“ A lady knows her worth ,” White tells the young women assembled for the third annual Precious Rubies conference . “ A lady demands respect .” White , a licensed hairstylist , has seen too many young ladies who don ’ t know their worth and suffer from low self-esteem . She can relate because she once suffered from the same condition . “ My low self-esteem started when I was younger and comparing myself to my sister and brother ,” White said . They had almond-shaped eyes . Her eyes were round . They were a lighter complexion . She was darker . When she became a teenager , a guy told her that she had puppy dog , sad , droopy eyes . Growing up , people teased her about being skinny . She started hiding behind her glasses to hide her eyes . She bought a size 8 although she was just a size 2 so people would think she was bigger . Because she didn ’ t know her worth , she accepted anything from her boyfriend and tried to become what her boyfriend wanted . “ Anything he said or did I took because of my low-self esteem , because I didn ’ t know my worth ,” she said . Her mother noticed her downward spiral and tried to talk to her and prayed for her . One day , her mother said , “ Anjanette you need to pray .” “ She looked at me very intensely . When she said that to me it was like my spirit understood ,” White said . Because her mother , who passed away in 2000 , introduced her to God at a young age , White went back to God and asked him to heal her . He healed her from the inside out . She found that she was precious and beautiful in His eyes . As she began to heal , God began to speak to her about others and she heard God saying , “ Now what , Anjanette ?” “ I looked at girls cutting themselves , drinking , dressing provocatively and I began to know what God was talking about . A lot of preachers , teachers and parents are talking about the kids . But who ’ s actually doing something with the kids ? That was my cue to say don ’ t talk about them , be about them .” White had her first Precious Rubies meeting at a local library in 2005 . The response was phenomenal . “ People started to support me , encourage me and pray for me ,” White said . She knew she wanted to do more , but she didn ’ t know where to start until one day she received an ad in the mail about business school . White , who had a degree in business management from Robert Morris College in Chicago and also worked as a youth
leader at her church , went back to school and earned a certificate of completion in entrepreneurship at the Joseph Business School in Forest Park , Ill . She made plans to expand Precious Rubies and officially organized the foundation in 2007 . In 2011 she held the first Precious Rubies Conference . From 80 to 100 girls from the ages of 11 to 18 attend the conference every year . Every year White has different topics , speakers , classes , prizes and activities . The conferences are free and White has paid for most of the expenses for Precious Rubies out of her own pocket , with the support of family and friends who have donated money , food and time . The response from the girls is what keeps her motivated . I attended your program in April and it ’ s August and I ’ m still thinking about it . I was in a very dark place at the time and when I left that building I was not the same . I have a whole new outlook on life and I have to thank Precious Rubies for that !
White offers the Precious Rubies program to schools , churches and community organizations . Every Monday , White meets during the lunch period with a group of girls at a local middle school . The school has invited White and Precious Rubies into the school to mentor young ladies who the principal , social worker and dean of students believe will benefit from the program . White deals with different topics from bullying and friendships to suicide . But “ self worth , respect and being a lady , those are automatic ,” White said . White and up to 50 girls have a dialogue , watch movies , do skits and play games to get the point across . “ I never want to just hit it and quit it ,” White said . “ I want to make sure they understand the point .” And what is the point . Self-worth . “ If we can instill that in our young ladies now , they won ’ t accept abuse and neglect ,” White said . “ We don ’ t know our worth . That ’ s why men can say anything to us . The Enemy can come in and tell us to do all these crazy things because we don ’ t know our self worth . As you know better , you will choose better and do better .”
For more information or to donate to Precious Rubies , go to : www . preciousrubiesfoundation . org . Precious Rubies will benefit from the sales of this issue . Monica Fountain is a member of the board of directors of the Precious Rubies Foundation .
Spring 2013 / The Well Magazine 25