Mental Health
She Has a New Vision for Urban Teenage Girls: Confidence and Success
Envision this: Urban teenage girls embracing a future dominated by personal success.
Ruby Taylor, an entrepreneur, author, and social worker based in Lancaster, Pa., says it can happen.
And she plans to do what she can to make it a reality.
Confidence to Greatness, Taylor's new venture, is one step on the path to personal greatness that Taylor wants teen girls to embrace.
Debuting February 2nd, 2012, the Confidence to Greatness website is the foundation for a larger social enterprise created by Taylor.
Her goal is to instill confidence in teens so that the choices they make are touchstones to success, not hinges on a trap they will find it difficult to break free from.
"Their confidence is so low, they can't envision a better future," says Taylor, a social worker in Lancaster city schools.
One vehicle to provide the tools to help urban teens build their confidence and self-worth is her book "Confidence to Greatness for Teenage Girls," to be released in April.
Another vehicle will be Confidence to Greatness workshops, some of which will be provided for free in Lancaster, along with Baltimore, Md., where Taylor once worked, and in The Bronx, N.Y., where Taylor grew up.
To help get books into the hands of teens who need the message, Taylor has developed what she calls her "Buy and Give" program, which she based on the successful social enterprise TOMS shoes that donates a pair of shoes to a needy child for each one bought.
"I tweaked an already successful model from TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie 'One for One.' With every book purchased, you will help Confidence to Greatness provide free Confidence to Greatness workshops and books to teenage girls in urban communities," says Taylor.
The Confidence to Greatness "Buy and Give" program will give back for each book bought. The book sales will provide the resources to conduct free Confidence to Greatness workshops and donate books to urban public schools, churches, non-profit organizations, and conferences.
Seventy-five percent of girls with low self-esteem reported having eating disorders, and doing such things as cutting themselves, bullying others, smoking, or drinking when they are feeling bad about themselves, compared to 25 percent of girls who have high self-esteem.
Teen girls with low self-esteem also become sexually active, sometimes resulting in pregnancy, and can become depressed and even attempt suicide.
Because she works with teenagers in inner city schools, Taylor sees first-hand how detrimental a lack of confidence can be for youth.
"Confidence to Greatness is a movement to empower urban teenage girls to increase their confidence and self-worth so they can make better choices, which will lead them to their personal greatness," says Taylor.
Confidence to Greatness is a movement driven to empower teenage girls to increase their confidence and self-worth(WWW.CONFIDENCETOGREATNESS.ORG).
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