Polished Pebbles, Empowered Young Voices
by N. LaQuis Harkins

With the relief efforts constantly needing our attention internationally, it’s sometimes necessary to remind ourselves of the work that needs to be done at home. Local youth still need our guidance and inspiration on a daily basis. Our communities require our everyday heroism to survive. We may think it’s too time consuming to volunteer or mentor in our own neighborhoods. This doesn’t have to be the case.

Kenwood resident, Kelly Fair has found a way to positively impact a young person’s life in just two hours a month. What can you accomplish in two hours when most personal appointments and even our commutes to and from work take more time than that? In terms of serving your community, two hours is more than enough to change the life of a youth. Fair’s Polished Pebbles program is an extraordinary example of how a little bit goes a long way.

Established in 2009 as a complement to her adult women’s group, Our Common Ground, “Polished Pebbles is a mentoring program that focuses on empowering girls through strengthening their communication skills. It’s one of the few opportunities that focuses just on girls and causes them to think about how important effective communication is in daily life,” says Fair.

The young girls, ages 11- 17, travel to the program’s headquarters (University of Chicago Charter School’s Woodlawn Campus) from various communities in the Chicagoland area one Saturday a month. For two hours they enjoy a variety of activities from fitness and self-esteem building exercises, to movie viewing, interactive discussions and more. They may join the group as shy young women who have problems asserting themselves but they quickly open up and learn self-confidence and successful ways to communicate.

“I’m really impressed with the girls’ maturity level and how they interact with one another. They’re so courageous to get up in front of the group and express themselves,” states Fair.

The program has even started to benefit some of the parents. “Many of the parents have stayed on to participate in the program and they’ve become honorary mentors. They’ve mentioned that they’ve gotten a lot out it for themselves. One of the dads is a school principal and is amazed at how much the girls get in just one session. His daughter carries our journal with her all the time. When she performed well in a recent school event she attributed it to her Saturdays with us,” beamed Fair.

Polished Pebbles isn’t just about teaching girls the confidence involved in public speaking.

“I really want to create dynamic ways for people to serve as mentors and impact young lives. We can tailor opportunities for community members and corporate sponsors alike who want to get involved. We can bring this fun and fulfilling opportunity to them,” says Fair. No stranger to the work of strengthening the common bonds of women and young girls, this Susan Taylor inspired Howard University and University of Iowa graduate is out to empower her entire community, one Saturday at a time.

N. LaQuis Harkins is a massage therapist and teaching artist. For more information, contact: HeartOfTouch@gmail.com; or visit http://aotmassage.googlespages.com.