Royalty Girls’ Mentoring uses funds to develop life skills in students
TALLADEGA, Alabama — Thanks to a $9,750 grant from Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative, Royalty Girls’ Mentoring Program students learned leadership and other life skills at the Southern Black Girls Dream Conference in Atlanta recently.
Royalty, a faith-based club headquartered in Lincoln, meets monthly with girls ages 12 to 18 to help them develop “a healthy self-image,” says LaKeshia Pearson, the program’s founder. The program discusses life topics like bullying, self-esteem and career development, and the program assigns mentors to continue those discussions outside meetings.
Program founder LaKeshia Pearson identified the Dream Conference as a strong investment in her program’s students given its wide array of educational and life skills discussions. Topics included money management, proper skincare, mental healthcare and robotics.
“Their purpose is to spread joy among teen girls and women,” Pearson said. “It was a phenomenal trip. I believe the girls will remember this forever. Several of our mentees dwell in single-parent homes, and for many, this will be the only summer trip they will get to experience.”
The grant was made possible through CVEC’s partnership with CoBank, a financial institution that supports rural development entitles like electric cooperatives. CVEC contributed half of the conference’s costs, and CoBank matched CVEC’s contribution through its Sharing Success program.
Without the grant, Royalty would likely not have attended the conference, Pearson said.
“Most of our funding comes from donors,” she said. “Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative was a prayer answered. We thank them for supporting our trip.”
CVEC Board President Marilyn Davis says contributions like these display the cooperative’s community spirit and purpose.
“We were founded to provide our region with electricity, leading to opportunities for growth,” she said. “Supporting educational efforts through programs like Royalty only make our future leaders stronger, which will make our region more prosperous in the future.”