Girls of the World empowers young girls to become strong women

As a teen mom, Lea Manningham had a lot of struggles to reach her goal of owning her own business.

Now that she's achieved her dream, she's lifting young girls by providing mentorship classes. Her effort to help them find success too is what's right with Tampa Bay.

Girls of the World is Manningham's non-profit, designed to help girls ages 8-18 build self-esteem.

"I'm really excited to keep going with this program," said Larisa Cianpa, a participant of Girls of the World. "I think it's really cool that it's women empowering other women." 

Manningham started the mentoring program in 2009. She was a teen mom and was learning the importance of having a support system. 

"Just wanting to let young girls know that, just because you're a teen mom, life does not stop from there. You know, things may slow down. However, you still can achieve your life goals that you have for yourself," she reflected.

Now, Manningham is giving back in a big way. She started out with 25 girls. Now she has more than 75 in her program.

"We teach them how to start their own small business or get involved with a trade school. We do parenting classes. We do financial literacy for the young ladies, as well. We just teach them everything that they need to know," Manningham said.

Now she wants to take her program around the world.

"I want it to be on a national scale where we're in different countries. Where all young ladies is able to get these skills to empower them, build self-esteem and let them know that they are great," she said.

The group meets three times a month on Saturdays. For more information, visit https://girlsoftheworldinc.com.