The Evoluer House

OUR MISSION:

The Evoluer House, an innovative and dynamic nonprofit organization, delivers empowerment programs that help girls to envision a future devoid of disadvantages and filled with possibilities. We are on a mission to help produce strong female leadership in the workforce and in society, by investing in young women and girls and their collective well-being and power. The target population is girls of color in Philadelphia aged 13 to 18, who are experiencing a unique set of social and emotional challenges and barriers to success. Our research-based curriculums are designed to promote emotional, mental, and social well-being, to equip girls with the tools they need to become college-bound and career-ready, and break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Evoluer House provides a safe community for girls to share experiences and learn both from and alongside one another.

OUR HISTORY:

We held our first personal development program in the summer of 2004 at the Francis Myers Recreation Center with 25 girls. We've grown tremendously and have successfully partnered with the Philadelphia Department of Recreation and Camden New Jersey Department of Community Services to operate the program at 28 recreational facilities. Our program offerings currently include the Youth Workforce Development and Personal Development Series.

In 2008, Evoluer launched Evoluer Girl eNews. More than 4,000 girls from around the globe subscribed to the motivational network where they continue to access college scholarship information, enrichment workshops alerts, and job and internship opportunities.

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While we have spent the last several years refining our Youth Workforce Development and Personal Development Series, our organization has also expanded its capacity to serve more girls. Most recently, we expanded the program offerings during the school year, cultivated new partnerships to ensure girls had ample opportunity to learn about and experience alternative economic pathways, and raised awareness about the effect of the school-to-prison pipeline on girls of color.

In 2015, Evoluer House was lauded for 11 years of service by the Obama White House. In 2016, Evoluer House Founder and Executive Director Cheryl Wadlington, was one of 10 women in the nation selected as a White House “Champion of Change” for her work and leadership in developing high-quality programs for marginalized girls of color. 

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Over the past 18 years, more than 2,100 girls have graduated from our Personal Development and Youth Workforce Development Programs. As a testament to our success, 100% of Evoluer program graduates attend a four-year college or other institutes of higher learning, and we boast an 18-year record of producing community leaders and difference-makers.

Today, Evoluer House continues to be on the front-lines of centering the well-being and leadership of girls of color in Philadelphia and across the nation.