S.H.E. Is Me Mentoring Program held their 2019 Induction Ceremony at the historic Dillon County Theatre on Sunday, September 15th. The program size has tripled in the last two years and Director James is excited for the expansion and evolution. The induction event honored new and old members, featured a moving message from award-winning entrepreneur and podcaster Alisha Richard and reflections from program donors, volunteers and community members.

S.H.E. is Me Mentoring serves teenage girls from rural areas in an interpersonal, open and innovative environment. The core group of young ladies meet in Lake View, SC, a town with approximately 700 residents, located in northeastern South Carolina. Led by Program Director, Tabitha D. James, the group is exposed to opportunities for personal enrichment and life enhancement. Through interactive sessions, experiential activities and trips, the core focus is for young ladies to learn how to dream, plan and execute their life goals efficiently and effectively while capitalizing on their personal skills and interests.
S.H.E. is Me Mentoring Program was developed in the summer of 2017. Program Director, Ms. Tabitha D. James previously worked with a group entitled “Girls Like Us” from Spring 2016 – Spring 2017, after the group dissolved, S.H.E is ME was born.
The name was created by Ms. Tabitha and the former group president Ira’Keeya Dawkins who is now a freshman at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. The acronym S.H.E. has two different meanings. For mentees, it stands for Service, Humility and Excellence. For the mentors and program volunteers, it stands for Strength, Honesty, and Empowerment. The focal point of this program is to expose young women to the plethora of options the world has to offer. Service, Humility and Excellence are the core principles of this unique program. Through community service, career exploration and cultural exposure, this program has the high hopes of changing the life trajectory of young women, especially those rooted from rural areas.

S.H.E. is Me Mentoring offers services both remotely and face-to-face with young ladies and program directors in other areas. By offering services in various ways, lives can be impacted and enhanced thus producing more successful young ladies.
The young women participating in S.H.E. is Me Program meet every 2nd and 4th Sunday and participate in community-oriented activities year-round. Meetings include open-conversation and engaging activities focused on culture, higher education, self-esteem, self-awareness and life soft skills. Members from the group are selected for local and regional trips, leadership opportunities and speaking engagements. This summer, three members were awarded a scholarship from the South Carolina Eat Smart Move More coalition to attend their youth summit in Columbia, SC.
S.H.E. Is Me members have volunteered approximately 1,188 collective hours and completed over 1,400 collective hours of experiential learning.
They receive hands on learning by participating in various local activities to ensure community awareness and visibility. The group of young women previously volunteered to assist Hurricane Matthew victims, helped to revitalize a local park, assisted with several back to school supply drives and a variety of other community-oriented activities. Since 2016, young ladies from our program have traveled to over twelve colleges and universities both in and outside of South Carolina. Of the schools visited, several were HBCUs
From visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture to the Great Smoky Mountains to the rolling hills of Richmond, VA, members of S.H.E. is Me are afforded the opportunity to explore beyond the norm.

Below, there are a few girls from the program and what they are looking forward to while being involved.
Yu’Nique Dawkins, a senior at Dillon High School has been a part of this program since 2017. She’s looking forward to working on activities to help prepare her for the next level after high school.
Anaija Bethea, a sophomore at Lake View High School who has been a part of this program since 2016. She’s excited to see how everything she’s learned will impact her life in the future.
Damorya Nance, a sophomore at Lake View High School who has also been a part of this program since 2016. She is grateful for what it has done for her life. She has especially enjoyed visiting colleges so that when it is time for her to make her higher education decision, she has an idea of what various schools are like.
Other group members include: Joy Benjamin (Lake View), Na’Kiya Bridgett (Lake View), Tianna Woods (Mullins), Aiesha Dawkins (Lake View), Raegan Fore (Marion) Cabria Stewart (Lake View), Ganee Hayes (Dillon), Nykeria Genwright (Lake View), Kristina Hughes (Lake View), Moya McDuffie (Latta), Brianna Hunt (Conway) and Malaysia Woods (Creek Bridge).
Local, regional and national volunteers and donors help to support the group and have done so since its founding. For more information you can find S.H.E. Is Me on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or visit their site at http://bit.ly/sheismesc.