ALL THE CLASSY LADIES Ht; llunnoh Perry I Austin,\ iyhte11yale Graduate student Cameisha Brewer created the Classy Lady Awareness Foundation in the summer of 2010 after losing her parents within one year of each other. Brewer said her battle with depression and anxiety in the wake of her loss led her to create the organization whose mission was to create a sisterhood of encouragement and empowerment for young women to embrace who they are while strengthening their walk ,,vith God. "I wanted to create something so the girls in Searcy can have something to be a part of," Brewer said. "During that broken time, I needed to have something to help me through my tough situation, and I knew if I didn't find something to be passionate about, it would be on a long, dark road dealing with depression. I decided to be proactive and do something that could help me but also help people in the community as well." Brewer said her late mother was an evangelist who set the example of how a godly woman should act, carry herself and treat others. She had a passion for serving her community and creating a Christian home - an environment Brewer realized many girls did not have. Assistant Professor of BibleAnessa Westbrook taught Brewer when she wrote the foundation proposal five years before. "Cameisha saw a need to positively influence girls that did not have significant women in their lives to help guide them," Westbrook said. " Since then it has grm,vn and developed to include a number of young women, both in high school and college." The nonprofit group met once a month for a Bible study and activity to encourage one another. "We teach girls how to be classy ... knowing they are chosen, loved, accepted, set apait, spirit filled and yielded," Brewer said. "Creating an atmosphere of sisterhood and helping each other grow in a positive environment is what we thrive on." Junior Leahndrea Landrum, a member of the foundation since her sophomore year, said she witnessed a positive change not only in those to whom the foundation ministered, but also in herself. "Cameisha had a dream to inspire, to build a community and suppo1t system for a wide range of young adult women," Landrum said. "She pours her heart into the organization and has seen many fruitful results from providing scholai-ships [and] community building exercises to effective mentorships." Brewer had led the Classy Lady Awareness Foundation for over five years but attributed the success of the program to the volunteers, mentors and participants. "The girls who have grown are the ones who have adopted the classy lady lifestyle, but for me the biggest growth has been the girls who have decided to live for God," Brewer said. "The girls who have made that conscious decision to be a role model for other girls in every area of their life, those are the things that keep us going and keep us inspired and motivated (to) continue to do what we do." Graduate student Cumeishu Brewe1· began lhe Class!/ Ludy .1u•ore11c'ss Fo11ndulion in lhe s11111mc>r of 2010 to proi id,, the yoirny women of Se(lrcy u Christion 1'11uiror11nent of sisters. I Photo hy Owen B1·ou·11 (;H .\Dl'.\TE FE .\Tl' HE 17H
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