“Girls with Dreams, Become Women with Vision”
The organization that brought the ‘Million Shoe March’ to Detroit. Purposeful YOUth Detroit (PYD)
presents their Third Annual Debutante Ball, honoring its members for a years’ worth of character
development, academic achievement, and service learning to their community. The Debutante Ball,
taking place at on June 10, 2018 at Burton Manor, Livonia, MI starting at 4:00pm. The event will be
attended by 150+ friends, family and community supporters of Purposeful YOUth. This year we will
have two dynamic speakers; Mrs. Loretta Forbes, a nationally recognized speaker, author of two
best-selling books “Hello My Name is B. E. A.U.T.I.F.U.L” and “If God is a King, That Makes me a
Princess” , and Mariama Nagbe, founder and owner of Masterminds and Mimosas, LLC, a life
enrichment company that aims to empower young woman. The Debutante Ball boasts the revival
of elegance and etiquette to a generation of youth who previous to participation in the program
may have never been the focus of such an experience.
The organization was founded in 2014 and birthed from a vision to create change, to inspire and
provide guidance to Detroit area youth who are often at risk and compromised due to lack of
direction and lack of opportunity. Nikkia Matthews, the Founder/CEO of Purposeful YOUth Detroit,
believes that after engaging in the curriculum, one-on-one mentoring, bonding activities, cultural
field trips and community service projects, that the girls of the program have gained an elevated
sense of self-esteem. She also believes that she and her team have succeeded in teaching positive
moral character and empowering the girls as leaders through mentorship. This, she quotes,
“inspires the next generation of national and global leaders. Those whose achievement is not
dependent on the validation of others, but on the pursuit of their own dreams.”
Matthews and her team are hoping the event will raise awareness of the organization’s presence in
the Detroit area and invite others to join next program year. Matthews and her team of mentors
hope to curb many of the negative trends plaguing today’s youth. They hope to inform visitors of
the Debutante Ball of a more meaningful way for Detroit area youth to spend their time. This effort
will leave a lasting legacy for future generations of Detroiters to come.
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