Juanita Foreman is on a fast track to become the director of programs for Girls Inc.
She teaches a class known as Mind Plus Body at community facilities run by the Youth Crisis Center, Girls Inc., Communities in Schools as well as summer camps and the Boys and Girls Club after-school programs. Foreman has worked hard to get where she is today.
“There was a time in my life when I was homeless and running from an abusive relationship,” Foreman, now 65, said. “I had four children by the time I was 17 years old. I went through a lot in my young life without anyone to support me.”
Today, she’s devoted her life to making a difference in the lives of young women.
“I don’t want any girl to have to go through what I went through,” she said. “I want every young girl to be strong, smart and bold enough to step up for things in her life with faith and know that she can do anything. I want them all to get an education and to become independent women and to know they can persevere through challenges.”
A one-bedroom home was donated to Girls Inc. for Foreman’s use, but it did not have a functional bathroom and it did not have space for Foreman’s 15-year-old grandson, who has been in her care since his mother died.
Builders Care and ICI Homes turned the small dwelling into a two-bedroom home with one complete bathroom and a full kitchen. ICI Homes also furnished the home, giving Foreman and her grandson a home of their own.
NEFBA and Builders Care are again partnering with HabiJax, the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity, for a six-day blitz build in New Town.
The New Town Success Zone is bordered by Myrtle Avenue, Beaver Street and Kings Road. It is home to approximately 5,000 residents, 1,575 of whom are children. This is a high-profile initiative and one that will require hundreds of volunteers, community partners, financial and in-kind donations.
Last summer, NEFBA and Builders Care joined HabiJax to build 25 houses in celebration of HabiJax’s 25th anniversary. This June, the scope of work will include restoring 25 owner-occupied homes and building 25 new ones.
Builders Care is in the permitting stages of work to be done on the new community center at Holy Trinity Anglican Church and in the final stages of the project at AMI Kids School. Both projects are expected to be completed this month.
Builders Care launched its new website as a platform to communicate more efficiently with volunteers, donors and the community. Visit the new website at www.builderscare.org.