Mental health and hygiene are just a few things girls learned about at Re-adjust Your Crown. That was a daylong retreat held over the weekend exclusively for girls, and it gave the more than 70 participants a safe space to express themselves.
That is the exact vision organizer Ronieka Burns had when she came up with the idea to throw a girls empowerment event.
“We wanted to give them a platform to have a safe zone, we wanted to give them to be able to speak their mind and also get educated on a lot of things day to day," says Burns.
Burns is the founder of Beautifully Made, an organization created to bridge the gap between girls and women.
She says after attending several women empowerment workshops in the area, she realized that there were not many events for young girls, and none focusing on mental health.
“Mental health affects us every day, but are we having that conversation?" No, according to Burns.
The City of Rochester offered space for the event and, Burns' friends in the community like artist Reshawna Turner volunteered and taught workshops. As a result, dozens of girls ages 9-14, were able to attend the free event and sit in seminars on self-expression and problem-solving skills.
"We have great professionals that work in the community that do this for a living. We want to make sure they came and did the workshops for the girls,” said Burns.
Organizers plan to make "Re-adjust Your Crown" an annual event.