Community members came together Friday evening at the Pines Evergreen Room in Seymour in an effort to not only raise money for Girls Inc., but to remind women to be strong, smart and bold.

Girls Inc. held their annual fundraising gala with people dressed to impress and ready to spend some cash for a good cause.

Program director Kelly Royer said the organization has done multiple big fundraisers over the decades and started hosting the gala over 10 years ago.

“The committee starts planning the gala in January, so it takes a lot of preparation,” she said.

Some of the evenings events included a silent auction, a reverse raffle, a live auction, a Girls Inc. Alumni speaker and honoring the Girls Inc. 2024 Champion Jessica Olsen.

Tonja Couch, financial advisor for Edward Jones in Seymour, who worked alongside Girls Inc. when she was the former executive director at Jackson County United Way, gave praises to Olsen being honored that night.

“She is very deserving of this honor,” she said. “Everything she does for the community is truly inspiring.”

After a few rounds of the reverse raffle, executive director of Girls Inc. Ginger Schneck invited Girls Inc. Alumni Mackenzie Pickerell to speak on how her experience with the organization impacted her life.

Born and raised in Seymour, Pickerell remembers in sixth grade her best friend, Jordan, would go to Girls Inc. everyday after school. She said she remembers begging her mother to let her ride the afterschool bus to the facility and remembers what she felt walking through those doors.

“I was so excited and a little nervous,” she said. “I remember walking in and seeing Kelly Royer standing at those front doors being the enthusiastic welcoming person that she is.”

That day Pickerell heard the words “strong, smart and bold” from a teacher with passion and conviction, she now looks back feeling empowered and inspired.

“That moment really made an impact on my life because I then returned to Girls Inc. in high school to become a staff member,” she said.

Through her college career, Pickerell was led on a path of development and now serves as the executive director of the Girl Coalition of Indiana, a state-wide, girl-focused social innovation start-up by the Girl Scouts.

Their mission is to enable every girl in Indiana to live her best life physically, academically, emotionally and socially.

“I share my experience with you at a young age because I truly believe that Girls Inc. paved my pathway for my passion and the work I do today,” she said.

In her current role, Pickerell said there is a lot of research being done around the well-being of young girls and the statistics are staggering.

According to Pickerell, in 2022, 47% of middle and high-school girls in Indiana reported being depressed and one in four girls seriously contemplated suicide. Girls experience bullying two times the rate as boys and cyberbully three times the rate as boys.

“Programs like Girls Inc. are vital to girls in our community,” she said. “By inspiring girls to be strong, smart and bold we are empowering her to be healthy not only physically, but emotionally. Girls Inc. is a place for all girls.”

Besides raising money for their organization, Girls Inc. also took a moment to honor someone in the community who has went above and beyond to inspire others and make an impact.

Olsen, director of Sweet Cheeks Diaper Pantry at First Presbyterian Church, was honored as Girls Inc. 2023 Champion for her lasting impact and targeting an unmet need in the community.

Besides serving on many boards such as Girls Inc., Boys and Girls Club, Anchor House and the Schneck Foundation Grant Committee (to name a few), Olsen founded the first diaper pantry in Seymour.

The mission for the diaper pantry is to provide free diapers and wipes to Jackson County babies and toddlers twice monthly as there are no government assistance programs that support diapers and wipes for children.

When the pantry first opened its doors in September of 2022, they were expected to serve around 50 to 60 clients, however, they ended up serving five times that providing their services to 257 clients in the first month.

The pantry now averages around 400 children per month who have benefitted from this service.

In accepting this honor from Girls Inc., Olsen said she thought of who inspired her to be strong, smart and bold.

“The reality was my mother poured into me, so I could easily pour into others,” she said.

Olsen shared the passing of her mother and how she has come a long way from being a scared little girl at the end of the hospital bed, begging for her mother not to leave her.

“She said to me, ‘You will be okay because there will be people ready to pour into you’,” she said. “People have poured into me and many of them are here with me tonight. I am only here tonight because people have poured into me which has allowed me to be the best version of myself.”

Olsen said she now has the opportunity to do the same with Sweet Cheeks Diaper Pantry.

“Here’s the thing it’s more than diapers and wipes,” she said. “It’s an environment where mothers feel accepted, supported and loved for who they are and where they come from.”

Olsen challenged everyone in the room to seek out someone who needs support and “pour” into that person love, wisdom and guidance.

“It can be exciting to dream about this community’s growth, so let’s get to work together,” she said. “Mom, I hope I haven’t screwed this up tonight.”