Sussex County organization is helping to build up teenage girls [video]

A Sussex County organization is helping young women see their worth.

The organization Pathways to Success which helps high school students get through school and transition to college, has been working on programs to teach young men and women life skills after learning about some alarming statistics. According to Faye Blake, the program’s executive director, Sussex County has one of the highest unintended pregnancy rates when it comes to girls between the ages of 14 and 18. Blake immediately started looking at a group of girls to bring together at its 1st Annual Sussex County Girls Summit. The theme “Choose Success” motivated the crowd on Nov 12.

“We had 220 plus girls that came to the summit and I do believe they were inspired,” said Blake who pulled young ladies from Woodbridge High School, Milford High School, Sussex Tech, Cape Henlopen High School, to name a few.

The next step is to organize a program for young men to help them understand their greatness.

“They have to really put their best foot forward. They can’t think that their worth is just how many young ladies they can kind of get,” Blake said.

Although the young ladies learned about self-respect, education and dressing for success, the girls also had a chance to hear the male respective regarding relationships from two gentlemen.

“The motive behind that is often times our young ladies really feel that they have to act a certain way and they really believe that what they are giving off by their actions is what the young men want to see,” added Blake who said that session focused on integrity and how negative behavior can attract the wrong guy.

In the meantime, Pathways plans to host more events targeting high school students coming into their own.

“I’m just so happy I’m able to give back. I too came from humble beginnings and it is an absolute passion of mine to do what I do in inspiring, empowering and giving information to our young people so they can have more successful lives,” Blake said.