HOUSTON, TX– April 22, 2019: Jessica Ray, a Houston US Army Reserve Veteran and Founder of the non-profit Braids for Hope, is on a mission to empower girls ages 7-17 by providing them with hope, a skilled trade, and an entrepreneurial education.

On Saturday, May 11, 2019, Ray will officially launch her new Braids for Hope Foundation with a Free Braiding Class and Success Workshop for girls ages 7-17, at the Braided by Design Hair Studio (637 W. 18th Street, Houston, Texas) from 12pm-3pm.

The Braids for Hope workshop is designed to help little girls and young ladies build for their futures and explore career paths by teaching them hair braiding techniques, financial responsibility, business and entrepreneurial strategies, and business poise and confidence.

The workshop will feature three strong female business leaders: Jessica Ray, owner of Braided by Design Hair Studio and founder of Braids for Hope, Lisa Thompson, a long-time corporate HR professional and owner of InnovatoHR and Recruiting, and Brittany Fowler Co-founder of Wealth Creations United, LLC in Columbus, Georgia.

Ray is an Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran who worked for the Department of Defense as a contractor from 2005-2014, before launching her own business in 2016. She will teach young girls at the workshop about the business of braiding, braid techniques, state regulations for braiders, sanitation, tools and products, business operations and acquiring clientèle.

Fowler, also a US veteran, who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2006-2007, has over 10 years of experience in the world of finance and will be educating the girls on financial responsibility, budgeting, and financial decision making.

Thompson, a 20-year veteran of corporate human resources, will be sharing professional poise and etiquette tips with the girls, so they will have the confidence to know how dress and present themselves professionally for interviews and in business settings.

“Our goal at Braids for Hope is to empower girls with a skill set they can do with their hands and provide them with the financial and educational tools that will always afford them the opportunity to earn money with entrepreneurial freedom, if they chose to do so,” said Ray. “I always loved doing hair, but ran from my passion because I didn’t think it could support me financially. I received the kind of artistic encouragement and the experience I needed to follow my passion and succeed as a creative entrepreneur. I want to pass that experience and encouragement on to these young ladies, so they, too, can have a place in the world of business ownership.”

Ray’s future goals for Braids for Hope will not only help young girls in entrepreneurship, but will also help single parents (male and female) meet their everyday needs, groceries, food, gas, clothes for interviews, school supply drives, and tuition assistance if they are in school. The May 11 Braids for Hope Braiding Class and Success Workshop is free for girls ages 7-17. Girls interested in attending must RSVP in advance at https://www.braidedbydesign.com.