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The Asbury Park Recreation Commission has joined forces with the School District to sponsor a free mentoring program for female students.

Entitled I Believe in Me, the mentoring program aims to empower girls ages 10 to 18 to become ‘leaders in action’ by addressing social and emotional needs, said program creator Angela Ahbez-Anderson.

“By age six young girls lose confidence in their competencies,” said Ahbez-Anderson, a member of the Recreation Commission. “If unaddressed their ability to believe in their self becomes impossible for they fail to recognize their own potential.”

The 10-month program grew out of a public speaking program Ahbez-Anderson started in 2014.

After attending the two-day Creative Asbury Park Call to Collaboration event in January, she sprang into action, first by researching how best to engage and then approaching fellow Commission members to vet interest in sponsoring a pilot program. This summer the Recreation Department offered an 8-week program that featured a public speaking component. Ahbez-Anderson and ShowRoom owner Nancy Sabino worked closely with the students; letting the students direct the areas interests.

Based on the pilot’s success, the Recreation Commission, headed by Councilman Jesse Kendle,  unanimously approved the program’s launch. Recreation Commission members Angeline Brown, Sabino, Jessiemae Jones-Ricks, and Esther Piekarski will share their expertise and serve as volunteer mentors, Ahbez-Anderson said.

“We are particularly interested in the most vulnerable population; African-American and Hispanic girls who are at risk of failure,” Ahbez-Anderson said.

Research, she said, indicates one in four girls living in poverty will drop out of school because they are academically disengaged.

“The I Believe in Me Mentoring Program will counteract this by meeting girls’ emotional needs in a positive and supportive environment,” she said.

The program debuts within the school district Monday with weekly meetings at the Martin Luther King Jr Middle School and at the Asbury Park High School.

“The school district is delighted to partner with the City and this program as it will ultimately teach our young ladies how to attain success in and out of school,” Asbury Park School Superintendent Lamont Repollet said. “This is just another example of how we are ‘Building A Brighter Future’ by focusing on the social and emotional needs of our students, as modeled in this program.”

On October 15, a weekly meeting will launch for all girls who live in the city at City Council Chambers, located at 1 Municipal Plaza.

The program will culminate with an oratorical pageant that is open to all girls who successfully complete the mentoring program. Girls will have the opportunity to showcase their oratorical skills to an audience of family and friends.

For more information and to register, email angelaahbez@gmail.com.

[Feature photo from Ahbez-Anderson’s 2014 program]

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