March is Women’s History Month and National Nutrition Month.
At the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, women constitute 63% of our workforce and girls constitute 47% of the kids & teens we serve at our Clubs each day. During Women’s History Month, our Clubs are encouraged to create safe, inclusive, and engaging environments that foster open and transparent conversations about women’s rights and contributions. In doing so, we will expand our girls’ sense of what is possible for them to achieve and surpass. For all of us, acknowledgement of women’s voices and contributions fosters respect and fortifies character.
When it comes to nutrition, BGCMA understands that healthy has multiple meanings. At BGCMA, we define healthy lifestyles as making decisions resulting in social, emotional and physical well-being. During National Nutrition Month, our Clubs are challenged to participate in the nutrition activity bucket list. The winning Club gets an educational field trip opportunity.
Just as BGCMA kids and teens are getting a double dose of women’s history and nutrition, twins MeaLenea and MeaResea Homer are giving us a double dose of life after the Blue Doors.
The “Homer Twins,” as they are affectionately known at BGCMA, attended the East DeKalb Club from kindergarten through 12th grade. When it comes to the positive influences, the “Homer Twins” acknowledge the important of Black women role models at their former Club.
“The impact it had can barely be put into words,” said MeaResea, who was East DeKalb’s 2015 Youth of the Year. “But if I had to put it into words, having these role models in our formative years created two level-headed young women who are not only sure of their goals, but most importantly, themselves.”
After graduating from BGCMA and high school, MeaResea attended Agnes Scott College where she graduated in 2019 with a B.A. in economics. While at Agnes Scott, MeaResea was named a Hubert Scholar and received funding to give back to the community. Traditionally, Hubert Scholars travel overseas to do their community service, but MeaResea decided to travel back to the East Dekalb Club to teach kids at her former Club how to code.
During this Women’s History Month, MeaResea continues to make her mark. According to the National Center for Women & Information in Technology (NCWIT), only 25% of the tech work field is women, and just 5% of that portion are Black women. Currently MeaResea is part of that 5% working in the tech field, working at Yardi Systems software company as a technical accountant manager.
Like her sister, MeaLenea also says having female role models at BGCMA greatly influenced her self-esteem. She says she never grew up thinking she could not accomplish something because she was a girl.
In 2019, MeaLenea graduated from Fort Valley State University with a B.S. in family and consumer sciences with a concentration in foods and nutrition. While pursuing a MPH of public health/registered dietician at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (prospective class of 2024), MeaLenea works at Grady Memorial Hospital as a clinical dietetic technician providing patients nutrition assessments, education, and interventions.
She credits her Club with first introducing her to why nutritional knowledge was important. “One of my earliest memories of this was when I was around eight years old,” MeaLenea said. “Our 4-H Club instructor, Ms. Helen, taught us that lunch meat had a high sodium content and the overconsumption can be bad for you.”
MeaLenea is also breaking barriers in her field. According to the Commission on Dietetic Registration, less than 3% of registered dieticians and nutritionists in the United States are Black.
Both ladies credit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta with exposing them to strong women, which then exposed them to opportunities to grow and establish their emerging careers. They also learned the importance of community.
“One of the biggest impacts BGCMA had was remembering the importance of community,” says MeaResea. “Whether that’s being involved with the community and just doing my part to make sure the community is a place I would want to live in.”
“I am eternally grateful for BGCMA for preparing me for college and my career,” MeaLenea added. “I was always involved and worked in teams at the Club and that has certainly helped me in my career field as far as getting involved in different committees and working with others on a daily basis.”
