In a community in which discussions often focus on teenage carjackings, vacant storefronts and disruptive construction, we have a chance to highlight organizations and individuals bringing hope and positive change to our city.
Several years ago, I discovered one such organization, The Power of the People Leadership Institute. POPLI has been transforming the lives of youth in the Twin Cities since 2007 by offering mentoring programs that emphasize career development, personal power and leadership training to middle school and high school students and community youth groups.
Founded by Dr. Verna Price and her husband, Brother Shane Price, POPLI is a powerful force for good in our community and beyond. I have had the pleasure of working alongside their team and mentoring many girls over the years. The future looks bright when you’re engaging with this community.
I recently reconnected with Dr. Verna after a Minnesota Lynx Changemakers Event. Girls Taking Action, one of POPLI’s programs, was selected by The Timberwolves and Lynx as a Key Impact Partner in 2024.
Here are some insights from our conversation about the meaningful impact she and her team are making in Minneapolis and around the world.
You’re certainly one of the most passionate people I have ever met. Remind me how POPLI get started?
In 2005 I received a phone call from North High School looking for help, as they were experiencing a rise in violence among girls.
Working closely with the faculty, families and community leaders we introduced a program intended to reengage girls in academics and positive leadership, provide girls with a meaningful connection to positive women leaders, prepare girls to graduate on time from high school and pursue higher education, and engage girls in their community through service-learning.
At roughly the same time, my husband received a similar call from Faribault Correctional Facility, and he began the Replanting Program to support incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals.
Following these successful pilots, we continued to expand to schools that approached us and to include young men in our Boys of Hope program.
What is POPLI’s mission?
Engaging, empowering, mentoring and training youth and adults to positively transform their lives.
Our approach challenges, inspires and informs individuals, helping them overcome obstacles and achieve success in all areas of life through personal power, personal development and leadership training.
To deliver on this mission, we have three focus programs. First, Girls Taking Action (GTA), which provides weekly mentoring and empowerment groups in schools and community chapters, immersing girls in topics such as personal power, health and wellness, racial justice and equality, college preparation, STEM career development and service learning.
Next comes Boys of Hope (BOH), which engages boys in the same weekly mentoring programs noted above to stay in school, achieve academically, make good decisions, and stay out of trouble in school and community.
Lastly, the Replanting Program. Did you know that it costs $63,000 a year to house an inmate in Minnesota? We need to stop this cycle. Our replanting program serves incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals by helping them overcome obstacles and achieve success in all areas of life.
What I really love the most is that your program leaders consistently show up — every week. They are real heroes in my book!
Yes, they are. It’s critical that our girls and boys can count on us. We invest in both our mentors and our participants. We collectively practice the beliefs found in our curriculum for personal power, which is based on my book, The Power of People. The intention of the book is to help people of all ages to discover their personal power and ability to positively influence their life and world.
As an example, we help individuals to understand the four kinds of powerful people: Adders, Subtracters, Dividers and Multipliers. Then explore how Adders and Multipliers can put you on the road to success while learning to deal with Subtractors and Dividers who are negatively influencing your life.
What has the impact been?
Since inception, POPLI has impacted over 12,000 lives. One hundred percent of POPLI youth graduate high school on time, and 80% enroll in college.
Mentoring students through high school graduation not only builds a foundation for a successful adult, but it also benefits the entire community.
In Minnesota, 72% of African American students graduate from high school. The 28% who drop out of school cost the community $292,000 each in supplemental programs, lost taxes and more.
And it has been so exciting to watch the engagement of your alumni back into the community.
Yes, we are very proud that alumni from our program now sit on our POPLI board, work on our team, mentor our youth and hold positions with many local organizations including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Target, Medtronic, the Minnesota Timberwolves and beyond.
What are you most proud of?
When we receive impactful testimonials like these from our participants:
“What I liked most is about the careers and opportunity to meet new positive and powerful role models and friends who share the same ambitions as me.” — GTA participant
“I learned how to be a strong representative leader to others who may need leaders or guidance.” — BOH participant
You’re one of the most determined and action-oriented people I know. What’s next?
We have big plans as we look to the future!
First, we intend to purchase a building in North Minneapolis for our main office and core programing to position POPLI for legacy and sustainability.
We aspire to provide a paid internship to every high school senior in our youth program.
We plan to expand our employment programming for members of our second-chance community who face the reality that finding a livable wage job seems impossible.
Finally, we intend to increase our health and wellness services to provide at least one mental health provider to every mentoring group at least four times per year.
How can people get involved to help?
We welcome your support however you are able. Can you share a leadership story? Suggest a building for us? Offer an internship? Become a career coach? Sponsor a youth activity? Donate money? Consider POPLI for Give to the Max Day on Nov. 21.
