Celebrating Black History and Women’s History in OST
February 5, 2026
Out of school time has always been a space where communities respond with intention—providing what their young people need most when classrooms alone are not enough. Across Texas, OST programs founded by women and Black leaders for girls and Black youth are making an impact.
When programming is rooted in lived experience and built in partnership with the communities it serves, opportunities flourish for youth to learn, grow, and thrive. Community-based OST programs create spaces where young people develop healthy mindsets, durable skills, meaningful relationships, and a strong sense of belonging. They also provide key opportunities to connect youth with mentors and role models that look like them and come from their communities—if they can see it, they can be it.
To celebrate Black History Month (February) and Women’s History Month (March), we are honored to highlight several Texas OST programs empowering young girls and Black youth. Their work reflects innovative practices in education and care to help the next generation build bright futures. As participants in the OST CARES Direct Service Program, these programs also demonstrate the importance of prioritizing youth mental health.
History is something we build together every day. By showing up, listening, and responding to the needs of young people, these programs illustrate how out of school time supports positive youth development and strengthens communities across Texas.
Braids N Beads
The journey of building confidence and life skills begins long before adulthood. For many kids, it starts in afterschool and summer program spaces. For young Black girls in Pearland, Braids N Beads provides a supportive environment and engaging activities that positively shift the trajectory of their lives and learning.
Braids N Beads aims to increase self-esteem, raise standards, and prevent young girls from internalizing negative stereotypes. Through programming that includes learning how to prepare balanced meals to practicing conflict resolution to braiding and crocheting, this out of school time program strengthens both academic and personal development. Participants also have the opportunity to receive free hair braiding services when they reach significant milestones in the program, providing another boost to their self-confidence.
Through their OST CARES training, Braids N Beads has enhanced their programming by integrating emotional check-ins, mindfulness activities, and coping strategies that foster youth resilience and well-being. By emphasizing holistic development, Braids N Beads helps young Black girls gain the skills and mindsets they need to thrive in school, their community, and beyond.
I think Braids N Beads is fun and exciting, and it helps me. –Youth participant
By Our Hands
By Our Hands stands out for its commitment to community-led progress. Through focusing on a few key areas, including out of school time programs, they aim to catalyze positive change one person at a time, ultimately building stronger, more resilient communities for all.
In Houston, By Our Hands provides afterschool and summer programs for middle and high school youth that are designed to enhance their educational journey and prepare them for college and career success. Their OST programming centers on camping and day trips where participants have experiences outside of their usual environments. These experiences offer hands-on STEM enrichment, outdoor skill development, career exploration, character and team building, mentorship, and more.
By Our Hands programs uniquely engage both youth and their families, and that approach extends to the new mental health practices they’ve put in place after participating in OST CARES. Through wellness hikes, days, and weekends, By Our Hands provides the safety, support, and tools needed to navigate challenges and promote well-being—responding to real community needs to create sustainable community impact.
It’s important for youth to see who they are and who they can be in order to give them a future to look forward to. –Frances McIntire-Freeman, Executive Director
GENaustin (Girls Empowerment Network)
GENaustin (Girls Empowerment Network) empowers girls with the skills, confidence, and self-efficacy needed to thrive—both in and beyond the classroom. They shape opportunity and leadership for the next generation by helping young women believe in their ability to be unstoppable.
Founded in Austin by a group of mothers who wanted to address declining self-esteem in girls during adolescence, Girls Empowerment Network has grown into a statewide leader in out of school time programming for girls in grades 3–12. Through its signature Radiant G Circle program, participants build the 7Cs to Self-Efficacy—critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, confidence, changemaking, and coping skills—which are all closely tied to academic acceleration and positive youth development.
GENaustin extends this learning through camps, conferences, and leadership experiences that provide safe, supportive environments for girls to explore interests, strengthen peer relationships, and practice self-advocacy. Participating in OST CARES has helped GENaustin bring a trauma-informed lens to their program, improving their team’s engagement with youth to help all girls believe in their power to build the positive futures of their dreams.
It’s so important that we give youth a chance to work together, fail together, create together, and to talk out scenarios that are happening in their lives and how they can center community. –Staff member
Intertwined
Empowerment isn’t accidental—it’s cultivated through intentional spaces where young people are encouraged to lead, reflect, and grow. Intertwined’s out of school time programming highlights how a community-wide approach can inspire confident, capable youth.
Intertwined’s Life Empowerment Clubs and Workshops engage middle and high school youth in afterschool settings across Houston to explore topics including self-management and leadership, purposeful decision-making, empathy and respect, career exploration, financial literacy, cultural affirmation, and individuality. These programs help young people of color build confidence, resilience, and practical skills that support academics and future readiness. Intertwined also facilitates extended learning opportunities like summer internships that pair workforce skills with structured mentorship, giving older youth real work experience and tools for career success.
Across all of its youth programs, Intertwined has integrated trauma-informed practices learned through OST CARES. By nurturing mental and emotional wellness, Intertwined helps young people tap into their inner strength and unique abilities as well as the strength of supportive relationships to achieve lasting well-being for themselves and their communities.
My daughters have really benefited from being in Intertwined, from getting part-time jobs, meeting new people, being responsible, and getting work experience. It feels really good. –Family member
