Philadelphia nonprofit helping girls get head start on careers with Lunch and Learn initiative
A mentor in Philadelphia is helping girls get a head start on their careers through his group mentoring initiative.
Kirk Berry is the founder of the , a nonprofit that pairs youth ages 9 to 14 with professionals through a series, blending real-world skill-building with hands-on experiences.
"There's a lot of young people who need and want a mentor," Berry said. "But there's not enough people to do it one-to-one."
Berry created a solution: group mentoring sessions that bring students directly into the workplace.
At a recent session hosted by Dynamic Advertising Solutions, students tackled marketing, brand awareness and even persuasion techniques with a few laughs along the way.
CEO Andy Langsman, who launched his business right after college, shared his journey and stressed the importance of consistency and hard work.
"It takes a serious amount of hard work," Langsman said. "You need to stay focused."
Langsman's team helped lead exercises to boost confidence and teach communication, lessons that resonated beyond the office walls.
Berry said his daughter was the inspiration to expand the program to include girls.
"She told me, 'Daddy, girls need to learn the same skills boys do,'" Berry said.
Since launching the KB Foundation in 2016, the impact has been real. Some students have even gone on to be hired by companies they met through the program.
"We actually recruit and hire people from the KB Foundation," Langsman said.
The message for these young girls is that exposure is life, and every session is a step toward a promising future.
