Empowering Adolescent Girls

We help adolescent girls in underserved communities with programs that bring awareness to mental health, domestic violence, teen pregnancy, body image, human trafficking, and career development so they can feel empowered.

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EVENTS

UPCOMING EVENTS

ROSES FROM CONCRETE BIENNIAL GALA

SATURDAY 11/22, 5PM - 8PM, MCKIMMON CENTER - 1101 GORMAN STREET RALEIGH

Join us for an unforgettable evening of purpose and celebration at the Roses from Concrete Biennial Gala on Saturday, November 22nd, from 5 PM to 8 PM at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh.

This is more than a gala. It’s a tribute to the brilliance, resilience, and rising potential of youth overcoming adversity, and a chance for our community to come together in support of their journey.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

A formal black-tie experience
Full dinner service
Stories of transformation and impact
Connection with like-hearted changemakers

WHY IT MATTERS:

Every dollar raised supports SAGE’s mission to empower youth through mentorship, education, and life-changing programs.

Mark your calendar and stay tuned for formal invitations.

This is not just a night out. It’s a night to lift up the next generation.

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thank you to our incredible sponsors!

To our sponsors, we extend our deepest gratitude for their belief in our mission and their ongoing support. Together, we are making a tangible difference in the lives of girls, empowering them to reach their full potential and become leaders of tomorrow.

DIAMOND STAR SPONSOR

PLATINUM STAR SPONSOR

GOLD STAR SPONSOR

BRONZE STAR SPONSOR

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DONATE TODAY TO SUPPORT OUR OUTREACH PROGRAMS THAT HELP ADOLESCENT GIRLS

1 in 4 girls today fall into a clinical diagnosis — depression, eating disorders, cutting, or other mental health issues. On top of these, many more report being constantly anxious, sleep deprived, and under significant pressure. (The Triple Bind, Steven Hinshaw)

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WHAT OUR GIRLS SAY

Sage provides us with a safe, nonjudgmental space for us girls to discuss our experiences and offer emotional and practical support to one another. Providing good learning and growth experiences, cultivating ongoing relationships with loving mentors, implementing life-enhancing programs and character development experiences, and, finally, encouraging hope and opportunity. These programs assist us in developing positive behaviors that promote their personal well-being and aid in the development of future goals.

— MACKENZIE FENNELL

our programs

SAGE VOLUNTEER

We’re always looking for passionate people who are looking to make a positive impact on our community.

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sage business program

This program was created to empower young girls to become future leaders and entrepreneurs.

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SAGE GIRLS

A mentoring program that educates girls about important issues and teaching them what it means to be a SAGE girl.

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support our programs

DONATE TODAY TO SUPPORT OUR OUTREACH PROGRAMS THAT HELP ADOLESCENT GIRLS

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@sage.inc

Special thank you to our favorite @feedyourartistry for coming to facilitate a step class with our girls. Seeing that depression is at an all time high and fitness is at a low for our younger generation it is crucial that we implement fitness programs into our curriculum to show our girls how to live a healthy lifestyle. This program was so amazing and needed for them. Thank you for bringing the high energy and excitement. The girls loved this step class and we highly recommend working with @feedyourartistry . Follow her and learn how you can join her fitness experiences🥳💕

The SAGE Gala is here! SAVE THE DATE 🥀
The Roses from Concrete Biennial Gala is happening on Nov 22nd

It’s an incredible night that honors the resilience and brilliance of youth who are rising above adversity. ✨

Black tie, dinner, impact. All for a cause that’s close to our hearts. Every dollar raised supports @sage.inc and our mission to empower youth through mentorship, education, and real lasting opportunities.
DATE: Saturday Nov 22,2025
TIME: 5PM - 8PM
LOCATION: McKimmons Center, Raleigh
ATTIRE: Formal / Black Tie
 Save the date! Hope to see you there!

#SAGEGala #RosesFromConcrete #YouthEmpowerment #InvestInYouth #HopeInAction #RaleighEvents

The countdown is on! Today with just $25 dollars you can make a difference by being apart of sending one of our senior youth board members off to college with a $1000 scholarship. Just 2 weeks until the Class of 2025 graduates! Every dollar supports their celebration and legacy. Let’s do this! Donate $25 for the Class of 2025 at the link in our bio or scan the press and hold the QR code.🥳💕

Last week the girls did Paint and Sip, packed sandwiches for the homeless with @projectglow.nc , and had their annual Easter egg hunt. Swipe to see all the vibes. We even had nostalgic moments like the ice cream truck stopping by and the mentors were pied in the face 🤣. This was such a great program and everything was so positive. It’s truly amazing to see how consistent programming can uplift the spirits of our young girls. Great job @a.anngiie for running this program. 🎨🐣💕

This girl has seriously been on fire.🔥 Congratulations to our 12 year old SAGE Girl Rinah for completing her 2nd vending event and is booked for her 3rd event along with our winner @reresartbyamayafulton. Rinah is the CEO of @liplushbyriri and we are just so excited for her because she has the BEST formula for lip gloss and scrubs. We show she is going to continue to do extremely well. Rinah is only 12, she has amazing customer service experience, and the best lip gloss. Thank you @grlmarket for believing in our girls and providing this opportunity. Follow @liplushbyriri and continue to purchase and support our Rinah. She was a standout in the SAGE Business Program and this is just the beginning for this young talent. We are so proud of her 🥹💕

Grateful that our Baltimore group drove all the way to Raleigh to experience @mudgirlrun with us. A time was had and definitely wouldn’t trade this experience for the world.💗🫶🏾🥹
🎥: @top.llindaa

#raleigh #mudgirl #mudrun #mudgirlrun #fit #fitness #teen #girl #girls

SAGE takes MUDGIRL. A full day of volunteering and we finished off with a 3 mile course that had 17 obstacles. This was so much fun, and even though it was a difficult challenge it goes to show that there is nothing that we cannot do when we work together. Thank you for the experience @mudgirlrun 💗

Last week our girls were able to experience a tour to @cisco in the RTP. We want to thank you @crystalliite_ for this amazingly curated experience. The girls got to learn about the power of networking, tour the facility, and listen to an amazing panel led by amazing black female leaders in Cisco. We are grateful for this opportunity and look forward to exploring more professional development experiences with you all. Thank you @ciscocbpglobal 🥹👏🏾💗

We LOVE LOVE LOVE our @haven_farm Family. @goodvibesonlyix took the time to create a beautiful workshop for the girls and had us all make plant terrariums. It was a beautiful program and we seen so much creativity. We also were able to do some affirmations with @l.r.c._ and we got to celebrate our very own SAGE Girl @mrcyis_dellu birthday. Thank you @leslieloganbrown for all that you do we love you all and so happy to call you our family. 💐❤️🥹

Exciting news! 🎉 Next Friday, April 11th from 5-7pm, we’re inviting you to come out and support our amazing teen entrepreneurs who have dedicated the last 6 weeks to creating and launching their very own small businesses. These young ladies have worked incredibly hard to turn their ideas into reality, and now it’s time to show them some love! Special thank you to our sponsor NC IDEA for making this possible! 💡✨

This event is all about celebrating their achievements and supporting the next generation of business leaders. Whether you’re looking for unique products, services, or just want to encourage these young women on their entrepreneurial journey, this is the perfect opportunity.

Don’t miss out register at the link in our bio and come ready to shop, support, and celebrate local small businesses! Let’s make this event a big success and help these teen entrepreneurs take their businesses to the next level. #SupportTeenEntrepreneurs #ShopLocal #futurebusinessleaders

Special thank you to @wfisher4 @coastal24 @iamtarkisha for having our SAGE girls go through a financial literacy workshop where the girls were given real life scenarios and they had to learn how to budget their income. This activity was a huge eye opener for our young ladies and some even explained now they understand what their parents have to go through. Thank you for pouring into our future leaders @wfisher4 . This truly made a difference.🥹❣️👏🏾💵

“When I am here. I’m with you!” Those are words from the honorable Congresswoman @repdeborahross and she truly has meant every word. She has been so amazing to SAGE and our mission since theNCBWEN Awards last year and the girls were happy to meet her when she stopped by our table at Feminist First Friday. We appreciate Nadia Alston and @repdeborahross for sending a letter of support at our opening, for continuously inviting us to events, and for stopping by to show your ongoing support. Grateful for @firstfridayral @thelucymac for bringing so many amazing women together.💗

Very special thank you to @qthecounselor for coming in to work with our girls and showing them the importance of what it means to curate a safe space. We learned so much about our young ladies at this program and know that these conversations will stick with them as they maneuver through womanhood. Checkout her work with @shesthatgirlconference @curatedspacecounseling we definitely recommend her workshop if you have a group of youth. 🥳💜💗

Feminist First Friday was an absolute success! Thank you @firstfridayral @thelucymac @downtownraleighalliance for giving us the opportunity to set up a table for SAGE at the event. With our communities support, we raised enough in donations to award a $1,000 scholarship to one of our seniors. A special thanks to Lucy for believing in our mission and helping us make a difference! We enjoyed being able to connect with so many amazing people and we love you all for making a difference. Checkout our awesome table setup! Thank you @plantbase919 with Face2Face printing and marketing and @rrookkeehhaa for the beautiful table display. We are so grateful and hope to collaborate with many of you that we met at the event.🥹💗🫶🏾🎊

Extremely special thank you to our Board Vice President @michellekeatonbarrow owner of @keatonbarrowrealty for her donation to SAGE and for being an awesome facilitator for our business pitch session in our entrepreneurship program. Michelle has believed in our mission since we landed here in Raleigh and the girls absolutely adore her. They were very attentive during her presentation on how to create a business pitch. The pitches sounded perfect. Thank you Michelle for continuously pouring into our girls and into our community. You are the true definition of a CHANGEMAKER. We love you Soror.❤️

This Friday SAGE Youth Board Girls will be at Feminist First Friday hosted by @downtownraleighalliance . Come support this amazing event and the Women business owners who will be vending as well. We look forward to meeting you all. At the event SAGE will be selling merch and taking donations for our $25 scholarship, gift cards for food, and packaged beverages. We are so grateful for the opportunity and thank you for having us @downtownraleighalliance @firstfridayral @hartwellraleigh . We hope to see everyone there to celebrate Women’s History Month.💗🎊

Our entrepreneurship program participants recently had an insightful session led by our SAGE President and Owner of Mind Body and Scents, Alana Gilbert. They focused on designing their products and identifying their target audience, gaining valuable insights to shape their business ideas. Our 12 ladies have been working really hard. Thank you for taking your time to run session 2 @thealanagilbert @mindbodyandscents and we are so grateful for your commitment to our SAGE mission. We love you @thealanagilbert 🥹💗👏🏾

BIG NEWS✨✨✨

We are beyond excited to welcome Kia Abrams as our new Community Coordinator! Congratulations @kia.abrams . In this role, Kia will be leading our efforts in building strong partnerships and fostering meaningful community relationships.

Kia is no stranger to making an impact she is the founder of Hearts and Minds United, an incredible organization dedicated to mental health awareness and giving back to the community. Follow and support @heartsmindsunited_hmu . Through initiatives like their annual Christmas Toy Drive, Kia has shown a deep passion for service and a commitment to uplifting those in need.

We are thrilled to have her expertise, dedication, and heart for the community as part of our team. With Kia on board, we look forward to strengthening our connections and expanding our outreach in ways that truly make a difference.

Kia we can’t wait to see all that we accomplish together and we thank you for believing in this mission since DAY 1🥹❤️🎊! Again congratulations @kia.abrams

Recap of our awesome experience at @ncstatewilson . Thank you for capturing this college tour so beautifully @rrookkeehhaa . We are so grateful that you set this up @han.carter .🎊👏🏾❣️# #northcarolina #ncstate

For Valentines Day we had the honor of working with @rootedgoodsnc @lavishleaf @tg_floral to distribute Roses to people in the community. We were able to have our girls spread love and hand out affirmations to others hoping that they felt valued on this Valentines Day. We are so grateful for the roses donated from these awesome companies please support @rootedgoodsnc @lavishleaf @tg_floral . This truly made a difference and thank you to everyone who reached out to us following this event. We were able to partner with @projectglow.nc @heartsmindsunited_hmu and there is truly so much power in our partnership. #Acts of Kindness was a hit and will definitely be an annual S.A.G.E. Tradition. We love you all 🥹💗🌹

Today was the first day of our S.A.G.E. Business Program and we have an EXCEPTIONAL group. Special thank you to Patti Williams for facilitating their first session on their Mission Statement and Overview. You have such an amazing heart and we are so blessed to have you. We are so so excited. We were supposed to have 8 girls but we brought in 12 amazing candidates this cohort. So excited to support these young ladies. 🥹🎊👏🏾🔥 #raleigh #business #girls #teens #northcarolina #entrepreneurs

The greatest Board of Directors anyone could ask for. The love, hard work, and commitment on Valentine’s Day means the world. We work diligently behind the scenes to support our mission at SAGE. We really appreciate each and every one of you. Extremely grateful for this team and all of the amazing energy. 🥹🫶🏾💕

The angle we all needed! Our girls really did that with @nutella_24fit ! We need a dance team 😫❤️🔥🙌🏾

Congratulations to our very own @a.anngiie for making history to be the first girl EVER in Southeast history to sign a letter of intent for Collegiate Flag Football. She will be playing flag football at @bartoncollege for @bartonflagfootball . We are so proud of you and your accomplishments Angie and can’t wait to see what next season has in store for you. Excited for you and especially excited for the games. We know you will do amazing. 🥹💙👏🏾🎊🙌🏾

Ok now let me find out we could have a SAGE Dance Team. Thank you sooo much @nutella_24fit for coming to do a dance class with our girls to kick off our fitness series for our girls. We love and appreciate you and they had a great time. Checkout @nutella_24fit if you are interested in her classes she offers adult classes as well. ❤️🔥👏🏾

✨ BIG NEWS! ✨

Join us in celebrating and welcoming Toni Nelson as the new Assistant Executive Director of S.A.G.E. Inc. & Founder of @projectglow.nc

From mentor to program director, and now stepping into this leadership role, Toni has been an unstoppable force in empowering young leaders and creating impactful programming. As the founder of Project G.L.O.W. (Growing Leaders of Our World), a Tailored Care Manager, and an MSW candidate at the University of Houston, she brings a vision, passion, and heart for mentorship, leadership development, and community transformation.

We can’t wait to see how she continues to elevate S.A.G.E. and inspire the next generation of change-makers!

Drop a 💕💕💕 in the comments to congratulate Toni & go follow @projectglow.nc @__tcn

#ProjectGLOW SAGELeadership #WomenWhoLead #LeadershipInAction #MentorshipMatters #GrowingLeaders #CommunityImpact

Hugeee congratulations to our very own Mackenzie Fennell @xoxox_.kenzie who was recently selected to be a TEDx Youth Speaker at Chavis Way. Today, we’re celebrating our senior at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School and an extraordinary member of our S.A.G.E. family.

This is a huge accomplishment and a testament to Mackenzie’s hard work, dedication, and leadership. Mackenzie, we’re so proud of you for using your voice to inspire others and for representing the mission of S.A.G.E. with such grace and excellence.

We can’t wait to see you on the TEDx stage, sharing your light with the world!

🎤: @nick_sturdivant
🎥: @top.llindaa
#TEDxYouth #LeadershipInAction #community #northcarolina

Upper Class men TikTok. Seriously what are we going to do without them next year. 🥹❤️😭

Our girls tik tok challenge. Love this group of our newer girls 🥹💕👏🏾

SWIPE🤣We came showed up and showed out. Happy 16th Birthday Nia we are grateful to have you spend your birthday with us. 🥳💗🎊

Thank you thank you thank you so much @safensoundrugs for an amazing program and for bringing in @tg_floral to come speak with our girls. Our girls got to make their own personal rug, while talking about entrepreneurship and bonding.We are so grateful and this was an extremely fun experience for the girls. Thank you for all that you do🥹💗👏🏾🎊

Thank you @ncstatewilson for having us tour the College of Textiles. This college tour was extremely informative and they have so many opportunities for high school students especially Juniors who want to go into fashion and design. Thank you @han.carter and Kara and @mckaraffa for setting this up we greatly appreciate the opportunity to expose our girls to these amazing educational and career focused experiences. We look forward to doing this again soon. 💗

Grateful for a group of girls who love and have fun with each other. #supermanchallenge 🤣❤️

Yeaaaa Tonaye!!!! She is soooo good at wrestling. If you know Tonaye you know she is amazing at everything she puts her mind to. Also amazing sportsmanship at the end. Sooo proud of you and love your passion for wrestling. Great win @defnotex we love you ❤️🔥🎉👏🏾
#celebrateourgirls

Yesterday’s sports day was so much fun. The girls had a great time. 💗💗💗

Mood after a successful opening to our SAGE Building. Thank you for all of the support, donations, and people who signed up to volunteer. We received so much interest from this event and we are so grateful. Looking forward to working with you all. TikTok seen it first🥳🎉🫶🏾💕

Moment of transparency: No it is NOT easy! It is DEFINITELY WORTH IT! This is not just a girls group and we are not just their friends. There are so many misconceptions about mentorship and so many people always think our girls are just naturally put together. What people don’t see are the endless complaints, the attitudes, the tears, the disagreements, and having to keep it all together with so many different personalities. It doesn’t get easier we get stronger, we become family, and although setting boundaries can often be uncomfortable we focus on the goal which is our COMMITMENT to our girls and their SUCCESS. Behind every strong leader is an even stronger and more powerful team. This picture speaks volumes and displays how @kia.abrams @tcn have had my back through it all. Now we are even more powerful with @coachte_142 . Seriously we are the greatest team.Literally could not do this work without any of these amazing women. Most importantly without these phenomenal girls. We work sooo hard at SAGE and overload behind the scenes to make sure that each and every girl WILL get what she deserves. Through it all we persevere. This is more of an appreciation post than anything. Thank you @kia.abrams @___prettydope___ @jacknicolee @coachte_142 @__tcn @melgizelle @thehhdiva @xojazzjackson @devans_aboyname @_ladym_ @jones_ty93 @amazing_ash17 @thealanagilbert @i_am_twa_marrie @michellekeatonbarrow @mckaraffa @ethosbydesign_ @joycarterspeaks @iam_azizapece @aao_productions @its_mikelong @jessprings and Eva Kang for being the backbone to this organization. God covered this mission by sending the most amazing people you could ever imagine to do this work. We sure do make it look easy🥹❤️

Thank You to Hooters for sponsoring our Girls with food for the week!! Sage’s Restaurant Review of the week #Hooters #chickenwings #foodreview Recorded by📸: @__tcn Edited by📸: @_.luv4nuskiii

DOWNTOWN RALEIGH here we come! We have a building for SAGE y’all! Thank you to everyone who attended our ribbon cutting. This is only the beginning for an amazing cause. We are so excited to provide opportunities for our young girls. Extremely grateful to have both our Baltimore and Raleigh girls together for this moment. To think that this was all a passion that stemmed from wanting to help girls after going through domestic abuse and now we are here. I remember the days I would call every restaurant in town to help me feed my Baltimore girls because I had $20 dollars to my name, and all 20 girls were ALWAYS fed and never seen the behind the scenes. The literal blood sweat and tears that were shed in order to make sure that they had what they needed. I made sure they never seen me struggle and again God knew we were going to figure this out. I was 26 years old and by myself with our Baltimore girls. Today we are here in Raleigh still serving girls we have a strong board, an amazing staff, we have amazing girls, we are the only girls group contracted with Raleigh parks and recreation, we have amazing partnerships, and NOW we have a BUILDING in Downtown Raleigh. This is not even year 2 in Raleigh so that goes to show there is tremendous power in purpose. Continue to support us at www.sagegirls.net. We couldn’t do this without your support. Grateful for you all @unapologetically_alana @michellekeatonbarrow @mckaraffa @ethosbydesign_ @joycarterspeaks @its_mikelong Eva Kang @kia.abrams @coachte_142 @__tcn @iam_azizapece @aao_productions @saran.fossett . ~Coach🥹💕🎉

Our Youth are preparing for STRUT NC Fashion show. This will be a sold out event that you don’t want to miss. Get your tickets today at the link in our bio.
Come support SAGE.Inc and AZIZA PE&CE
#collaborationovercompetition🔥🔥🔥

Introducing our SAGE Youth Board 2024-2025. #verycutesy #verydemure 💗💗💗

Thank you for having us! @swingpals @brittanysade__

📸: @alleahpretlowphoto

Are you ready for our first SAGE Murder Mystery Program? Join us this Thursday from 4-6pm for our first SAGE program in downtown Raleigh. We will be covering criminal justice and forensic science. SAGE Youth Board programs team has worked hard to put this together. Hope to see you there! If you are interested in attending send us a message. **Disclaimer our girl is not holding a middle finger it’s solely intended to give the aesthetic for the program.***
📸: @rrookkeehhaa

TikTok seen it first. They are so mean. We had a great time at Top Gold Durham🤣💕
#justgivememymoney #topgolf

We would like to thank @extremely_kole_ @ilovechoicefm @wasup_doc for the opportunities and the platform they provide for us to be able to showcase SAGE and the work that we do for our girls. The girls loved both experiences and we really love the team @ilovechoicefm . Thank you for treating us like family. We are so excited to continue to work with you all. Your support means the world to us🥹💕💙

Stay tuned for our SAGE Youth Board! We have selected 8 powerful young ladies to step up and display their leadership skills and become a presence in our community. We are so excited to showcase our first ever SAGE Youth Board. We have the best of the best and are so grateful for this group of girls. So excited to share their plans with you all. 💕🔥🥳

Get your STRUT Tickets today at the link in our bio! VIP Seating is now available you don’t want to miss this epic production with @iam_azizapece and @sage.inc 🎉🔥👏🏾

Thank you for having us @ilovechoicefm ! We are looking forward to growing our organization and appreciate you all for using your platform to spread awareness on what we are doing for our young girls. We have so many great opportunities coming up for SAGE and the girls. Stay Tuned💕 So so so proud of our girls @_.luv4nuskiii @madisonnbella._ 👏🏾🔥

Name a better DUO? Special Appreciation Post for these two right here. @kia.abrams @__tcn we could not do this work without you two. You both are the backbone to our SAGE program and the true definition of mentors. Extremely grateful to work alongside such powerful leaders. The girls love you and we all love you. Thank you for growing this group and teaching us each program. Love you and so grateful we are family. 🤍💐

Ari and Kenzie. So beautiful at our SAGE All-White Dinner 🥹🤍👏🏾

Thank you to everyone who attended our SAGE All-White Dinner Fundraiser. This event was a huge success and extremely special for our teen entrepreneurs. We look forward to seeing you all again next year. If you would like to continue to support our mission checkout our website at www.sagegirls.net or click the link in our bio.🤍

Shot by 🎥 @ajmedia.llc

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@sage.inc

Empowering Adolescent Girls

UPCOMING EVENTS

ROSES FROM CONCRETE BIENNIAL GALA

SATURDAY 11/22, 5PM - 8PM, MCKIMMON CENTER - 1101 GORMAN STREET RALEIGH

Be the first to hear about ticket releases, announcements, and how to get involved.

thank you to our incredible sponsors!

support our programs

WHAT OUR GIRLS SAY

our programs

support our programs

@sage.inc

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