The Hope Gap

Polished Pebbles seeks to eliminate the “hope gap” experienced by too many girls of color in Chicago and nationally. Our Every Girl is a CEO curriculum introduces a myriad of new worlds to girls who rarely leave their neighborhoods. To us, success is a girl who not just attends school but who is engaged in school and taking leadership in her classroom, school, home, and community. A girl who sees the breadth of opportunities available to her in the future. A girl who lives in poverty who has learned about the career ladders in multiple industries and who is able to make an informed choice about how to best pursue a career that matches her interests and strengths. Success is a girl who knows how to resolve conflict and who can take the communication and soft skills they learn in our programs and apply them at home, work, and in her community. We are training the future leadership of corporate America, the nonprofit sector, and the civic sector. We are helping girls who are far too often trapped in a cycle of poverty and the criminal justice system to discover that they are entrepreneurs, scientists, CEOs, managers, and leaders.