A local woman has been making a difference in girls’ lives by allowing them to blossom into positive, productive young women. Jamie Frierson started “The Flower Garden” organization last year after noticing a lack of self-respect and self-confidence among young girls in her community. Frierson recalls being saddened by an incident that involved a teen girl being videotaped engaging in sexual activity at a local high school. It was that incident that inspired her to make a positive difference in the lives of Baltimore’s young women.
The “Flower Garden” currently has 15 young ladies and six volunteers. The girls range from ages 10 to 21 and come from a variety of backgrounds. Frierson said the name “Flower Garden” came from the wise words of her grandmother. “She once told me, ‘We are all like one big flower garden, and we are all different. However, all of the different flowers put together create a beautiful garden.’ The mentors and mentees at “The Flower Garden” come from all walks of life, so it really helps with building connections and lasting relationships for the girls,” Frierson said.
The girls meet twice a month at a Coppin Heights community center to listen to inspirational guest speakers, to have heart-to-heart discussions on many subjects including life skills. They also give their time and energy to the community. The group recently held food drives for the less fortunate and donated the items to the Bea Gaddy Family Center. They also collected clothing and school supplies for needy students at the beginning of the school year.
Frierson said it’s her hope the girls, who she refers to as flowers, will be self-assured positive young women by the time they age out of the program at 21. “My passion is to provide valuable information that teach life lessons, teaching the girls their self-worth, helping them to become independent, and being able to use common sense to survive whatever life may bring to them. I pray that each girl walks away with their heads up high and feeling like they can accomplish anything, and become successful, after being taught these things.”
Though Frierson is very optimistic about the organization and extremely grateful for the team of women who help keep it running, she hopes more girls, mentors as well as volunteers will get involved to continue inspiring young girls in Baltimore City.
Meetings are held on the second and fourth Friday of the month, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Coppin Heights-Rosemont Family Health and Human Services Building in Room #108.
To learn more about “The Flower Garden,” visit: http://www.flowergardenladies.org