Monica Anderson of Austintown and her daughter, Myah Starkey, 12, enjoy the Sneaker Ball....Correspondent photo / Sean Barron

AUSTINTOWN — Monica Anderson has helped her daughter, Myah Starkey, establish a lip-gloss business, but it’s a few intangibles that being part of Inspiring Minds Youngstown’s chapter Anderson hopes will have true sticking power for Myah.

“She came out of her shell; her confidence level has soared, and she’s more social,” Anderson, of Austintown, said about Myah, 12.

Much of that is attributable to the girl’s two-year participation in IM, which celebrated its first Sneaker Ball holiday kickoff event and fundraiser Saturday evening at the Regency House, 3704 Mahoning Ave., in Austintown.

The three-hour gala brought together students in grades five to 12 from Youngstown and surrounding school districts, along with parents and other supporters, to celebrate IM’s nine years of impact on the Mahoning Valley.

The organization also has a chapter in Warren, as well as in Philadelphia, New York City and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.

The event also was to raise funds for the organization’s programming. In addition, IM has outgrown its current location at 2915 Glenwood Ave. on the South Side and is searching for a new, larger location in the city, Tammye T. Hardin, program coordinator, noted.

About 50 students are on a waiting list for the organization, she said.

Myah, a St. Christine School seventh-grader, has a business called “Glossified by Myah,” in which she and her mother create all-natural products from their home, Anderson said. Paving the way to make their enterprise possible was Myah’s time in Inspiring Minds, Anderson added.

For her part, Myah may still be in middle school, but she is thinking ahead — specifically, to one day enrolling at The Ohio State University to perhaps become a dermatologist, she said.

IM also mixed in a liberal dose of fun for Myah, who is a straight-A student. A trip in summer 2023 to Pioneer Waterland & Dry Fun Park in Chardon was a favorite activity, Myah said, adding that science is her favorite subject.

“The impact Inspiring Minds has made to the children is priceless. They’re hard on (the students), but love them in the same breath,” said Anderson, who works as a financial adviser for the Minority Business Assistance Center in the Youngstown Business Incubator.

Also receiving a healthful social skills boost from being in the program was C.J. Hall, 14, an Ohio Virtual Academy ninth-grader who listed psychology and American history as his favored areas of study.

“My social skills have improved, talking to people and holding a conversation and being confident in who I am,” C.J. said when asked how Inspiring Minds has most directly affected him.

The teenager also has a bit of an entrepreneurial streak, because he has an entity called “3P: Pain, Purpose and Passion” in which he helps to sell clothing, said C.J., who also is Hardin’s son.

“This is not an after-school program; this is an enrichment program,” said Yolanda Driver, whose three daughters, Emma’Lee Conner, 12, En’Dia Conner, 16, and E’Lexus Conner, 15, are in IM.

The girls have seen improvements in their etiquette and schoolwork, and have been on college visits.

Inspiring Minds also has helped Driver with “day-to-day life with my girls,” and has assisted her with certain aspects of parenting, she explained.

“It has opened my eyes to their future,” Driver said, adding, “The sky’s the limit. It sets kids up for success.”

Inspiring Minds has 80 students on its roster and operates under five impact areas: education, college and career readiness, personal development, exposure to new experiences and health and wellness. In its nine years, nearly 1,000 students have been served — with a 100% graduation rate, Hardin noted.

To that end, IM provides college visits and tours, trips to expose participants to varying cultures and experiences, tours of area industries, nutrition, etiquette and exercise classes, college and career readiness and assistance with learning job skills, writing resumes and thank-you letters and successfully presenting themselves on the public stage. Also available are wrap-around services such as individualized education programs. Other offerings include tutoring and mentorship, Hardin said, adding that many of the programs are based around Ohio learning standards.

IM participants also have visited at no cost more than 30 cities in more than 15 states. In addition, students have been on international trips that took them to Africa, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Jamaica.

In her remarks during the program, Katrina Simms, who runs a business that provides enrichment services, praised IM for guiding her daughter, Nadia Simms, 19, an OSU sophomore who’s studying to be a physician’s assistant, then plans to become a doctor.

“I’m just overjoyed,” the elder Simms said, adding that she also instructs the Harambee Dancers of Youngstown.

Before attending OSU, Nadia Simms had earned an honors associate degree from Youngstown Rayen Early College and Youngstown State University, her mother said.

It’s also vital that those in IM see the value in giving back to their communities in their own ways, and contribute to keeping the organization’s programming vibrant, Katrina Simms said.

“We need you, our children need you,” she added.