How This Mentorship Program Empowers Girls to Become Tomorrow’s Leaders
April 30, 2024
Sponsored by Denny’s | This inspiring woman turned a painful loss into something incredible for the girls and young women in her community.
On Tuesday’s episode of “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” Jennifer Hudson sat down with Joy Lindsay, from Gary, Indiana, the founder and CEO of Butterfly Dreamz. This nonprofit aims to equip girls with the skills to be confident leaders and community members by providing mentorship, leadership development, and intergenerational community action.
In 2012, Joy lost her younger sister and best friend, Kimberly, to gun violence. She founded Butterfly Dreamz to honor Kim’s life and legacy and her belief in women and girls.
“Kim believed that all girls deserve the opportunity to live boldly, dream big, and fly high,” said Joy, noting that “Live Boldly, Dream Big, Fly High” is the organization’s motto. “It was Kim’s life and her legacy that inspires Butterfly Dreamz.”
The organization provides three different types of programs for girls ages 12 to 24. They offer an online community called the “Cocoon Club,” a positive online space for girls and young women to connect with each other for mental health support, mentorship, scholarship opportunities, and friendship.
In addition to this online space, the organization has school-based programs that focus on leadership and social, emotional, and mental well-being. The goal of these programs is to create a positive space for students by offering the support they need to excel academically.
Butterfly Dreamz also offers career support by partnering with local businesses and organizations to offer paid community development internships.
Joy shared that the young women who participate in Butterfly Dreamz come from underserved communities and face many challenges, such as poverty, gender bias, systemic injustice, and mental health issues.
Joy calls her work with Butterfly Dreamz “turning pain into purpose.” “It’s been a healing journey for me,” she told Jennifer. “Pouring into our girls, seeing our girls show up… I see Kim in them.”
Joy is currently obtaining her master’s degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and has been accepted to a PhD program at the Yale School of Public Health. She hopes furthering her education will aid her in learning how to sustain and grow her nonprofit, which relies on grants and donations to stay open.
Because of Joy’s tireless efforts to help girls thrive, Jennifer surprised her with $10,000 on behalf of Denny’s so that Butterfly Dreamz can continue to help lift up the next generation of women.
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View Story“The Jennifer Hudson Show” has partnered with Denny’s to launch “Stacks of Love,” a new segment on the show that shines a light on layered stories that celebrate authentic conversations around mental health — because there’s no better time than now to focus on your well-being.
As America’s Diner, Denny’s is a place that welcomes you as you are. Denny’s is committed to highlighting mental health awareness.
To learn more about how Denny’s is promoting mental health awareness, head to dennys.com.
And for more info on Butterfly Dreamz, head to butterflydreamz.org.
“The Jennifer Hudson Show” airs weekdays. Here’s when to watch in your area.
