Air Date: November 29, 2018
Today 4th and 5th grade girls at Carlson Elementary School in Warren are learning what it means to be their most beautiful self.
Karen: When I would watch my girls go through third grade I saw this shift happening they didn’t value themselves the way they did in second grade and I thought what happens if our kids our girls don’t ever find their value and don’t ever see that they have worth and purpose.
Karen Palka is the founder of A Beautiful Me. Her after school workshops focus on empowerment topics like “What Makes you Special” and “Words Can Hurt”.
Karen: We watch these girls grow right before our eyes. We give them what we would call conflict resolution ideas of how to handle situations and understand that they are valuable enough to approach someone through iMessages.
It is this “tech” twist that keeps the workshops relevant.
Karen: Ten years ago girls in 8th grade had phones now girls much younger have phones and I thought I can’t get rid of the phones so how do we use that for a good vehicle.
With the help of partners and close to 30 volunteers, each year A Beautiful Me reaches around 1,000 girls, 3rd grade and older.
Mitch: And all of that just came from your idea that you wanted to give your kids a little bit more of a positive
Karen: It was supposed to be a hobby
Mitch: Yeah
Karen: Laughing
Mitch: Many good things start as hobbies
Karen: Laughing…These young ladies want to work together and that’s I think really really rewarding.
Showing what it truly means to love yourself, Karen Palka and the girls from A Beautiful Me are screaming…NAT “I Am Beautiful” …right here in the heart of Detroit.
