Each year, FEC awards grants to help fund select community programs. One of last year’s recipients is Feed My Sheep’s PEARLS program.
Feed My Sheep Resource Center, Inc is an organization that works to help the people of East Chicago develop self-sufficiency and social skills that will benefit them both personally and professionally throughout the rest of their lives.
Feed My Sheep’s most successful program to date is its PEARLS program, which stands for Poised, Educated Adolescents Reaching for Life’s Successes.
PEARLS is a community program that reaches out to young girls ages 9-14 to help them build self-esteem and inspire them to make responsible choices.
The program consists of eight components beginning with an orientation/curriculum overview. This meeting is meant to give participants and their parents an idea of what the PEARLS program is all about.
The second component of the program is called Mind Over Matter: Attitude/Behavior. The focus of this step in the program is to help the girls establish and maintain a positive mindset and outlook on life. The third component, Inside Out: Image, then helps the girls use this new mindset to combat negative images and unrealistic body expectations perpetuated by the media.
BAM (Body and Mind): Health, the fourth component, teaches the participants healthy lifestyle habits pertaining to eating right and exercising. The fifth component focuses on literacy and is entitled Read to Lead: Language and Financial Literacy.
The sixth step in the program is called Mind Your Manners: Etiquette and teaches the participants manners that will benefit them in all situations in life. The seventh component of the PEARLS program is called Up Close and Personal: Communication. This step teaches participants communication skills through role playing and group discussions.
The program culminates with a celebratory completion ceremony for the girls who successfully go through all of the components of PEARLS. The ceremony acknowledges the girls’ achievements and encourages them to use the skills they have learned in the program throughout the rest of their lives.
Feed My Sheep Resource Center, Inc is grateful to FEC for the funding that allowed it to get the PEARLS program off the ground and hopes to be able to continue to help young girls in East Chicago in the future.
