Bernadette’s House empowers young girls by helping them build the skills and confidence they need to follow their dreams. Giant Food has supported this nonprofit organization through its Community Bag Program.
Tell us about Bernadette’s House.
Carol Nash founded Bernadette’s House (BH) in 2012 in Laurel, Maryland, inspired by her life experiences and a desire to support underserved girls and teenagers in her community. Her upbringing was shaped by challenges, including her mother’s early traumatic death and her father’s search for support in raising her. This quest led Carol to Sister Bernadette, a compassionate nun who became her legal guardian at a convent. Despite these early hardships, Carol persevered and was later adopted into a loving family. She excelled as a registered nurse and later became a leader in healthcare services in New York and the Washington, DC, area.
Throughout her professional journey, Carol was deeply affected by the difficulties the disadvantaged female population faced. After retiring, she honored Sister Bernadette’s influence by founding Bernadette’s House. The organization’s mission is to create a safe and supportive environment for girls aged 8 to 17. Here, they can explore their interests, build confidence, and pursue their dreams.
Today, Bernadette’s House continues to empower girls through programs that encourage them to “Believe, Blossom, and Soar,” reflecting Carol Nash’s commitment to nurturing the potential of young women based on her own transformative experiences.
What services does your organization provide to the community?
Our services underwent significant modifications during the pandemic. Previously, we offered after-school resources primarily aimed at families with young girls. However, as girls entered middle school, options for after-school care became scarce due to legal age restrictions and concerns about unsupervised activities. Bernadette’s House was originally established to fill this gap, providing a stable environment where girls could receive snacks, access a computer resources library, utilize a learning laboratory with subject-specific tutors, and always find a supportive person to talk to privately.
When COVID-19 necessitated the closure of our in-person programs to comply with local health regulations, we adapted swiftly. We transitioned many of our programs online and expanded our reach. For instance, we launched a radio show discussing crucial issues relevant to young girls.
After COVID, we returned to our roots and reestablished our mentoring program. Currently, we have Bernadette’s Blossoms Mentoring Program, which pairs girls with mentors based on interests. The girls in this program meet weekly with their mentors and go on monthly field trips designed to encourage unity and develop good behavior and social skills.
One of our board members, an engineer passionate about robotics and coding, developed a comprehensive 16-week syllabus for our BH Robotics for Girls course. We launched this program to inspire young girls interested in STEM fields. The group meets weekly in a rented space in Laurel. Currently, they are working on building electronic pianos while mastering the fundamentals of coding.
Another unique program we hope to offer is Bernadette’s House Village. This initiative adopts a holistic approach to supporting young girls by involving their families and community leaders. We hope to organize meetings where community leaders engage with the families to discuss the challenges and opportunities of raising girls in today’s environment.
We are excited to introduce our summer camp program, Brains and Beauty. This program combines social and hygiene skills with intellectual pursuits to stimulate and engage the mind. Although short, the impact of this program is profound and far-reaching.
What sets Bernadette’s House apart from other nonprofits in your community?
One key aspect that sets our organization apart is that we are entirely volunteer-driven. Most volunteers work full-time jobs elsewhere, allowing us to maintain low overhead costs. Currently, we do not have any facility or rent expenses. We strive to make our programs as cost-effective as possible to ensure they are accessible to the average household. For example, our BH Blossoms Mentoring, BH Robotics for Girls, and BH Village programs were free to participants this past semester. Additionally, our summer camps are also subsidized. We aim to ensure that the communities who benefit from our services can easily access them.
We strive to make our programs as cost-effective as possible to ensure they are accessible to the average household.
Tell us a story that illustrates the good work of your organization.
A couple of summers ago, we ran a camp focused on STEM. Since I am a radiation biologist by training, I decided to take a leave from work to participate in the program. The whole experience was terrific. We took the girls horseback riding on one of the program field trips. Many girls had never seen horses, or even a farm, before. Overall, the trip was a great chance to connect with the girls.
At the end of the program, one young girl asked if I would mentor her since she wanted to get involved in science. What a great feeling!
In another camp example, one of the girl’s mothers spoke to me when she came to pick her up from camp. Her daughter is on the spectrum, so she was nervous about starting camp, but she blossomed here. The mother told me, “I just have to tell you that you guys are making a difference. My daughter couldn’t stop talking about how much fun she had on the horses. I’m glad I’m getting a chance to meet you. She talks about you all the time. I love that you all have become role models for her and are showing all these girls what being a successful woman truly looks like. You’ve changed the future trajectory for my daughter.”
Witnessing our profound impact reaffirms the pressing need for our efforts.
I vividly remember our concerns about the lack of funding and how we could sustain Bernadette’s House programming. Witnessing our profound impact reaffirms the pressing need for our efforts. Despite the challenges, we must continue our work!
Additionally, many of our mentors who worked with mentees over a decade ago remain in touch with them today. We also have mentees who have progressed into professional careers and wish to return as mentors.
What is your most outstanding achievement or contribution to the community?
We are creating strong ties within the community. In addition to working with the girls and their families, we’ve collaborated with the school system. Through this, the schools can refer girls who might need our services.
We partner with the Laurel Advocacy & Referral Services and collaborate with a group in Philadelphia called Front Step. We also started working with Push for Greatness, a local nonprofit that is the male equivalent of what we do in Laurel. We coordinate with them to help parents in our programs who may have sons and want them to have a similar experience.
We are creating strong ties within the community.
We are all improving by making referrals between different organizations and learning best practices from one another. We subscribe to the philosophy that a rising tide lifts all boats. At the end of the day, we want all nonprofits to succeed. Together, we can form a safety net for community members in need.
What do you want people to know about Bernadette’s House?
We are very mission-driven, and our founder and CEO, Carol Nash, is truly the heart of our organization, keeping everyone motivated. Like many, I have faced numerous challenges in life, but as an organization, we excel at stepping up and supporting one another. Someone is always there to pick up the slack, ensuring we maintain quality, continuous programming for girls in our local area.
We understand our community because we live here. I grew up in Laurel. We aim to involve everyone—those who need our services and those who wish to make a difference as volunteers. One of our volunteers recently shared that her experience has helped her career transition from working as a science technician with the Federal Government to teaching science in middle school for the coming school year.
How will you use the funds you’ve received from the Giant Food Community Bag Program?
Every penny matters to us. Donations allow us to enroll additional Girls in our programs and fund initiatives like our robotics program. Providing this high-quality program involves significant costs, including purchasing codes, coding software licenses, and electronics for the girls.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we lost our facility and were forced to rent space to continue serving our community. Thanks to the generosity of our private donors and support from organizations like Giant, we have been able to cover these costs.
Any financial or otherwise support is invaluable to small nonprofits like ours. Bernadette’s House is dedicated to helping girls “Believe, Blossom, and Soar!” Your generous contribution specifically helped fund our Robotics for Girls Program and provided essential support for field trips as part of our mentor program.
Interview with Andrea Cohen, President of the Board of Directors
Published July 11, 2024.