A Charlotte high school student is among a list of ten people to receive L'Oréal Paris’ Women of Worth award.
In addition to being a senior at Providence Day School, 17-year-old Shreya Mantha is the founder of Foundation for Girls, a non-profit that aims to “change the life trajectory of at-risk girls and youth” through programs that teach financial literacy, digital skills, leadership, and health and well-being.
"Being a Women of Worth means having a global platform to influence social change by continuing to nurture the leader in every girl and ensuring that girls and youth in crisis are empowered leaders with a healthy mind, body and spirit,” Mantha said after receiving the award.
Mantha is the youngest person to receive the Women of Worth award in its 13-year history. She also received a $10,000 donation to her foundation.
Mantha said the money will help fund 21 additional girls to go through the Foundation for Girls programming.
Mantha started Foundation for Girls in December of 2014, when she was an eighth-grader, with her younger sister Sahana as a way to honor their grandmother’s legacy after she died from pancreatic cancer. Before her death, the two sisters promised their grandmother that they would help at-risk girls and youth.
Almost four years later, the foundation has helped 1,480 girls in the greater Charlotte area.
Mantha said she’s humbled by L'Oréal’s recognition.
“It’s an incredible honor to be a part of the Women of Worth family,” Mantha said. “It’s important to note that I couldn’t have done this alone. I want to thank the support of the Charlotte community that has come together to help improve the life-trajectory of these girls.”
Mantha advances into the next round of the award program, where people can go onto L'Oréal’s website and vote for her. If she wins, the makeup company will donate $25,000 to Foundation for girls — which Mantha said would help fund an additional 52 participants to go through the program.
