What We Do
Our
Programs
The Dinerral Shavers Educational Fund runs free, community-based programs that empower New Orleans youth through arts, education, mentorship, and health.
Girls NOLA Mentorship
G.I.R.L.S. NOLA
A free mentorship and empowerment program for young women and girls in New Orleans. Using integrative arts and gamification, we educate girls about their Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights while building sisterhood, confidence, and leadership.
- Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights education
- Arts, creativity & self-expression
- Sisterhood, confidence & leadership building
- Serving 145+ youth in 2024
Music & Cultural Education
Keeping the Culture Alive
In memory of Dinerral Shavers — a musician with the Hot 8 Brass Band and music teacher at L.E. Rabouin High School — DSEF connects New Orleans youth to the rich cultural traditions of their city: from brass bands to Mardi Gras Indians to second lines.
- Free music & culture education
- Free cultural education workshops
- Music and cultural series in the park
- Countering violence through cultural pride
Annual Initiative
The Pink Drive
The Pink Drive is an annual community initiative hosted by the Girls NOLA Mentorship participants. Girls collect feminine hygiene donations and package personal hygiene kits distributed to young women and girls across New Orleans — with a goal to place dispensers in every female school bathroom in the city.
Voices From Our Community
What Our Girls Say
Real words from the young women, parents, and mentors who make DSEF what it is.
I love GIRLS NOLA because it's a girls group that teaches you about your health, important things about your body and how to maintain yourself as a young lady. We also get to make new friends, and experience new places.
What I admire most about GIRLS NOLA is their unique blend of creativity, strength, and empathy. GIRLS NOLA cultivates self-confidence, offers support, and celebrates diversity.
OMG! We're not natives of the New Orleans area. I love the fact that my daughter doesn't feel like an outsider and she's making potential lifelong friends and contacts.
Make an Impact
Support NOLA Youth Today
Every dollar you give goes directly to free programs for New Orleans youth — music, mentorship, health education, and community. Give today and help us open more doors.