The Young Ladies Club made its debut this month at the Whitney Institute Middle School and is growing steadily. The club director and founder is Mrs. Donika York. As a former Head Girl of Whitney, I will be a junior mentor to the girls.

YLC is a club in which teen girls will be mentored and encouraged to commit to 'Be, Think and Do Better' than the day before. Ladies will be able to build and maintain deep, lifelong relationships.

The club will provide opportunities for ladies to be educated on how to celebrate their life everyday with unique opportunities to be a successful and an active participant in their community. Students who are enrolled will have the benefits of participating in field trips, sleepovers and etiquette talks just to name a few of the activities.

One student, Sihle Sharrief-Hayward, who eagerly signed up to join the all-girls club stated, "I really wanted to join the group because I knew it would be fun! I also wanted to make new friends this year."

Another student commented that she joined because she really enjoys Mrs. York's English class and so she knew she would really enjoy her club too.

Mrs. York saw the need for girls at the school to be more united and wanted to help them build lifelong friendships. She noticed that young ladies were developing bad habits of jealousy, instead of admiration, and showing little desire to be friends with others outside of their comfort zones.

With the principal's permission Mrs. York did not hesitate in tapping into some fabulous resources, redecorating an unused classroom and bringing to life the girls clubhouse. She held a parent meeting with all interested students in which the atmosphere was filled with lit candles for soft ambiance and Zen. The girls and their parents were very impressed.

The club motto is "Ignorance does not empty my tomorrow of its weakness, but empties my today of its strengths" which Mrs. York adopted from an empowering e-mail she received over the summer. She wants the Young Ladies Club to also inspire other schools to start one of their own.