Samantha Thompson tries to pass along to youngsters one of the most valuable lessons she learned growing up in the Fairfield Court public housing community in Richmond’s East End.

That lesson: “It doesn’t matter where you come from. Anyone can overcome those obstacles to succeed.” She founded Esteem Teens, a nonprofit mentoring group, in 2008 to impart that uplifting message to youths living in disadvantaged communities in the city.

“We share our stories with the kids to do and be more than their physical address,” says Ms. Thompson, who serves as president of the organization.

About 30 teens ages 14 to 18 meet weekly at St. Paul’s Baptist Church in Henrico County to discuss topics ranging from building self-esteem to finance and economics to political awareness.

The teens also are required to perform community service, Ms. Thompson says.

When she speaks to youths, Ms. Thompson seeks to implant some of the life lessons she learned growing up as one of 13 children raised by a single mother.

She said her mother worked as a mechanic, waitress and security specialist at different times to provide for the family. But despite her mother’s best efforts, she said, the family was evicted from Fairfield Court when she was 15.

Ms. Thompson, 46, said the family was evicted several more times during her teenage and early adult years and had its water and electricity disconnected several times in that span.

Undeterred, Ms. Thompson showed amazing resiliency by doing well at Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe High School, graduating in 1986. She was tapped for membership in the National Honor Society, which “allowed me the opportunity to attend Hampton University,” she says. She finished in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems. Today, Ms. Thompson lives in Henrico County and is a project manager at the Federal Reserve Bank in Downtown.

When she’s not at work, she spends much of her time paying it forward by mentoring at-risk young people. In addition to leading Esteem Teens, she mentors at Huguenot High School twice a month.

Ms. Thompson says Esteem Teens is an offshoot of a mentoring program she started at her church, St. Paul’s Baptist, in 2000 at the suggestion of the church’s pastor, Dr. Lance Watson. “He wanted a program where youths could receive education and mentoring,” she says. “The name of that program is Kisura — Swahili for gorgeously beautiful lady.” Ms. Thompson says her goals for Esteem Teens are to secure more funding, more male volunteers and a permanent location from which to operate.

She says it is imperative more community members step forward to mentor youths from poor communities to help them realize their potential.

“The kids need the adults to show they care and to be consistent with their caring,” she says. “Consistent care equals trust and respect for one another.”

Ms. Thompson likes to start her day reading and posting daily messages from the Bible. “It has become a daily practice to make sure my day starts and ends with God,” she says. “He’s the center of my life and being.”

Here’s a look at this week’s Personality, Samantha Thompson:

Date and place of birth: Sept. 10 in Richmond.

Family: Son, Kayvon Jennings, 25.

Esteem Teens’ foremost mission: To prepare youths to become productive citizens by equipping them with the skills necessary for their transition into adulthood.

Esteem Teens’ No. 1 objective: To provide a forum where teens can openly share ideas and concerns that affect their daily lives, while also receiving practical life skills.

Strategy for achieving it: Our goal is to partner with other established agencies to make a bigger impact on the youths of the Metro Richmond community.  To date, we have worked with City of Richmond and the Boys and Girls Clubs. We’re working to coordinate with Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority.          

What Esteem Teens does for young people: Esteem Teens allows teens to be heard. It provides them with a place where they can learn life skills and partner with an adult mentor for guidance. Esteem Teens also seeks to give them exposure to people and places the youngsters may not otherwise experience. For example, we took kids from Gilpin Court to the first inauguration of President Obama. Although it was freezing cold, I think it was an experience they will never forget.

Esteem Teens’ foremost success: Success is a journey. The fact that Esteem Teens exists is success in itself. But the foremost success is seeing the number of kids who have come through the program and are now productive members of society.We always say that if we affect the lives of one teen, then our job is done. We have affected the lives of hundreds of kids since the program’s beginning.We also have a couple of teens who have started their own version of the program in the communities where they now live.

Vision for Esteem Teens in the next five years: To reactivate the board of directors and work to obtain grants so that we can be even more effective in reaching and securing more adult mentors. We also want to form partnerships with other youth-focused organizations. Hosting annual youth forums also will become a part of the program.

How Esteem Teens is financed: Through fundraising and personal funds. 

How volunteers can become involved: Through Virginia Mentoring Partnership or via email at samthompson68@yahoo.com. We always are seeking adults who have a passion for working with youths.

What young people need most: Consistency and guidance. Esteem Teens seeks to bring adults who are able to provide them with love and guidance to help them deal with daily stresses of being a teen. Teens today have a need to be heard and respected by adults, not ridiculed or judged.

Rites of Passage program is: A process the youths go through for completion of the program. It starts with deliberate preparation and ends with a confirmation ceremony, where the youths are presented to the community as having been adequately prepared to enter the next phase of their lives, which is adulthood.

Leadership is: Empowering others to become leaders. The sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams, said it best, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

A perfect day: Any day I am able to wake up. I am an optimist by nature, so I try to make the most out of each day given to me. But if I had to choose one day, it would be one where I am able to wake up and walk my dog, go to my kickboxing class followed by special girlfriend time.

How I unwind: Unwinding for me is, spending time alone with my Yorkie, Sheba, or dinner with my girlfriends.

I place top value on: People. I feel that everyone has a story and I am intrigued by each person’s individual story — their journey to where they are today.

When I look in the mirror, I see: Wow…when I look in the mirror, I see a woman who has overcome many obstacles and stereotypes to become who she is today — a person who didn’t let someone else’s impression of me define me.

Quality I most admire in another person: Their ability to tell you the truth, even though it may sting, but in a loving way. I have girlfriends that I consider true friends, who have the ability to tell me that I’m wrong in a way that makes me want to reconsider my actions. I also admire a person who is able to disagree without being disagreeable.

Greatest source of inspiration: My greatest source of inspiration is drawn from people I choose to surround myself with. Each person has a different quality that I draw inspiration from.   

Favorite recreational activity: My favorite recreational activity is kickboxing. It’s a full-body workout that allows you to release the frustration from a long day’s work.

Best late-night snack: Cheese Nips and a glass of Moscato.

Biggest chance I ever took: The biggest chance I ever took was to become the mother to my then 4-year-old nephew. It was a scary undertaking because there is no book that can adequately prepare you for parenthood. But becoming a parent to a child that you did not conceive is a chance worth taking.

When I get restless, I: Phone a friend. It always seems to calm me down.

If I’ve learned one thing in life, it is: You can’t change people, but you can change how you deal with them. Accept them for who they are, not who you wish them to be. Also, life is indeed what you make it.   

Ultimate goal: To have Esteem Teens fully functional, complete with dedicated board and staff in its own facility. I want to have the ability to reach as many youths as possible and having a place to run the program would facilitate reaching that goal.