Foster girls participate in inner beauty contest
This five-week program is run by Los Angeles County DCFS and includes activities such as boxing and healthy cooking.
LOS ANGELES – “Let’s take a jab.” Emily Williams takes a swing at her instructor’s boxing pads. This teenager participates in inner beauty pageants and workshops. The program was founded by Los Angeles County DCFS Social Worker Marsha Morton and concludes with a competition.
Boxing is just one of the workshops associated with the project. University ideas and finances are two different things. Making a wallet is another thing, as is career day and healthy cooking. The goal is to create fun, positive activities and develop life skills through a five-week program held on Saturdays throughout the summer.
Boxing is taught by the Better Days Integrated Program, a private mental health practice. Yoga was also taught from the first day it opened.
By the end the group’s numbers grow, leading to pageant night. Emily Williams in the boxing class wears a sash with Miss Success’s name on it. All girls will be given a trophy. It is about overcoming the foster parent position.
“I want to be a tattoo artist or a pediatrician,” she says. “My side job is as a tattoo artist, and my long-term career is as a pediatrician.”
Like Morton, many of the volunteers are social workers for Los Angeles County DCFS. All of the pageant dresses and gowns are donated.
Morton felt the need to maintain a connection with young women after the pageant. More workshops will be added in the coming weeks. There’s Oktoberfest on October 26th and a field trip to create holiday leather handbags in the Fashion District on November 9th. Then there will be a Holiday Pajama Party on December 21st.
Foster youth interested in the free program should contact Morton at DCFS at 213-905-9762 or email mortma@dcfs.lacounty-gov. Volunteers and donors can contact the same number.
