Written by Allison Sabb-Glenn, Shine Light on Depression Ambassador, South Carolina
Girls with Goals is a small group that meets every Tuesday during Advocacy time at Pelion Middle School (PMS) in Pelion South Carolina. Advisory is a daily block of time (30 minutes) that allows students to participate in clubs or make up any missing work. The club’s mission is simple yet profound—to empower young girls and break free from the shackles of mental health stereotypes.
Students in Pelion, SC often fall victim to societal constraints, so this was a great opportunity to empower. Meeting with this group of students each week proved to be just what we needed after coming out of a pandemic. What has become normal for other students was already normal for PMS. Most of my students come from a background where resources have been extremely limited. To be brutally honest, some of my students have never left the town of Pelion to even venture into our neighboring town of Lexington. This group has been able to put a name to some of the challenging feelings the students bring up. We have been able to put some of the work in to overcome many of the mental health challenges that our students experience. The group has had the opportunity to participate in many activities, a favorite being decorating rocks with empowering messages. We placed the rocks throughout the school and community and ended the year with a snack party!
What an inspiring initiative for Pelion Middle School! Empowering young girls to dream big and achieve their goals is so important. As someone who’s seen the positive impact of programs like this, it’s heartwarming to know our local schools are prioritizing this. Do they involve the community in any way, like mentorship opportunities? It would be great to support this program further. I wonder if other schools in the Lexington area have similar clubs. Keep up the amazing work, Pelion Middle! 💪