Bianca Crawford, founder and CEO of Motivated and Empowered Inc., has come a long way since her childhood. She created the organization to serve youth who may have experienced a challenging upbringing like she did as a child. Her 501c3 is committed to empowering and equipping Black and brown boys and girls with the tools they need for success, with a focus on young people in the City of Cleveland.Reclaiming her storyBiana Crawford is the Founder and CEO of Motivated and Empowered Inc. The organization has been serving communities around the country since 2012. Credit: Bianca Crawford / Motivated and E,mpowered Inc.“I was born and raised in Cleveland. My mom had me when she was 15 years old. I’ve been through a lot in my life. Homelessness, sexual abuse and domestic violence,” Crawford said.Despite some difficult times, Crawford continued to pursue her education. She excelled in school as an honor roll student. Although she was doing well, she still was in the process of finding herself as a young woman while not having a lot of support. “I actually graduated high school a year early. After that I went to school at Kent State,” Crawford said. “Even then, I was still trying to figure out how to navigate life without some of the support that I needed. I realized that I wanted to be able to accept and help other people who looked and sounded like me.”After she did some research about nonprofits and funding, the idea of Motivated and Empowered Inc. came to life.Making space for youth Motivated and Empowered Inc. has been serving youth across the country since 2012. The organization currently has chapters and programming in Cleveland, Nashville and Atlanta. “We offer mentorship to our young boys and girls. We offer support for youth and families, where we provide families with basic needs such as clothing, hygiene products, gift cards for food and searching for sustainable housing,” Crawford said. “The organization is also partnering with different schools across Cleveland and surrounding suburbs, providing mental health services and college tours along with opportunities for community engagement.”Crawford believes that, now more than ever, young people need support and guidance from older generations.“A lot of times the kids will say to me that they don’t have anything to do. They don’t always enjoy the programming at different youth and rec centers,” Crawford said. “A lot of Boys and Girls Clubs are closing down now too, so they don’t always have a place to go.”Crawford also cites the bullying that some kids face in person and on social media.“A lot of our kids have parents who are working two jobs to try and pay the bills or are being raised by other family members,” Crawford said. “They don’t always have access to the best clothing options, which can make them more susceptible to bullying at school or online. Looking good and feeling good is an important part of having self-confidence.” ‘There’s More 2 Me’ Boys and Teens ConferenceMotivated and Empowered provides youth with mentorship, career pathways and a safe space to learn and grow. Credit: Bianca Crawford / Motivated and Empowered Inc.Crawford was inspired to create a conference of her own for girls after watching her mentor, Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, host a conference for young girls many years ago. The first girls conference for Motivated and Empowered was held in 2021.“We had our girls conference earlier this year in April, where we had 225 girls who participated,” Crawford said. “When we were in some of the schools this year, some of the young boys kept saying they felt like they were being overlooked.”A young voice for changeBrandon L. is a fourth grader in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. He participates in the Motivated and Empowered boys youth program. Brandon enjoys playing basketball and video games in his free time but he said he also enjoys the youth program because he gets to spend time with other boys his age and he appreciates how kind the volunteers are to everyone.After watching his sister attend the Motivated and Empowered girls conference, he asked Crawford about the possibility of creating a boys conference.“I saw all the girls having fun at the girls conference, and it made me wonder why there was never anything for us boys to do,” Brandon said. “It felt like the girls had everything. I couldn’t help but think, what about us? Sometimes it feels like people forget about boys like me.”Brandon was one of the first boys to sign up for the There’s More 2 Me Conference. He is excited for the conference.“Having something for boys would show that we’re important too, and I know a lot of my friends feel the same way.”“Some of them would say they feel as though there was no hope for them because of the color of their skin.” Crawford said. “I thought that was really tragic to hear, so that led to me creating this conference for them.”Supporting the causeCrawford is encouraging the community to support the conference, whether by volunteering time or making a donation. Funding for this conference remains a challenge.“At our girls conference, we raised almost $50,000 in sponsorship for the event. For the boys conference, we haven’t even touched $15,000 in sponsorship yet,” Crawford said. “That’s concerning because it just shows the way that the community views our young men.”But Crawford is confident the money will come. She encourages the young Black men of Northeast Ohio to come and enjoy a space specially crafted for them.“There’s more to our Black boys than people realize. Yes, they may have some issues and they may get into some trouble, but they still have dreams and aspirations. They still have purpose,” Crawford said.“We want to reignite that fire in them while reminding our community to invest back into them.”Want to get involved?Motivated and Empowered Inc. will be hosting its first There’s More 2 Me Boys and Teens Conference on Friday, Oct. 4. This three-day conference will bring together young boys, ages 7-18, to focus on leadership, navigating police interactions, mental health, career pathways, healthy social/emotional practices, games and more. Local Black leaders will be at the conference to speak to the young men about their experiences as young people while sharing stories about their own journeys to success and manhood. Registration info: As of Sept. 26, 427 boys were registered for the conference. There are 30 slots left before registration will be closed. To reserve your spot, contact Bianca Crawford at bcrawford@motivatedandempowered.comWebsite: Girls | Motivated and Empowered Inc | United States (motivatedanempowered.com)To donate: Give | Motivated and Empowe (motivatedanempowered.com)The post ‘I wanted to be able to help people who look and sound like me’: Motivated and Empowered Inc. set to host boys and teens conference appeared first on Signal Cleveland.First published by Signal Cleveland.