Founder Of Mentorship Program For Teen Girls In Tulsa Talks About Nonprofit's Goals

Cassandra Prear runs a nonprofit mentorship program for teen girls called "Teens Excelling Beyond."

She joined News On 6's Autumn Bracey on the Arca Continental Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages Porch to share more about the program.

Related Story: Tulsa Nonprofit 'Teens Excelling Beyond' Opens Home, Safe Space For Girls

What inspired the Teens Excelling Beyond program?

"Teens Excelling Beyond was founded in 2021. Behind the scenes, I have been doing this for over 30 years. I myself was a teen mom born in North Tulsa, with little to no support, never knew what professionalism looked like, or going outside of my environment. So I wanted to shift these girls' mindset and give them something that they can look forward to. And give them the tools to succeed and be successful adults and leaders in our community," Prear explained.

Why do you feel like it's important that you're able to help girls navigate some of life's challenges?

"It's very important because we stay stuck in situations too long without given the tools to move forward. So with that being said, our foundation is really big on mental health. And with us presenting these tools for these girls to address their trauma, and getting to the root of the problem and shifting mindsets. That's what we're here to do. And in order to do that, we have to address it, you know. Address what is going on with our girls. Be aware and then start from there," Prear said.

How often do you gather? What kind of programs are there to help girls out?

"There's three components to Teens Excelling Beyond. The first one we do on a monthly basis. We have community outreach, where we invite the underserved teen girls out, like I said, our primary focus is mental health. Our last event we had it was geared around, since suicide was on the rise, we had someone come out and speak with them about suicide and coping skills. Then we have an event coming up Saturday, January 20. And everything we do is with a purpose. So we're doing vision board with a purpose. And then not only that, the girls are going to be goal crushing where the parents that stay, we're going to invite them in to do a vision board as well. So I'm excited about that, to get the girls' parents involved as well.

And then on February 17, at Rudisill Library, and all the events that we have is open to the public and is free. We will have painting with purpose through art therapy. So that is a big hit as well because it helps the girls to channel their emotions by writing them down, whether it's journaling, and all of that. Because you know, we're big on coping skills and maintaining your emotions. We have a 'pamper me' self care day. That's, you know, we do annually and there's all types of events that we have.

The second pillar is our mentorship program. One of them is 'empower her,' where we meet on a weekly basis and we mentor the girls just to build care to leadership. And we have another mentorship program for teen girls that has lost their parents to violence.

And then our baby is our group home that we are working to open. We're just waiting on the state right now. And we will house homeless teen girls," Prear said.

CLICK HERE for more information about Teens Excelling Beyond.