LEAD GIRLS OPENS DOORS TO NEW DOWNTOWN WINSTON-SALEM PROGRAM HUB

Funding for expanded space made possible from Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women: Black Women Impact Grants initiative

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Apr. 13, 2023) – Winston-Salem based LEAD Girls of NC is officially opening the doors to its new downtown program hub. “LEAD Girls exists to ensure that every girl in Forsyth County is heard, seen, valued and equipped,” said LEAD founder and executive director Joy Thomas. “By modeling and instilling unstoppable leadership, we’re creating boundless impact in this community.”

Since its founding in 2016, LEAD has operated out of three small offices with no room to host programs, provide training for LEAD facilitators or enable the girls to access resources such as books and computers. In 2022, LEAD was one of 50 national recipients of the Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women: Black Women Impact Grants initiative to fund Black women-led and Black women-serving nonprofits. With that grant, LEAD will now have almost 2,000 square feet of space to serve as a program hub for the more than 200 LEAD Girls participants and provide much needed space for its trained facilitators and community volunteers.

Previously, LEAD had to secure different spaces around Forsyth County for its community weekend programs and its summer camps through partnerships with Forsyth Technical Community College, Salem College, Fearless WS and the Mazie Woodruff Center. The new space, located on the ground floor of the Loewy building on 4th Street in Winston-Salem, provides a consistent home base that also reflects LEAD’s signature identity. Bright pink and teal colors adorn the walls, chairs and décor along with inspirational sayings and imagery.

“When the girls walk into this space, they are truly embraced by all that LEAD represents,” said Thomas. “We want each girl to see, feel and know that there is nothing she can’t do.”