The mood was festival on December 20th as a group of current college
mentees and their mentors reunited at Heather Harvison’s house.   It was
lots of fun to hear everyone’s updates about college life.  We have students
in work-study programs, serving as resident assistants and even traveling
abroad for a fellowship!  We are so proud to have our first college graduates
this spring. The conversation turned sentimental when the graduates
gathered to discuss what a huge impact My Sister’s Circle has had on their lives.

The 5th graders celebrated with a holiday party of their own on December 10th
at Second Presbyterian Church.   The highlight was making gingerbread houses
and taking each girls photo to later be turned into holiday gifts for giving.  The
girls from our two schools enjoyed getting to know each other.

The Baltimore Ballet generously hosted 30 mentors and mentees at their special
performance of the Nutcracker followed by a reception at which the girls
were able to meet the ballerinas and enjoy some delicious holiday cheer.

On November 19th a festive group of  mentors and mentees gathered at Carefirst to prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday. The girls created Thanksgiving decorations to take home while they snacked and socialized with their friends. Then, Chef Louis, from the CareFit Cafe led a kitchen tour and cooking demonstration which included everything from handwashing to potato peeling to turkey stuffing. Each girl was given a recipe packet as well as a turkey and all the ingredients and supplies to make a Thanksgiving dinner at home with their families. We are so grateful to Carefirst and our many sponsors who helped make this event possible, including the Women’s Club of Roland Park.

My Sister’s Circle helps to positively transform lives during these critical years by organizing and introducing the girls to cultural, education and recreational events and trips; soliciting summer camp and academic scholarships; placing students in  leadership programs and internships; guiding girls through the school selection process; and providing direct, individualized college guidance with our in-house counselor.

“She’s helped my mother and me with counseling. She calls me from vacation. Her emotional support is the biggest piece for me.”

“She listens, she cares, and she never gives up”, says Asia, who recently graduated from a high school in Fells Point. “She’s been my mentor for about three years, and from day one, she’s been a tremendous part of my life. I can talk to her about any situation.”

Asia says she thinks her mentor is so committed because of the example set by the staff at My Sister’s Circle. They have shown her a kind of loyalty and dedication that she has not experienced otherwise in her life. And she still can’t believe how comprehensive that support continues to be.

“No matter how old I get, my mentor and Miss Heather, they don’t let go. They don’t go off and only focus on the younger girls,” she says. “They stick with you. It still surprises me.  There just aren’t any programs quite like this.”

“Being a part of My Sister’s Circle allowed me to see that I wasn’t living the way a lot of other people in America live,” says Antinnea.

And it was that exposure, she says, that changed her life.

“My Sister’s Circle played a big role in introducing me to boarding school. It was culture shock for me. I didn’t even know there was an alternative way of living. I had no idea what other people had, especially in terms of education.”

And a great education was what this well-spoken young woman craved. After boarding school in Virginia, she enrolled at Temple University where she thrives as a resident advisor and public policy major.

But Antinnea hasn’t stopped there. Through My Sister’s Circle, she learned about and was accepted to a fellowship program at the Institute for International Public Policy in Washington, D.C.  That program, she says, is shaping the future she sees for herself, including graduate school and a career in international relations. “This is the best thing that has happened to me in a while, and it wouldn’t have happened without MSC.”

When Antinnea thinks back to the days when her worldview was limited to her northeast Baltimore neighborhood, she knows she has a message to share with her younger MSC sisters. “My Sister’s Circle opened my eyes to so many different cultures, different ways of thinking and different people. It’s important for us to realize that we can expand.”

“I didn’t have a childhood, so I want to help other kids feel safe,” she says. “You know how it is when things in the house are unstable. Kids are exposed to stuff they’re not supposed to know about at an early age.”

Since she was 10 years old, Kandice has considered My Sister’s Circle to be her “safe” place. The My Sister’s Circle staff, her mentor and her friends are within her “circle”. They are the ones who have offered her a place to stay when she was put on the street, encouraged her as a sociology and criminal justice major at North Carolina Wesleyan College, and listens when she needs them.

“Kandice is a testimony to the power of perseverance,” says Executive Director Heather Harvison who believes the dependable, unwavering presence of a mentor gives a girl the confidence to keep trying. “There is power, she says, in knowing that you can always, always count on your circle.”

“I never went through a moment when I felt like I didn’t need My Sister’s Circle,” says Kandice. “I still call Katie or Blair or Heather before I call anyone else in my life.”

Their support, says Kandice, gives her confidence about her future. “I know I’m going to be in a good situation,” she says.