Remarkable program helping young Black girls in Chicago achieve their goals and dreams

Click here for updates on this story

    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — A nonprofit group in Chicago has been empowering Black girls in the city’s most underserved communities for more than 13 years.

Ladies of Virtue offers mentoring, leadership development, and mental health support to help Black girls become confident, purpose-driven leaders.

Founded and run by Black women in Chicago, Ladies of Virtue serves 2,000 Black girls a year in the city; mentoring and walking alongside them, while sparking a little of “Black girl joy.”

At Parker Community Academy in Englewood, a classroom is filled with inspiration from the walls to the words. For one hour once a week, girls at Parker get to talk about their dreams, set goals, and make vision boards. It’s called the LOV Club. LOV stands for Ladies of Virtue.

“It’s a safe space where girls can truly be themselves,” said Ladies of Virtue founder Jamila Trimuel.

The club at Parker is one of 23 LOV Clubs in schools and community centers on Chicago’s South and West sides.

“We knew where we wanted to target, because I grew up on the South Side, grew in South Shore, and did not have these type of opportunities in my neighborhood,” Trimuel said. “Which is consistent amongst many of the neighborhoods in Chicago, unfortunately, that’s on the South and West sides. … Food deserts, not enough opportunities.”

Because of her background, Trimuel knows what the girls are up against.

“There was a girl who just met me, who said that her father had got killed from gun violence. So there’s just so many different situations that our girls may be facing,” she said.

“As a Black girl from the South Side of Chicago, it’s been a lot of negative portrayals or negative examples around us,” 16-year-old Dionne Nesbitt said. “People think that Black women are loud, or lazy, or ghetto, or anything with a negative connotation, and being able to show people that we can be positive and strong and trustworthy is just so important.”

Nesbitt learned all about that after joining Ladies of Virtue four years ago.

“I was just shy, timid. I didn’t know how to positively respect myself,” she said. “Thinking that I was ugly, or thinking that there was something wrong with me. … Having self-love and self-respect has always been something that I’ve struggled with.”

So she was partnered with a mentor.

“She’s a positive example that I have in my life, and she’s shown me so many different ways to portray myself, and she just gives such great advice, and I’m just so grateful for her,” Nesbitt said.

And Nesbitt joined in all types of LOV programs.

“Ladies of Virtue has definitely helped me with things like public speaking, or even just self-confidence, because even in the past I wouldn’t be able to have a conversation like this,” she said.

Summer Fields admits she probably wouldn’t either until she joined LOV four years ago.

“I was an intern over this past summer at Ladies of Virtue, and I was able to go on college tours, do career explorations. I went to Pepsico. I went to Old National Bank. So to see Black women represented in different fields … inspires me to be better, because I know that it’s possible.”

LOV wants all girls to know it is possible to help inspire. They offer field trips, field days, career and college expos, leadership and STEM programs, and self-care days all about body image and mental health.

“Our girls have reached out to us, saying that they had social anxiety, that they were feeling depressed, that they had suicidal ideation,” Trimuel said. “Now we’re able to provide mental health workshops for every single girl in our program.”

“We did a mental health workshop, and we really just released all our feelings, and we talked about feelings, and we learned how to identify them, and what to do if you’re feeling like this,” Fields said.

“Yes, the accolades are great, but what matters the most is your character. Who are you when nobody is looking? Who are you when you walk out of the room? What will people say about you?” Trimuel said. “My hope is that she’s ready to change the world, and it starts with her family first. Then going into schools, going out into the community, and then ultimately the world, where I believe that one Black girl can change the world.”

Sometimes it starts in a small classroom in Englewood, by speaking life and love over yourself.

After 13 years of doing this work in Chicago, Ladies of Virtue has seen major success; 94% of their graduating seniors last year were accepted into 4-year colleges and universities.

Those girls now get six additional years of mentorship in college and their career.

Approximately 600 black girls ages 9 to 18 are now enrolled in Ladies of Virtue’s mentoring and leadership programs. Many more are served through their community outreach.

To find out how to get involved, volunteer, mentor or donate, visit their website.

We’re always looking for the stories that tell the tale of Chicago — its interests, its passions, the people who make this the city millions know and love.

Do you know someone a person or place that brings you joy? We want to share your story.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.