DALLAS - They are young girls with big dreams. One Dallas woman is encouraging those dreams by teaching at-risk students that there is no mountain they cannot climb.
Tiffini Hall, the director of Dallas CAN! Academy's "Dream Girlz" program, wants her girls to be proud.
"We are just pulling those things and extracting and separating the great from the not-so-great and showing it back to them and helping them understand this is what you can be," she said.
Hall teaches the girls about etiquette, helps them with their speaking skills and inspires them to reach for the stars.
"Okay, maybe I can do this," said Elcennia McCarthy, an 18-year-old participating in the program. "You know, at first, maybe I couldn't do this and I lost that dream. That dream has disappeared. But, now, it's a way for us to help realize dreams can happen."
McCarthy is one of over a dozen high school girls who meet with Hall four days a week. Hall's goal is to have her girls gain respect for themselves and for others.
"We need to be the best, not just better," she said. "But, we need to be the absolute best of who we are and we're here to do that."
Dream Girlz is looking for opportunities for the girls to speak to small groups or clubs to practice their speaking skills and is also looking for sponsors of events where the girls can practice their etiquette skills.
E-mail: cflanagan@wfaa.com
