On an unseasonably warm fall day, a woman sporting an elegantly designed black and gold jumpsuit moved about a neatly decorated banquet hall on the city’s west side, her hair expertly coiffed into a modern ’20s-inspired style. The theme of the evening was G.L.A.M. of Gatsby, and Shanel Poole, founder and CEO of G.L.A.M. Inc., had a lot to celebrate.
G.L.A.M., which was founded in 2008, is dedicated to empowering young women ages 9-18 to grow, learn, lead and live powerful and productive lives by exceeding everyday limitations in order to reach their highest potential. The acronym, which originally stood for Gorgeous Ladies Acting Maturely, now means Guidance Life skills and Mentoring.
Surrounded by a few of the group’s participants, known as G.L.A.M. Girls, Poole gave awards to a number of prestigious guests in honor of the organization’s 10th anniversary. Beyond the moving speeches and shiny trophies, many hugs and tears were shared as Poole reflected on those who’d been instrumental in helping the group last an entire decade.
The attendees, though small in number, were pivotal in their overall impact. Among them were corporate executives, luminaries and some of G.L.A.M.’s “day ones.”
If not for a joke, offered by Poole, on her years spent incarcerated, no one would be able to tell that, in the not-too-distant past, glamour was a far-off concept for her. But despite the tragedy and triumph, Poole and the G.L.A.M. Girls stand poised to take on whatever comes their way with grace and style.
A troubled start
“I grew up with a real bad, troubled life. At 21 they was expecting me to be in prison,” said Poole. Though she asserts that her parents were the best in the world, Poole is careful to note her childhood was far from a fairy tale. At home, her father struggled with alcoholism, and he and Poole’s mother would often get into fights. At school, Poole was relentlessly bullied for her small frame and distinct eye shape. Classmates would call her a dope fiend and compare her to cartoon character Bart Simpson.
“Can you imagine being in the sixth grade and going toe-to-toe with your daddy because he put hands on your mama, and then you gotta go to the magnet program in the morning and everyone’s talking about you? … Eventually that domino effect is gonna affect everybody,” she said.
At 15, Poole was labeled truant and a juvenile delinquent. One day, while riding with two male acquaintances, the young teen was arrested on a drug charge when one of the older men put his marijuana in her seat. When she was 17, her father kicked her out of the family home. She lived in her car and would drive around I-465 for hours on end, with all of her belongings in the trunk. Until the age of 18, Poole was in and out of girl’s school and the Department Of Correction. She tried to seek refuge in the church, but the man who had baptized her when she was 12 propositioned the teen for sex. Feeling like she had nowhere to turn, she wanted to die and give up on life.
“I felt like I had disappointed God … and my parents. I had survived rape, two abortions, in and out of the system,” she said. “I don’t got nobody, what is there to live for?”
Poole felt punished and abandoned by the systems she once believed would help her. During that dark moment, Poole remembers crying out to God for help. That cry eventually led her to the Christamore House, where she was able to connect with the staff and get on the right track. At 19, Poole earned her GED in 91 days, joined a local Toastmasters group, got a job and was on her way to college at Ivy Tech. Soon before classes began, tragedy struck.
“The only thing (my father) asked me to do was go to college, then he died three days before I was supposed to start,” said Poole. She suffered a nervous breakdown two months later and lost her job as well as her father’s annuity, financing that would’ve paid for her education until she was 25.
“I didn’t have a chance to grieve my dad,” she said, adding that the weight of grief along with the pressure of living up to the expectations of everyone who had helped her up to that point was an overwhelming pressure.
A second chance came in the form of acceptance to Indiana State University shortly after her 21st birthday. In Terre Haute, she was able to not only turn over a new leaf in a different environment, but also discover her life’s true calling.
“I got a call from Christamore House about an essay contest for a brand new car. I wrote an essay saying that I would use the car to drive back and forth to Indianapolis to take care of my mother and to start a nonprofit organization to help young girls like me avoid the pitfalls I experienced,” said Poole.
She won the car, and soon after, G.L.A.M. Inc. was born.
The G.L.A.M.orous life
“This let me know that not only was God listening, but he had an assignment for me,” Poole said.
Poole, who had chosen to study political science and public relations, initially had her sights on law school. She instead decided to redirect her educational focus to benefiting others. In 2008, the capstone project in her PR class served as the foundation for her yet-unformed nonprofit. Enlisting the help of a classmate, Poole created the organization’s first event flier and drove back home to Indianapolis one Saturday afternoon to recruit members. Poole reached out to Lexus Killebrew and Killebrew’s cousin, Coriona Johnson, to help.
“When Shanel first called me, I didn’t really take it seriously,” Killebrew said with a laugh. She’d known Poole most of her life and had adopted her as her godmother. She was involved with other local organizations at the time, and it wasn’t until Poole called a second time that Killebrew took it to heart. “I reached out to everyone I knew. I hopped on MySpace, Facebook … I ended up recruiting over 50 girls.”
Killebrew’s mother, Cassandra Killebrew, noticed her relationship with her daughter improved greatly as a result of Lexus’ involvement in the program. “She wasn’t talking back to me,” said Cassandra Killebrew, who was 15 when her daughter was born. “G.L.A.M. made our bond closer than what it was. We’re best friends now.”
Poole credits Lexus Killebrew, Johnson, and Johnson’s best friend Makayla Mitchell with helping her lay the foundation for G.L.A.M. Johnson was Poole’s right hand throughout the group’s humble beginnings, assisting in formulating curriculum, planning activities and acting as a mentor to the other girls.
“That’s serious when you’re 22 years old and trying to start a nonprofit with just $20 and the faith that God told you to do this,” said Poole.
In their sessions each Saturday, no topic was off limits, and Poole worked tirelessly to ensure that their needs — anything from a home-cooked meal, life-skills training, conflict resolution or even cash to buy a new bra — were met.
“I wanted to create an organization where people would say, ‘Oh, yeah we wanna get involved and help the girls of G.L.A.M.,’ then when they come in and see that we have anger problems, self-esteem issues, we’ve been molested, we don’t have no parents because it’s like, yeah, psych your mind. I don’t know what you was thinking. This ain’t no pageant. This is real issues that real girls are dealing with.”
Tragedy strikes
Seven years into G.L.A.M., the ladies were dealt a blow they weren’t expecting when two of their own, Makayla Mitchell and Coriona Johnson, were gunned down on the city’s west side. The pair were sitting in Johnson’s car at the time, a week after participating with other G.L.A.M girls at the Circle City Classic. Their murders are still unsolved.
“The girls of G.L.A.M. are not supposed to be homicide victims; they’re supposed to be (college) graduates, the next doctors, lawyers and accountants,” said Poole. “(Losing Coriona and Makayla) did something to me. It really made my passion diminish a lot.”
“I didn’t think about G.L.A.M. at the time, to be honest,” said Cassandra Killebrew, who is Johnson’s aunt. “I was thinking about my brother
(Johnson’s father, who is in prison). For the last four years, I had been dealing with nothing but death.” Cassandra Killebrew had recently lost her
youngest brother, and shortly after Johnson’s death, she also lost the father of her children.
Charity Mitchell, Makayla’s mother, said looking back, G.L.A.M. was another part of her late daughter’s village. “She needed it,” she said, noting that prior to being involved, her daughter had issues connecting with other young women. Life after her passing has been difficult for the entire family. “It’s like a reflection, you look at what was, what is and what could have been. I know for her siblings, it can be bleak, but I try to keep hope that in anything bad … God can bring something out of it that’s better.”
Both Cassandra Killebrew and Charity Mitchell shared their gratitude for everything that Poole and G.L.A.M. did for their families after the girls’ deaths.
“It’s an honor that they remember them and speak of them,” said Charity Mitchell.
Cassandra Killebrew added: “They did things they didn’t have to do. We appreciate everything G.L.A.M. did for Coriona and Makayla. … There’s a lot of troubled girls out there. … If they were to hear the stories of other girls who went through G.L.A.M. and how they’re doing now, even just to hear Shanel’s story, would help them to know that there is more to life than wanting to give up, that there are people out here who love and care about them.”
Looking toward
the future
Despite such a devastating setback, Poole has forged ahead. When asked about her reflections on the organization’s 10-year legacy, she is full of gratitude. “I can’t do anything but thank God that he’s allowed 300 girls’ lives to be impacted.” Poole said many of the young women have gone on to undergrad and graduate school, most of them first-generation. Some have even gone on to start their own businesses.
Taylor Bridgeforth, a graduate of Poole’s alma mater Indiana State, got involved with the group as a college student and shared that being mentored by Poole has impacted her positively. “Having someone outside family that supports me and is looking after what I’m trying to succeed at in life makes it that much easier to continue day by day, no matter how stressful or hard it can get,” she said. Bridgeforth completed undergrad in 2015 and now works as a communications assistant at the American Academy of Osteopathy.
Lexus Killewbrew, now 22, credits G.L.A.M. with turning her from a “devil to a diva.”
And Charmaine Norris, another G.L.A.M. girl, said the group was truly life-changing for her.
“G.L.A.M. really made me the person that I am today,” Norris said. “Miss Shanel taught me that even at my lowest, I can still make a change. She told me that my situation did not determine my destination in life. … Shanel Poole truly is my fairy godmother.”
For more on G.L.A.M. Inc., visit glamindy.org.
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