History
Incorporated in 2001, Chosen Heirs, Inc. was founded by Karen Nichols after a lay-off from Corporate America and inspiration from an afternoon talk show. With the growth in Henry County, she saw the need to contribute to the community in a positive way.
Since its inception in 2001, Chosen Heirs Inc. has operated completely by volunteers who plan activities and outing for the Saturday Academy. The Saturday Academy began September 28, 2002 with girls from Henry, Clayton, Rockdale and Dekalb counties. Throughout the program year, the young ladies took part in several activities and community service projects. The community service projects included collecting can goods for the elderly and homebound, letters and cards to sick children of the Ronald McDonald Houses of Georgia, and sorting medical supplies for needy countries. Additionally, the group sent letters and care packages to soldiers deployed in the Middle East, as well as, cards to families of the ex-POWs that were held in Iraq.
Other activities included attending the Alvin Ailey Dance Production, dinner at the Sun Dial Restaurant, interviewing technique classes, team-building sessions with the Henry County YMCA, Mother/Daughter workshop with Girls Inc. of Metro Atlanta, money management, goal setting and career research sessions. The educational enrichment element focused on written and oral communication.
During the 2003-2004 program year, Chosen Heirs expanded the program to include an international element. The program participates with Bridge of Books Program. The program creates literacy links locally between children in two countries: the United States and South Africa. Chosen Heirs exchanges video, letters and pictures with girls from the Parkstown School for Girls outside of Johannesburg, South Africa. In April 2004, the organization took part in National Youth Service Day. The participants of the program sponsored a toy drive for God’s Golden Acre (South Africa), an orphanage for children who are abandoned or who have lost parents due to the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. Each month, the orphanage hosts a birthday party for the children who reside at the orphanage. The participants organized a car wash and candy sale to raise money for the gifts and shipping cost. Another highlight of the 2003-2004 program year was the selection of Chosen Heirs, Inc. as a site for the Me ‘N’ u program. Me‘N’u is a civic involvement strategy to increase and enhance adult/youth interactions in community settings. Through the Me’N’u initiatives, GUIDE, Inc. in partnership with the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, support is given to community groups working with school age children and youth to develop high quality individual and group mentoring programs.
During the 2004-2005 program year, the middle school & high school teams read the five books from the Payton Sky Series as a part of their reading circle. The elementary group read book one of the Carmen Browne Series. In February, the participants had the opportunity to meet the author of the books from both series, Stephanie Perry Moore. In June 2005, ten participants traveled to New York City for a sightseeing tour, which included a visit to the Good Morning America Studios and tickets to the Broadway Musical Beauty and the Beast.
This year’s program served girls in Henry, Clayton, Dekalb and Rockdale Counties. The young ladies participated in public speaking, stock market, checking account, career, business, modesty and resume writing workshops. In December the group adopted a needy family through Connecting Henry’s Community Christmas for Needy Families Program. The group also collected items for Hurricane Katrina victims and organized a Valentine’s Day Lunch for the foster children who are residents of A Friend’s House in McDonough. The elementary school girls opened a snack business to help raise money for the children at God’s Golden in South Africa. The group of 4th graders purchased over 100 gifts with the proceeds from their snack business, Butterflies, Inc. The gifts have been shipped to God’s Golden Acres an orphanage outside of Durban. Additionally, the group took part in National Youth Service Day with a Random Acts of Kindness Project on April 22, 2006.
In 2006-2007, Chosen Heirs added new components to the progam.
In 2007-2008, Chosen Heirs partnered with Red Oak Elementary School. Red Oak provides meeting space for the Leadership Academy on Saturdays during the academic year.
In fall 2008, Chosen Heirs hopes to expand the program to include boys.