“A girl who is well knows how to love herself. A girl who is well knows her worth and beauty without compliment or mirror. A girl who is well will passionately pursue her purpose and use it to change the world. A girl who is well will make healthy choices, engage in healthy relationships and overall enjoy a healthy, happy, satisfying life.”
The Academy
The Royal Spoil Academy of Beauty & Wellness Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that teaches wellness through beauty, and supplies beauty, personal hygiene and wellness products to middle-school-aged girls in schools and shelters in Philadelphia. The Academy conducts its’ programs by partnering with local schools and shelters to provide interactive beauty and wellness education to the youth communities they serve.
Our programs operate from the foundational principles of the 7 pillars of wellness: educational, psychological, relational, emotional, nutritional, physical, and spiritual. Guided by the theory that how well we know ourselves, and how well we know how to take care of ourselves directly effects our self-esteem, behavior, experiences, choices and outcomes, we've created a series of courses that teach our girls to be self-loving & self-confident, and capable of healthy decision making and impeccable self-care.
The Academy includes; Modern Girls: an after-school and summer enrichment beauty & wellness social emotional learning program for 4th-8th graders, GLAMP: a junior cosmetology bootcamp and BeautyMark: tween & teen self-care workshops.
Modern Girls
Modern Girls is an after-school and summer enrichment social-emotional learning (SEL) program for upper-elementary and middle school aged girls.
Through course modules like “Pretty Inside & Out”, “Clear Skin, Clearer Vision”, and “Make-Up & Mindfulness”, girls learn beauty care techniques to perform on themselves & others as well as develop healthy physical, mental and emotional wellness practices that they can utilize now and for a lifetime.
Modern Girls teaches girls self-acceptance, self-care, character building and the skills required to maintain a healthy lifestyle at the most critical stage of a girl’s adolescent development.
Curriculum Topics Include:
Personal Hygiene Positive Body Image Etiquette Fashion & Style Make-Up Nail & Hair Care & Design Skin Care Yoga Mindfulness & Meditation Emotional Regulation Nutrition Self-Care Social Awareness & Civic Responsibility Sisterhood Cultural History & Appreciation Literacy Goal Setting Positive Decision Making
The Modern Girls curriculum can be implemented as an enrichment class, after-school club or summer camp course.
To see if your school or organization is eligible to start a Modern Girls program, contact us here.
The Founder
Holland Marielle Durham
I grew up smack dab in the middle of the burgeoning beauty industry. My mother was a premier make-up artist on the east & west coasts and there wasn't a day that went by that I wasn't playing in her massive kit of goodies or assisting her on movie and television sets. Although I studied education in college and my part-time job was teaching in an after-school program that I loved, you could find me making and selling make-up on campus and doing hair and make-up in all my spare time. After attending Cosmetology school and working in salons and the freelance industry for a few years, I realized I couldn't live without teaching. I graduated with my Cosmetology Instructor's license in 2010 and taught in beauty schools across the country such as Empire Beauty Schools, Marinello Schools of Beauty & The Aveda Institutes.
“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
I founded The Royal Spoil in 2013 with a desire to use my God-given gifts to give back and help others in some way. I had a heart for girls who had been abused and sex-trafficked. I learned that many of the girls I wanted to serve were runaways who had been physically and/or sexually abused and suffered from depression and low self esteem. In many cases, this stuck them in a cycle of making unhealthy decisions. Although I didn't know what it felt like to be physically abused, I knew how depression from a terrible heartbreak had made me feel in the past; unloved, lost, incapable of giving anything worthwhile to the world, and just plain ugly.
As an educator and professional, one of my favorite things about my career in the beauty industry is our ability to make people feel good inside by enhancing their appearance on the outside. I believe that when you look good you feel good and when you feel good you can do your purpose and shine your light to the world. I took that idea and began creating “Beautiful Bags” with quality personal hygiene & beauty products to give to the girls. Each bag came complete with a “love letter” full of lots of healing words of encouragement that the girls may not of had the blessing of hearing from friends and family like I did.
Then God put it on my heart to give in a different way, too. Maybe if I could use my own experiences & expertise to teach girls how to beautify & take care of themselves properly on the outside AND inside, they'd feel so good about themselves that they'd be capable of making positive lifestyle choices that wouldn't land them in harmful circumstances. So I created a beauty and wellness curriculum that teaches just that.
Over the years The Royal Spoil Academy of Beauty & Wellness has transformed from focusing on young girls who are sex-trafficking survivors to all young girls who are considered “at risk.” I am passionate about my mission to make ALL girls feel beautiful, loved, worthy, and full of purpose no matter their circumstances. I know we all deserve that. If you agree & want to help us further our initiatives I would love to hear from you! Email me at theroyalspoil@gmail.com
Love & Light, Holland M. Durham
Holland is a proud Temple University alumnus and member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
Our Mission
To empower girls to feel beautiful, worthy and loved. By supplying beauty and personal hygiene products to at-risk girls and providing them with interactive beauty and wellness education, we're producing girls who make positive lifestyle choices because they love themselves from the inside out.
Our Vision
Every girl, in every ‘hood, obsessed with being as pretty on the inside as they are on the outside and equipped with the tools to achieve both.
Programs
Modern Girls:
Beauty & wellness social emotional learning program
GLAMP:
Junior Cosmetology bootcamp
BeautyMark:
Tween & teen self-care workshops
Beautiful Bags
The Royal Spoil’s “Beautiful Bag” is our signature goodie bag which contains popular beauty care and personal hygiene products. We fill our bags with quality donated products and distribute them to girls in schools and shelters in Philadelphia.
Some items include:
body washes/butters/sprays
various feminine hygiene items
on trend cosmetics & beauty paraphernalia
beauty & wellness tips
an encouraging “love letter” (as seen above.)
Could your organization benefit from receiving Beautiful Bags? If so, contact us here.
