Sophomore year was challenging for Kennedy Ray. Several family members died within weeks of each other, her grades were slipping, and she wasn’t seeing eye-to-eye with friends.
“I felt like no one was paying attention to me, not a teacher, not my friends, no one,” she says. “But when I went to a Ladies of Virtue meeting, the first question I was asked was, ‘Are you OK?’” Kennedy says Ladies of Virtue helped her get through that difficult time and “taught me that my voice is powerful and it should be heard.”
Ladies of Virtue, or LOV, launched in 2011 with six girls in the Grand Crossing neighborhood. Last year, they had 24 program sites across Chicago and served 606 girls and young women through its mentoring and leadership programs, and about 1,500 through its community outreach efforts.
“Ladies of Virtue is a place where Black girls can be themselves, where they’re loved on, where they get the support, resources and opportunities that they need to succeed,” says founder and CEO Jamila Trimuel.
Participants are matched with mentors and prepared for leadership through culturally relevant character building, career readiness and a civic engagement curriculum. They are offered project management, collaboration and communication training. The career pipeline initiative places participants 16 and older in paid internships with Pepsi Co. and CVS Health, among other opportunities. They placed 110 participants in internships this year.
After graduating from high school and completing the leadership program, they are supported for six additional years as LOV for Life alumni. Last year, 94% of participants were accepted into four-year colleges and universities, and 92% were placed in summer internships
LOV was key for me in learning how important it is that teenagers know about their mental health. You have a village of mentors looking out for you
Kennedy Ray
Mental health support is designed to meet the unique needs of Black girls. “We incorporate mental health in everything we do,” Trimuel says. “Girls get access to four licensed clinical therapists—learning how to cope when life gets hard, how to build better relationships with their parents and so forth.”
Kennedy started with the Saturday program. She was assigned a mentor and received leadership training. She learned how to do an elevator pitch and how to save money. “All of that was very useful and really empowering,” she says. She graduated from Lindblom Math and Science Academy and is now in the LOV alumni program, which includes regular check-in calls, quarterly meetings and information about scholarships, and academic and career opportunities.
Kennedy feels well-prepared for freshman year at Hampton University in Virginia. Her goal is to become a child psychologist. “LOV was key for me in learning how important it is that teenagers know about their mental health,” Kennedy says. “You have a village of mentors looking out for you.”
Through the Robert R. McCormick Communities Fund, dedicated people across Chicagoland help make sure that every child and family has opportunities to achieve their goals. With your support, we can create new possibilities and help make countless dreams come true. Funding from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation Communities Fund assists organizations on the South and West Sides of Chicago to make a meaningful impact in the lives of children, young adults, and families each and every day.
