About Us
Our mission is to provide services to middle and high school girls focused on building self-esteem, confidence and character to promote positive self-image, positively impact educational and career aspirations and improve academic achievement.
Truly Valued, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Our goal is to create an environment of learning and explorational growth for young ladies to cultivate positive relationships and give back to their local community. Truly Valued, Inc. creates a mentor network partnership with local churches, schools and various organizations to support youth development.
Truly Valued Pledge
I pledge to lead the way by
Staying true to God,
To myself,
Walking in love,
And caring for my community
For I am Truly Valued.
Priceless Girls Mentoring Program
Truly Valued’s Priceless Girls Mentoring program is designed to help cultivate skills adolescent girls need to develop as successful adults with a strong sense of their own identity. The innovative, group-style mentoring program empowers youth through direct instruction, experiential learning, as well as trust and team building activities designed to improve confidence and respect for others.
In 2018, Truly Valued partnered with various community organizations to provide direct services to 70 youth in Manatee and Sarasota Counties. These peer led sessions provide an atmosphere of trust so that the girls can share their emotions without feeling insecure or misunderstood.
Community Engagement
Tea Party 4 Girls
These events are designed to empower our youth through conversations with professional women who live and work in their own community. They share their experience and expertise, bringing a wealth of knowledge from backgrounds in law enforcement, politics, entrepreneurship, arts and entertainment.
One-Sack Give Back
A project to assemble and distribute backpacks of school supplies to low-income students in our community to assist them through the school year.
In 2018, Truly Valued provided 1,647 backpacks filled with school supplies, accumulating more than 100 service hours.
Our Founder
Shavonne Simon, Founder
The organization started from a vision of Shavonne Simon. She was working in child welfare for an agency that provided services to children that were victims of abuse and neglect. While human trafficking wasn’t in the headlines as it is today, this was clearly an issue with some of the youth that came into care. With this conviction, in 2014, she came up with an idea to host Tea Party events that invited girls of all ages to have brunch and tea with prominent women in the community. In 2016, mentoring a small group of girls with just a handful of volunteers once a month, Truly Valued expanded to mentoring girls weekly in 2017.
Shavonne received her Master’s in Management from University of Phoenix in 2008 and her Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from Capella University in 2014. Through her life experiences, formal education, faith and compassion for youth and community, she rallied a group of women with the same passion to help young ladies, to come on board in support of the mission of building self-esteem, confidence and character of young ladies.
