In Wednesday’s edition, the News-Herald spotlighted a youth mentoring group named Just Us Gurlz.

The program, started by Nikki Donovan, a youth herself, is designed to help young girls in a number of areas such as self-confidence, appropriate dress and friendship.

A comment posted on the online version of the story sums up the appreciation and applause offered to Donovan.

“Hats off to you Miss Donovan,” poster KNRMCO wrote online. “A wonderful idea to have a mentor/role model program for young women … Keep up the good work and ideas!”

Today, we join many in offering our applause and our congratulations to Donovan for the development and growth of this program.

In a society that often times looks to governmental agencies for affecting change, it is refreshing to see a high school student taking charge and affecting change herself.

With the help of her family, friends and church, Donovan has put together a program that should be not only applauded by emulated. She is an example for us all to follow on finding solutions to the problems that confront us.

The Just Us Gurlz program’s success may not be able to be measured in the short term – rather the long term – and maybe not for the goals they have set.

The biggest success this program may have is in the way it affects the community and inspires others – both young and old – to find community-level solutions to community-level problems.