Meet: Arlene A. Asante!

Introduce yourself and profession to our readers:
Arlene A. Asante, is a savvy businesswoman, nonprofit owner, student, sister, friend, and inspiration to others. Through her gifts, she has been blessed to become the Visionary Founder and President of Enhancing Adolescent Girls for an Evolving Resolution, Incorporated mentoring program. (EAGER, Inc.). The EAGER, Inc. Mentoring Program is a cost-free program in Baltimore City, Maryland that was established in November 2009. The program provides mentoring services to at-risk minority girls between the ages of 12-15 years. EAGER, Inc. provides an intensive 60-weekpersonal growth workshops on life changing topics such as building self-esteem, sex, drugs, abortion, resume building and more. The program also, caters to current events that can affect the young girls such as police brutality, and racial profiling. Young ladies have an opportunity to meet and establish relationships with college female mentors who can provide personalized, one-on-one mentoring and personal growth development. The aim of the program is to instill: Integrity, Responsibility, Respect, Honesty, Patience, Discipline, Service and Courage. Arlene believes that a part of her calling and purpose is to mentor and help young ladies become dynamic, wise, and successful women. “I believe I have been blessed to motivate and encourage young women from all economic and social backgrounds”. Along with working with young women in Baltimore city, Arlene is a Doctor of Dental Surgery Candidate at Howard University College of Dentistry. Her second passion is providing quality dental care to the community. Arlene, desires to open a dental practice in the Washington DC area. Arlene’s life motto is: Use your God-Given gifts to serve others. 1 Peter 4:10.

What inspired your pursuit of this area of interest?
Arlene grew up in a non-traditional home, her parents divorced at a young age. Although the divorce placed a void in Arlene’s heart, both parents instill in her determination, strengthen and seeking God in every area of your life. At a young age, Arlene had a lot of questions about her identity, self-esteem, and purpose in life. One day in High School, Arlene’s Physiology Teacher, Mrs. Vogler observed that Arlene was not herself, she appeared frustrated, disconnected, and not interested in the class objective. Mrs. Vogler asked “Is everything okay”? She responded “yes”, but Mrs. Vogler continued “Arlene, you have the potential to do great things in this world, beyond what you can dream about, but you must stay focused. Whatever is bothering you inside, put it to the side and focus on school.”  Arlene did not grasp what Mrs. Vogler was trying to get her to understand, but as Arlene continued into her adult years, she met many prevalent mentors who saw the same greatness in her. Through mentorship, Arlene realized her potential, she grew wiser and gained clarity about her purpose in life. 

These milestone connections in Arlene’s childhood were critical, and influenced her childhood development. Today, children in Baltimore City are dealing with heavy burdens such as teen pregnancy, rape, drug abuse and more. Some of the challenges children are facing are beyond what they can handle at their age. These challenges fueled, Arlene to start the EAGER, Inc. Mentoring Program in 2009. Young girls need mentors who will provide guidance, love, instructions, wisdom, and skills to become dynamic women of the future. It is Arlene’s desire to cultivate and inspire the next generation of leaders.   We must speak Life in to our youth. 

What advice would you share with ladies interested in starting a career in your industry? The advice I would share with others who are interested in starting their own nonprofit mentoring program. I would first recommend doing your research and finding something that is fueled by your passion. Like, any business there are high and low points of entrepreneurship. Your passion and dedication will always help sustain and maintain your business as it evolves over the years. When starting a non-profit one must be precise on the audience you would like to serve and be clear on how your services can enhance people lives.  I also recommend anyone interested in starting their own nonprofit to consider working with a consultant to help you start your non- profit business. During my free time, outside the dental clinic I provide non-profit start up consulting. There are a lot of requirements and sometimes you just need a helping hand to build the foundation for your non-profit. 

What is next for your business/brand in 2018?
The EAGER, Inc. Mentoring program will be celebrating 10 years in November 2019! Therefore, it is time to celebrate! We are hosting a Cocktail Fundraiser near the Downtown Baltimore City, Maryland area to showcase our accomplishments over the years. We will be having a surprise guest speaker, who will be announced at a closer date! Please stay tuned and connected to learn more. I also will be expanding my services and assisting more women on starting their own non-profit. In September, I will be joining the Wealthy Women Winning International Tele- Summit, in a one hour workshop “How to Start a United States Based Non-Profit”. My desire is to help other women WIN! 

How can readers connect with you online?
I would love to stay connected to readers, especially business women in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area. I can be found on all social media networks. 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArleneAsante
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arlene.asante
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arleneasante/

If you are interested in receiving one-on-one coaching and consulting on starting your own nonprofit business she can be reached via email at AAsante12@gmail.com

For more information about the EAGER, Inc. Mentoring Program please contact us at our official website www.EAGERinc.org