Statements
Mission
Beneath The Skin provides genuine connection to young women who feel alone through peer to peer mentoring.
Background
Beneath The Skin, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in July 2015, reflecting the vision of its founder, Brittany Mullins. In 2008 when Brittany was on tour with her Husbands band, she met a girl who shared her life story of abandonment, self harm and drug abuse. Moved by the young woman's vulnerability and wanting to help but unsure how, Brittany listened and asked if she could pray for her. Over the years, more and more people told Brittany their stories of abuse, self-harm, and loneliness. In February 2015, Brittany received a call with devastating news: Brittany's father had died. Numb, sad, and alone, Brittany booked the next flight to her hometown. On the plane, two women sat next to Brittany and asked her, "How are you?" Without thinking, Brittany poured her heart out to these two strangers. When Brittany finished her story, the strangers were quiet for a moment, then said, "Well, our goal by the end of this flight is to make you laugh." And they did. By the time the plane landed, Brittany's sides ached from laughing so hard. That's when Brittany realized people need people. In that moment, Brittany felt like God called her to create an organization that provided genuine human connection to young women who feel alone and resources to all. Just like that, Beneath The Skin was born.
Impact
In this past year, Beneath The Skin has focused on maintaining an effective peer-to-peer mentoring program in order to collect the data needed for insights on what additional growth and areas of improvement in order to continue providing the most impactful peer-to-peer mentoring program for our volunteers.
In December 2021, we had the honor of bringing on three part-time employees. One employee provides support by creating most of our digital content and cultivating our Instagram audience of nearly 10,000 followers and increasing our social footprint. One employee is our Director of Development focused on creating and maintaining relationships and partnerships as well as cultivating our current donors and increasing grant opportunities, corporate sponsorships, and large donor acquisition. We also added a Program coordinator who manages our peer-to-peer mentoring program and provides the best experience possible for all volunteers.
One goal we have for 2023 is to have 100 active Matches by the end of the year. Active Matches are current mentor/mentee connections. Another goal is to grow our volunteer pool by connecting with local businesses and organizations to offer Beneath The Skin as a resource to their clients/employees. We also have a calling to expand our program to Canada as well as update our current match expectations to ensure the programs are focused on healing vs to-dos.
Needs
Below are giving amounts and their impact:
$30,000 will allow us to bring a part-timer full-time
$15,000 will support 40 new Matches for one year of participation
$10,000 will cover our operating licenses
$7,500 get us halfway to new Match goal for the year
5,000 will cover our other non-salary operating expenses
$2,500 will cover the cost of materials directly required to run the program
$791 to support a Match for a year
$70 sponsors one Match for a month
CEO Statement
What I love about Beneath The Skin's peer to peer mentoring program is not only that it is a unique form of mentoring, but that it works. When mentors meet all the expectations we have for them and mentees are engaged, we see incredible outcomes. The tricky thing about loneliness is that we can be surrounded by people and still feel alone or not seen. Peer to peer mentoring gives mentees a mentor who is safe, unbiased in their mentees' personal lives, and wants to get to know them. That kind of connection is so powerful. One thing I always wanted the program to do is give the mentee space to grow as a person as well and I feel we have accomplished that. After completing the program, mentees tell us they feel more confident, comfortable in social situations, and connected. The most amazing thing to me is that healing can happen when people have people.
I've been with Beneath The Skin since we first started in July 2015. Looking at how far we've come since that very first Match 6 years ago, I'm overwhelmed with pride. We've grown from only me to a team of five who dedicates their time to making sure the program is the best it can be. One of the most symbolic aspects for me is how we have improved our process of managing Matches. When I first started, I kept track of Matches on paper in an accordion file! Today, we have a robust software program that helps us manage the entire year-long journey of a Match from application to graduation. The ability to grow our resources since 2015 has been transformative in our ability to serve more women who struggle with loneliness.
I'm proud to be part of an organization that provides a unique form of support for young women. I'm proud to be part of a nonprofit that believes in constant growth and providing grace to everyone involved. I'm proud of my team and all the work they put in to make Beneath The Skin what it is today. I can't wait to see where we go.
Board Chair Statement
The Beneath The Skin team has built a small but mighty family atmosphere within the organization over the past several years. They have grown the size of their team, improved their social media outreach, and collaborated with other nonprofits and social media influencers with webinars. Despite having a small team and limited resources, Beneath The Skin has continuously grown and improved year after year. The team has also done an excellent job of building creative fundraising campaigns with compelling stories.
One story that stands out to me is one about Carrie (mentor) and Araya (mentee), a Match who found a life long friend in each other. What inspires me most about this connection is that it shows how reciprocal these Matches can be. When Araya was struggling, Carrie was there for her and vice versa. To have an impact as a mentor, Carrie didn't have to be a perfect person. She just had to be there, listen compassionately, and accept Araya for exactly who she was. This Match showed that genuine connection can help people move out of a dark space and find their worth.
Although Beneath The Skin has done exceedingly well with those limited resources, they have faced challenges as well. With the team's limited capacity and resources, there is only so much they can do to secure major donors and grants to help the peer to peer mentoring program grow even further. In the future, I'd love to use funds used to increase our employees capacities so they can reach more people to help support the program.
I am so proud to be a part of an organization that serves their community so well. At every level, Beneath The Skin not only grows their mentees through mentorship, but also helps their mentors grow as well. Beneath The Skin truly empowers women and shares the story that we all have a place to belong.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Human Services - Young Men's or Women's Associations |
| Secondary Category: | Mental Health & Crisis Intervention - Alliances & Advocacy |
| Tertiary Category: | - |
Areas Served
We serve Nashville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Spring Hill, Franklin, Murfreesboro, and Knoxville. We are capable of serving the entire state of TN, and nationwide.
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Maury |
| TN - Rutherford |
