SHE leader has vision to expand

Bianca Parker was working as an administrative assistant in the Jonesboro School District’s Superintendent’s Office when she started to notice problems. Many students, especially female students, were living in poverty and didn’t have guidance coming from their homes.

She decided to form SHE, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides mentorship, consulting, ministries and other services for female students in the school district, she told Talk Business & Politics. The organization targets female students in grades 6-12, she said. There are eight volunteers that work within the school district, and they work with counselors to identify students that might be a fit for the program.

“I don’t think people realize how much poverty there is out there and there are so many needs not being met,” she said. “They need a big sister. They need guidance. They need someone to show that they care.”

SHE mentors students often at lunchtime, she said. IT also provides personal healthcare products such as feminine hygiene products, body wash, deodorant, and others.

Parker said she and her staff members work with teachers and other school personnel so that they can better understand their students.

For example, Black girls will come to school wearing hoodies with the hoods covering their heads. Many aren’t doing this out of defiance; it’s because it hard to detangle their hair and many can’t afford the products to do so, she added.

A grandfather was raising his three granddaughters when his wife suddenly died. He reached out for help, and Parker said the only thing that one of the girls wanted was product to help fix her hair in the morning so she could go to school.

“They don’t want to be bullied about their hair. They can’t help it,” she said.

Once a month, those in the program are brought in to listen to a guest speaker from a different walk of life. Often, students in minority communities have much less contact with those in high earning professions such as law, business, healthcare, and others. It’s hard to see “the path” when you have no frame of reference, she said.

These professionals come in and tell the story about their journey and take questions from the students, she added.

One critical component of what SHE does is to get students in the program ready for life after high school. The goal is to make sure that students have all the resources to go onto college if they choose or if they decide on another career path that might involve a vocational school or other route.

For now, the organization is funded by donations from churches and businesses for the most part. Now that she has transitioned into this being her full-time job, Parker said she will also be seeking grants.

Parker said she hopes SHE will eventually be involved with every school district in Northeast Arkansas. At some point, she’d like to form a scholarship.

“We want to empower girls to find their inner strength,” she said.