Program aims at finding royalty in young girls

By Melanie Patterson
The North Jefferson News

One Fultondale woman wants to make a princess of every young girl in north Jefferson County.

Courtney Hall is helping start a new program called Princess Girlz. For girls ages 7-12, the aim of Princess Girlz is to show young people that they are royalty on the inside.

"My vision is to keep girls from thinking they have to depend on a job, guys or their status in school to define who they are," said Hall. "They are a natural-born princess because they are a daughter of God."

Even though the underpinning of the program is based on Christian teachings, Hall does not want Princess Girlz to be another church class. She wants it to be fun, educational and a boost for girls' self-image.

Ironically, Hall has two sons. But her desire to teach young girls their worth stems from her own childhood.

Hill remembers the "popular girl" in her own school that everyone else looked up to. She said that her feelings were shattered if that one person ever said anything negative to her.

"I know the mistakes I made in my life," she said. "I depended on what somebody else thought of me.

"That still happens with girls today," she added. "Everyone wants to be adored and looked favorably upon."

Her message to girls is, "There is no difference between any of you. You all have a special gift that's been given to you."

Princess Girlz is still in the beginning stages. It will have its own curriculum, with ideas drawn from other sources.

"It will be 100 percent girly," said Hall. "There will be fashion shows, spa days and makeovers."

Along the way, Hall wants to teach the girls some basic but important principles: Respect, modesty, character, courage, truth and duty.

"With the fashion shows, we'll teach them the right way to do it," she said. "You can have cute clothes that are not revealing."

The first meeting of Princess Girlz is scheduled for Sept. 16, 4-6 p.m. at the Gardendale Civic Center Camellia Room. There is no fee to join, Hall invites all girls ages 7-12.

To learn more, contact Hall at princessgirlz@charter.net or call 966-6221.