School & Community Based Circles

Where girls find their voice. And use it.

Girl Circles is Pretty Purposed's flagship program, a small-group mentoring and social-emotional learning experience designed to meet girls where they are and grow with them over time.

Led by trained school counselors, teachers, and community facilitators, Circles bring together groups of girls in safe, consistent spaces during the school day, after school, and in community settings. Sessions follow a research-informed curriculum built around identity, self-esteem, healthy relationships, communication, mindfulness, leadership, and decision-making — the skills girls need to thrive.

Currently active in 20+ schools and three community-based sites across Petersburg, Hopewell, Dinwiddie, Sussex, and surrounding areas, Girl Circles reaches girls ages 9–18 in communities that face some of the most significant disparities in health, education, and economic opportunity in the region. Our community-based sites extend that reach further, serving girls who aren't connected to school sites and ensuring no one falls through the cracks.

But Girl Circles is more than a program. It's a systems-level intervention. By embedding trained facilitators directly into schools and community institutions, we're building the infrastructure for girl-centered support to become a permanent feature of the communities we serve, not a supplement to the system, but a part of it. Girls who participate in Circles twice a month also gain access to weekend enrichment experiences centered on the arts, culture, and career exploration, deepening their connection to opportunity and possibility beyond the classroom.

When a girl finds her Circle, she finds her people. And when enough girls find their people, communities change.

Currently our school based circles span across Chesterfield, Richmond, Dinwiddie, Petersburg, Hopewell, and Sussex. If you are interested in signing your child up for a program fill out this form. Your child must attend a participating school and be in 5th grade and up. If your child does not attend a participating school, you may sign them up for our community based program located at St. Marks United Methodist Church or Dinwiddie Eastside Enhancement Center.

Pretty Purposed Alumni leadhers

They came as girls. They're staying as leaders.

Alumni Leadhers is Pretty Purposed's leadership development pathway for our most seasoned participants — girls in 8th grade and up who have spent at least two years growing inside a Girl Circle. Launched in 2024, this program recognizes a simple truth: the girls who have lived this work are its most powerful voices.

Alumni Leadhers don't just participate in Pretty Purposed — they help shape it. Working alongside staff, mentors, facilitators, and volunteers, they step into real roles with real responsibility. They create social media content, engage donors, plan events, represent the organization in the community, and advocate for the issues that matter most to girls like them. Their most recent milestone: leading the planning of Pretty Purposed's inaugural Mental Health Summit in 2025, a testament to what young women can build when they're trusted with the table.

This is intentional leadership development, not performance. Alumni Leadhers build professional skills, find their advocacy voice, and earn a stipend for their work — because we believe their time, insight, and leadership have value, and we treat it that way.

When girls move from participant to Leadher, something shifts, not just for them, but for every girl who comes after them and sees what's possible.

Applications for Alumni Leadhers are currently closed.