A mentorship program for girls at Edgewood High School has requested funding from the county to grow student involvement.

The afterschool program, First Ladies of Edgewood, has operated out of Edgewood High School since 2013 and has mentored more than 200 young women, all of whom have graduated from high school, according to organizers.

The program is led by Chiwy Webster, who told the Harford County Board of Education Monday that she has enough funding to serve 50 of the 676 young women at Edgewood High School.

“We need some help because I believe that we are going to change the world,” Webster told the board.

Through the program, girls in grades nine through 12 learn how to solve problems, build strong relationships with their peers and community. Activities include learning how to dance, plan events, bake cookies, and find the best foods to pair with tea.

Webster emphasized that the lessons teach young women character building and how to plan for their future and navigate life after high school.

Albertha Johnson, a rising senior in Edgewood High School’s International Baccalaureate Program, spoke about her involvement in the program and cited its growing student participation. She said the program would benefit  the community.

“This return on investment would increase the educational engagement and create stronger relationships in our community,” Johnson said.

First Ladies of Edgewood is funded by donations from individuals and community partners. The program operates on about $5,000 annually, which Webster said is stretched to provide snacks at the program’s meetings twice per month, host workshops, public service projects and the program’s annual Cinderella Project — a free event for the students to showcase what they have learned.

The funding is also used to provide prom tickets to juniors and seniors in the program, as well as gifts for participating students at the end of the school year.

“Trying to run off the little bit of money we have, it is hard, and I had to tell them ‘I don’t know if we can still do this,’” Webster said. “We have traditional things we want to be able to keep, but our budget doesn’t always allow for that.”

Webster’s goal is to raise enough funding to double the program’s participation to 100 students, and gradually expand in subsequent years.

She noted that the program is in the process of becoming a nonprofit organization, which board members said is a required status to receive funding from the school system.

School board President Aaron Poynton explained that the board is looking to expand and strengthen school mentorship programs across the county.

First Ladies of Edgewood is one of a few student mentorship programs in Harford County Public Schools, with other programs such as Boys2Men, Willpower, Young Men On Tour and Civics and Chess offered at a variety of middle and high schools for at-risk male students.

“I am a big proponent of mentoring,” Poynton said. “We are looking to strengthen this in the community and across the county and bring some of the separate groups together, maybe to even work together to strengthen all of the mentorships and their relationship with the Board of Education.”

Board Vice President Melissa Hahn acknowledged the board’s difficult financial situation, which stemmed from a $60 million funding deficit that led to more than 150 positions being cut from the school system’s fiscal 2026 budget.

She said despite the funding challenges, the board strongly supports mentorships and will try to assist them.

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