Currently based in Atlanta, Georgia Daughters of Virtue & Excellence is a Leadership and Empowerment is an organization for African American teen girls, age 14-18.The goal of D.O.V.E. is to teach young girls to look inside of themselves to develop the inner strength, character, and skills that it takes to be a true leader. D.O.V.E. is committed to maximizing girls’ self development and empowerment through Life Skills Management, Cultural and Social Experiences, Community Awareness, and Higher Education.
D.O.V.E. works in area communities and schools to develop activities that will build self awareness, while promoting social, educational, and cultural experiences for young ladies. During the program the girls build leadership skills and character traits such as honesty, personal accountability, learning to listen to the viewpoints of others, clear communication, critical thinking, and sound decision making.
D.O.V.E. addresses the interconnected issues of poverty, teen pregnancy, violence, and lack of educational attainment at their very roots, by working with girls during the critical teen years, when personal choices that are made can have lifelong consequences. The programs are gatherings of 20 -25 girls that meet at area schools or other locations throughout Atlanta and are facilitated by a Program Coordinator. topics also include body image, healthy dating relationships and dating violence, consequences of underage drinking and drugs, anger management, health & wellness or whatever the girls identify as pressing issues for them.
The objective of the D.O.V.E. Volunteer Program is to create meaningful relationships that add real value to the lives of both the girls and the volunteers. The program is designed to provide community members with opportunities to share their skills, experience, resources, and hearts with the girls of D.O.V.E. We focus on goal setting at the beginning of each session year, teaching the girls the process for setting, working toward, evaluating, and reaching tangible goals. These are all skills essential to success in school, work and life.
Program director and founder Tameka Starr said, “D.O.V.E. is a vision I developed in 2007 to provide a means of support and empowerment for our teen girls. The passion initially came about from my concern for the breakdown of African American families, the continuous rise in single-parent households, the alarming rate of African American teen pregnancies, and the many African American children who are either not pursuing education after high school or who are dropping out altogether.”
“Through D.O.V.E., I want to provide an avenue through which our young ladies can learn to overcome life’s struggles and use them as challenges to enrich their lives, learn to turn hopelessness into optimism and achievement, visualize themselves as objects of success, using this vision to create a positive reality, and become empowered to see themselves in a positive light and as someone who’s possibilities are endless.”
For more information on becoming a volunteering or becoming a D.O.V.E visit their website, http://www.dovesflyabove.org.
