Rooted & Rising Academy™ Girls Leadership & Wellness Program

Growing Confidence, Belonging, and Purpose.

Rooted & Rising Academy™ is a school-based leadership, wellness, and mentoring program for girls in grades 5–8, with a particular commitment to supporting Black and Brown girls in historically underserved communities.

Participants explore identity, personal strengths, healthy relationships, communication, emotional
well-being, and community responsibility. Sister Circle conversations, guided reading, reflection
journals, gardening, creative activities, and service experiences give girls opportunities to
practice leadership and connect learning to their everyday lives.

Little Seeds Matter’s original book, Anna’s Garden: A Place to Belong™, supports conversations
about friendship, empathy, kindness, inclusion, and resolving conflict. Black and Brown women
serving as mentors, educators, and community leaders help participants see their identities and
possibilities reflected in the adults supporting them.
Our first school-based pilot
The initial implementation is planned in partnership with Innovative Horizons Charter School
during the 2026–2027 school year, serving up to 30 girls.
What we aim to strengthen
Confidence, belonging, positive peer relationships, emotional awareness, leadership, healthy
decision-making, and future readiness.
How we will track growth
Student self-assessments, participation, reflection journals, facilitator observations, and student
feedback will help us understand participants’ growth and strengthen the program.
Partner with us
We welcome school partnerships, community collaborators, and philanthropic support to help
this work grow.

The Lit-Well Program

Promoting Literacy, Health & Wellness

The Lit-Well program provides literacy, health, and wellness education to families of young children. The program is a collaboration between Little Seeds Matter (LSM) and our community partner, My Healthy Reader (MHR). The MHR team is diverse and skilled in program administration, early childhood development, pre-k and elementary academics, community outreach, ASL and Spanish translation, and a variety of art disciplines. The MHR and LSM passionately share the goals to provide quality programming, services, and resources that build healthy communities.

What Happens at the Lit-Well Program

We teach the O’Beast Monster how to make healthy choices.
We learn how to wash our hands and get rid of germs.
We read, sing, exercise and dance, and our parents have fun too.