Toya Russell-Phillips, founder, board president and CEO of Girls of Excellence, Inc. is a native of Detroit and has always had a heart for service. She felt like she could do more after working for non-profits for 25 years. At that point, she literally didn’t know the meaning of the word “mentor.” She just knew she wanted to help and there weren’t a lot of programs that focused on the success of growing girls.
“It’s my passion and my purpose,” she said of the program that would become Girls of Excellence. The program launched in 2019, recruiting other like-minded women to serve. They go into schools to find girls to mentor and now there are 5 mentees to each mentor. This year from October to May they will use a hybrid model and meet face to face as well as virtually. The program focuses on girls from 8-18 and provides activities, workshops with dynamic speakers like SoFu Lifestyle’s own Michelle Taylor Willis, and field trips. In the spring, they award scholarships to deserving students.
“Our goal is to be national, if not global with the virtual option,” said Russell Phillips. But to do this they need more mentor involvement. All it takes is training and a background check and you will be on your way to selecting a school in which to volunteer. Additionally, the Girls of Excellence need community sponsorships. More information and online applications can be found at the website: GirlsOfExcellenceInc.org.
Girls of Excellence, Incorporated, also known as GOE. GOE is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to providing supportive services to girls ages 8-18, in grades 3-12. We serve girls throughout Metro Atlanta and are looking to expand and reach even more girls who could benefit from our services. We offer group mentoring, life skills training, personal development, and community service opportunities to the girls we serve. We also have a focus on the social and emotional learning of our girls to better prepare them for life not only in the future but the present as well. They launched the GOE 2021-2022 program year October 4.
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