The Ch Ron IC EE
Volume 45, Number 26
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
THURSDAY, March 7, 2019
LEAD Girls NC host third annual soiree
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
March 1 is the official
start of Women's History
Month in the United States.
While we celebrate the
women who have made
history with their contribu
tions to society, we must
also ensure that young girls
and preteen girls have the
necessary tools and
resources to become lead
ers and history-makers in
their communities as well.
And last week more than
200 people came together
to celebrate a local organi
zation that has been doing
just that for the past three
years, LEAD Girls NC.
Founded by Joy Nelson
in 2016, the mission of
LEAD (Learning Everyday
Achieving Dreams) Girls
NC is to encourage and
mentor girls to aspire and
achieve greatness academi
cally, emotionally and cre
atively. From humble
beginnings as an after-
school program with only
six girls, today LEAD
serves more than 150 girls
in middle schools in
Forsyth and Guilford
Counties.
During the LEAD Girls
Soiree on Sunday, March
3, an annual gathering that
serves as a fundraiser for
the program, Nelson, who
is a graduate of Salem
College and a certified life
coach, said when girls have
a strong foundation and
someone who believes in
them, they can do any
thing. She said after col-
Joy Nelson founder of LEAD Girls NC congratulates Brittany Shuff during the 3rd Annual LEAD Girls
soiree on Sunday, March 3. Shuff is the first participant in the LEAD Girls program to graduate from high
school.
lege and seeing how many
girls in the community
needed a positive role
model, she decided to fol
low her heart.
"... I knew I was ready
to get into action and those
girls needed me. We have
girls in our program who
have experienced things no
child should have to expe
rience. We have girls who
don't have parents to care
for them and girls who
want a' future but have no
idea what that could be or
how to get there," said
Nelson. "In LEAD our
girls discover a safe envi
ronment. They learn to
problem solve, support
their peers and communi
cate effectively. They set
high expectations for
themselves."
According to Nelson,
since 2016 more than 300
girls have benefitted from
the LEAD program, but
there is still work to be
done. Statistics show in
Forsyth County, one in
three girls struggle to
achieve stability in adult
hood and girls in our com
munity are more likely to
end up in poverty or home
less.
"To sum it up, LEAD
gives a future and we need
you to be in their corner.
Currently we're in two
middle schools and we
have Our Saturday commu
nity program. There are
eight more Title I schools
that need us," Nelson told
those in attendance during
the soiree.
"... We can make a
remarkable impact in this
community."
Along with raising
funds for the program, the
soiree held at the Village
Inn Event Center also
served as an opportunity
for LEAD to highlight
some of their supporters
and girls who are enrolled
in the program. This year's
honorees were Karl Yena
and Heather Scales. The
LEAD Girl Award was pre
sented to Brittany Shuff, a
senior at Carter G.
Woodson and the first
LEAD Girl to graduate
from high school. Shuff,
who will attend
Fayetteville State
University in the fall, is a
leader who is always will
ing to go above and beyond
to help others.
Nelson said, "She's a
leader. Always willing to
head up projects and even
stays late on Saturdays to
held me clean. She's eager
to go to college and take on
the world and I know she
will."
After accepting her
award, Shuff read a poem
she wrote about her experi
ences with LEAD Girls
NC called "A Black Girls’
Undefined World." The
poem talked about over
coming obstacles and
reaching your dreams.
She read,"... I'm going
to choose to stand before
you as I am and I'm going
to walk my path with
integrity and there's no one
who will be able to stop me
from being me."
An unofficial tally of
the funds raised during the
event last weekend topped
$17,000. During the soiree,
Nelson personally thanked
individuals and organiza
tions that made donations
to the program.
For more information
on LEAD Girls NC, visit
www.leadgirls.org.
82 students honored during 39th Human Relations
Student Awards Banquet
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
For nearly 40 years the
city’s Human Relations
Department has partnered
with the Winston-
Salem/Forsyth County
Schools system to host the
Human Relations Student
Awards Banquet and this
year the event was bigger
than ever.
The banquet, held
annually at the Embassy
Suites hotel, is designed to
honor students who exem
plify positive human rela
tions in their dealing with
others on such issues as
race, religion, and cultural
differences. This years
event honored 82 students
from every school in the
district and several private
schools as well.
While speaking with
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SB
The Chronicle before the
start of the banquet on
Thursday, Feb. 28, Wanda
Allen-Abraha, director of
the city’s human relations
department, said she was
excited to have the oppor
tunity to continue the tra
dition of honoring young
people in our community
who are sometimes over
looked because they don’t
play sports or get straight
“As”.
“We are really excited
to be able to continue to
focus on students who
don’t always get recog
nized and that don’t
always get rewarded, but
they are salt-of-the-earth,
cream-of-the-crop students
who do excellent things
for the community,” con
tinued Allen-Abraha. “...
They do things for the eld
erly, they helped victims of
the hurricanes, they do
things for other students
who are bullied. One child
even learned sign language
to be able to communicate
with a child who was deaf
in her classroom.
“Those are the type of
kids we’re celebrating
today. So its always excit
ing and an honor to be able
to do this every year.”
While enjoying dinner,
the student honorees and
their more than 600 guests
listened to the keynote
address delivered by
Alfreda Smith, the princi
pal at Northwest Middle
School and the 2018
Principal of the Year.
Mayor Allen Joines was
also on hand to thank the
honorees for their willing
ness to help others and
make Winston-Salem a
better place for everyone.
He also presented Allen-
Abraha with a proclama
tion marking the event and
the work the Human
Relations Department does
to bring students together.
“...I want to offer my
sincere congratulations to
each and every one of you.
Thank you for what you’re
doing not only in your
school, but in our commu
nity as well,” said Joines.
“It’s been said before, but
we are here tonight honor
ing students that exemplify
good human relation skills.
Reaching out to others
wheather it be on race
issues, cultural issues or
whatever it might be to say
we can work together, go
to school together and
have a very meaningful
life together.”
After dinner and the
Last week the city’s Human Relations Department hosted the 39th Annual
Human Relations Student Awards Banquet.
keynote address, the stu
dents made their way
across the stage to receive
their awards. With giant
smiles each student
accepted their awards as
they were congratulated by
several community leaders
including Interim
Superintendent Dr.
Kenneth Simington, and
Police Chief Catrina
Thompson.
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