Morning of Wellness Helps Youth Practice Self-Care, Connect with Leader Council

March 17, 2026

At an annual event known as Empowerment Day, members of our Leader Council host activities and conversations with our young women centered around topics like confidence, self-love, and boundary setting. Held in October, these events offer encouragement and guidance from professional women and enable our young people to build relationships with trusted adults.

But because the next Empowerment Day was so far off, our coworkers and our Leader Council members decided to plan a Winter Wellness Morning activity that would allow our young people to participate in some beneficial self-care.

Auriel Banister from Bani’s Beets also provided pressed juices for all the participants to enjoy. Both Banister and Martin regularly participate in our Empowerment Day, and our youth and Leader Council members were excited to welcome them back. Leader Council member and President of Mane in Heaven Dina Morgan brought swag bags for everyone.

Amy Schulz, the associate vice president of Mercy Home’s Walsh Girls Campus, said that the activities the group participated in align with the work already being done at the home, which includes reflection and a focus on both physical and mental health.

“It aligns with the Mercy Model because it [helps youth practice] coping skills, and it’s something they carry with them as they move forward,” she said.

Our young women greatly enjoyed the opportunity to focus on wellness and were already inquiring about more opportunities for similar events.

“It made me feel whole, like I was one with myself,” Chloe, one of the young women who participated in the activity, said.

“It was nice to give our bodies a break,” Kendall added.

Maureen Gainer Reilly, the Leader Council member who organized this activity, explained that this event, much like Empowerment Day, allows the board to connect our young people with resources in the neighborhood surrounding our girls home.

“[The] Beverly [area of Chicago] is lucky to have a lot of amazing Black- and women-owned businesses that are really dynamic and do great things in the community,” she said. “So this event [and Empowerment Day] are really cool because we’ve built relationships in the neighborhood with local businesses. The youth get to have them at the home and see them interact and then hopefully feel welcome in those places in the neighborhood.”

Gainer Reilly also enjoyed the opportunity for the board members to connect with residents in a more informal way where they could build community.

“I would love to see us continue planning on doing smaller, more intimate relationship-building events [like this],” she said. “There’s still room for those larger days like Empowerment Day and job fairs and mentoring, but this is something different than we’ve done in the past. … The Leader Council is going to be continually looking for really lovely ways to connect with the youth on their terms.”

Thank you to our Leader Council for planning a wonderful day of self-care for our youth. Thank you also to Morgan Martin, Christina Robinzine, Auriel Banister, and Dina Morgan for providing their services and goodies for our young people. We’re already looking forward to next event!