Teenage girls endure so many challenges on a daily basis at home, school and in their social lives. Everyone should have a chance to express worries and issues they face, but unfortunately some girls aren’t granted that opportunity.

H-F now offers the Girls Virtue Club, a club that works on building a sisterhood and being a safe haven for girls at the school.

The Girls Virtue Club was started at H-F in 2015 ,but unfortunately ended in 2017 due to the lack of sponsors. However, there was a burning passion in senior Leah Joyner, the club’s president, to restart the club last year. She was unable to get a sponsor in time.

This school year, nothing was going to stop her from getting the club restarted.

“I wanted to restart [Girls Virtue] because I think it is so important to be positive towards ourselves and others,” Joyner said. “As females, we face so many challenges growing up and don’t necessarily know how to handle them or where to look for help.”

Club sponsor and science teacher, Jeanettra Watkins felt compelled to step up and lead Girls Virtue this year alongside Joyner because they both felt as if there was a student demand for the club.

“Often times, ladies do not practice building each other’s self-esteem and tear each other down, but in Virtue, we provide a safe space with a trusted adult to talk about things that aren’t normally discussed,” Watkins said. “We want to form a sisterhood and ultimately [forge] lifelong connections.”

Girls Virtue’s vision is for girls at H-F to come together for encouragement and empowerment. There are mentors within the club that help encourage and talk to girls about anything they experience and need to get off their chest.

“Many girls come with a wide variety of questions about personal issues. I think everyone needs that confidant or true friend that they can go to and have trust in them,” Watkins said.

H-F is very diverse and this club helps bring togetherness among girls in the school. Girls Virtue is a great way to get involved and break the walls of social groups by meeting new people that you could make lifelong connections with.

Students that participate in Girls Virtue feel empowered and enjoy being in an environment where they feel comfortable in.

“Often negativity swarms our lives and I think a club like this will produce positive energy [in our school],” senior Lawrencia Palmer said. “In girls virtue I feel empowered. I feel like what I say matters and I feel happy that we are able to experience this together.”

Joyner loves to see the girls smile because they start to see change within themselves and they discover how far they can go and what they can accomplish.

The Girls Virtue Club meets every other Wednesday at 3:15 in room B15. See Mrs. Watkins or Leah Joyner to get more information about joining the sisterhood.