 300+ volunteers within the Chicagoland area, and across the country.  So often, lots of people always say to me that they want to support our girls by mentoring at our Saturday and after school sites.  But, like all of us, there’s other priorities in life that can sometimes prevent us from making that level of commitment.

Last week I shared the story of one of our volunteers, Danielle Sackie Mensah,  who lives in New York and decided to contribute to our work with Polished Pebbles, even though she couldn’t come out and physically mentor our girls  at one of our sites.  Danielle designed our Women in The Workplace Timeline poster that we gave away to our girls to celebrate Women’s History Month.  This week, I was to share with you the profile of another young professional filmmaker, Corey Lewis.

The moment Cory S. Lewis stepped into his first television studio, he knew he was right at home. After his first “Take Your Child To Work Day” visit to the local CBS-affiliate in Chicago, he knew, at the age of 10, he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Cory began his undergraduate education at Grand Valley State University, in Allendale, MI. While at GVSU he spent his time honing his skills by shooting, producing, and editing several independent productions, and plan the start of the university’s first student-run television station, GVBN.

Cory would return to Chicago in 2009 and earn his Bachelor’s Degree, with an emphasis in Film/Television Production, from Chicago State University in 2011. While earning his undergraduate degree, Cory worked on the set of several feature films, including Transformers: Dark of the Moon & After Effect. Cory would also worked as a freelance cinematographer, to help pay his way through college.

Corey currently works at Harpo Studios as an Associate Post-Production Coordinator, working on shows like “Oprah’s Next Chapter”, “Oprah’s Lifeclass”, “Iyanla: Fix My Life”, the Emmy-Award winning “Super Soul Sunday”, and “Wanda Sykes Presents: Herlarious.”

How Corey Supports Our Girls in Polished Pebbles

About 4 years ago in the early days of Polished Pebbles I wanted to do a promo video for the organization.  I asked around with friends about finding a good videographer, and they referred me to Corey.  You can see the video he produced for us back then HERE ,or view it below.  And, Corey’s been supporting our work ever since then by helping us get the message out about the great girls, schools, and communities we serve through video.  Just through donating small amounts of his time, and his tremendous talent and guidance, he’s made a huge impact on our program, and our ability to properly market our work.  What talents, skills, and gifts do you have that you can share with a youth mentoring program in your community?  Think about it, and get going with sharing it the community of youth near you!

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Our youth deserve our time and talents!  Let’s keep sharing!

Kelly

KellyFairTheMentor

All Around The World It’s The Same Song: Starting A Mentoring Program in South Africa, Same Challenges…Same Rewards

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Karen & Haley’s First Mentoring Sessions in South Africa!

SA NoteWhen I started reading this email message I received from Karen Nelson, I was astounded.  I work hard to share content and ideas that people find useful and engaging here on “KellyFairTheMentor.”  And, it was so rewarding and surprising to get a note from someone who was reading our blog, and who found me all the way in South Africa! Karen and her friend Hayley have partnered to begin establishing a mentoring program in their community in South Africa.  They’re in the very early stages of developing and implementing their pilot program, but they’ve done a whole lot of research, identified partners in the community,  and have been working on building their curriculum.

As I began communicating with and coaching Karen and Hayley, I found that it was so awesome that there were so many similarities between their story, and the stories of many other women that I meet and work with who are passionate about establishing their own mentoring initiatives, and giving back to their communities.  Karen and her partner Hayley have known each other for 15 years, having met while working as attorneys. Their careers took them along different paths and for the past 8 years Karen has mainly focused on her family ( 4 kids) and community work. Hayley moved into HR and has worked mainly for ad agencies.  Approximately 18 months ago, they realized that they shared the same passion to work with young ladies from disadvantaged communities.  Their vision for the program has gone through several metamorphoses and what started off as a finishing school concept has become more of a mentoring program with 3 components: 1. mentoring, with personal growth and the acquisition of a  few hard skills as its emphasis (in-house); 2. accredited skills development training (out-sourced); 3. job shadows/internships (corporations).
Sound familiar?  For me it did, It sounded very much like my own story as I began taking my first action steps in starting Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring Program four years ago.  And their story sounded very similar to many of you in the mentoring community who are taking that leap into saying yes to the power of mentoring, and developing the mission and structure of your mentoring efforts with family, friends, and colleagues.  We have all done the analysis to determine the core needs of our youth,  and doing the planning to establish the programming to meet those needs.  In regards to recruiting volunteers, Karen and Haley have been targeting women from their own personal networks and older women in the communities that they plan on serving.  Sounds like a strategy many of us in youth and mentoring work here in the states have also implemented in our own communities.
Additionally, I also found it fascinating when Karen and Haley shared the challenges that girls were facing in their communities how they were almost identical to those of girls that we serve here in many of America’s inner cities:
  • teenage pregnancies
  • impact of gangsterism
  • dysfunctional homes
  • alcoholism and drug abuse
  • sub-standard levels of education

Karen and Haley were hesitant when I asked that they share pictures, because they felt they were too early on in establishing their mentoring program, and didn’t have the slick marketing material to properly present themselves.   But, I’m so thankful that they obliged, because there’s so much beauty and power in sharing these pictures, and their story of how they’re getting started.  It’s encouraging, because sometimes just getting started is actually the hardest part with running a mentoring program.  And, the learning and innovation in developing your program never stops.  I wanted to share their story because we’ve may have been where they are now, may currently be at this stage, or encouraged to move forward by the great amount of progress these two have already made.

I think we often mistakenly think that life on the other side of the globe has to be so starkly different than our own.  When I think about it, I’m reminded of the chorus from a song from the 90’s  from the rap group, Digital Underground.  The lyrics from the song accurately and wisely stated, “all around the world it’s the same song.”  And, it’s the same song when it comes to youth mentoring too, the same challenges, the same rewards, and the same experiences no matter where in the world we may be serving.  But, we all will continue to grow in our individual efforts, and our efforts as a GLOBAL mentoring community when we share the good, the bad, and the ugly of our growth process.  When one is successful and shares their knowledge then we all succeed.  Please enjoy the pictures of Karen, Haley, their volunteers, and mentees at their first sessions below!  I hope it serves as an inspiration.  Somebody else I know started off with two girls at their first mentoring session, and her name is KellyFairTheMentor!

Interested in receiving coaching from KellyFairTheMentor in your community or school mentoring efforts?  KellyFairTheMentor will be hosting a webinar in upcoming months.  What topic would you like to see discussed?  Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Let’s Keep Sharing!
Kelly
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