Young girls learn life lessons through figure skating in Detroit

DETROIT (WJBK) - Young girls in Detroit are learning valuable life lessons and developing their dreams with an afterschool figure skating program. 

The Figure Skating Detroit is a first of its kind in the city -- and a one-of-a-kind in the world. 

It offers the afterschool program ICE, which puts about 50 Detroit girls ages 6-15 on the ice and empowers them. The girls ice skate two days a week and are tutored two other days. ICE stands for "I Can Excel."

"You just feel more happy; it is more fun,” says 13-year-old Nala Sparks-Jones. You can see the joy on Nala’s face since joining the program.

“I have been getting very good grades, especially in math," she says. "That is what I struggle in. I've started getting As and Bs."

This is the first year Detroit has seen this program, which was modeled after The Figure Skating in Harlem youth development program. 

“The figure skating is really the carrot," says program director Lori Ward. "Our goal is to have our girls grow.”

Throughout the year, community workshops help connect Detroit with the organization’s goal of empowerment. The organization's first community workshop is scheduled for January 27.

Dreaming With Eyes Wide Open is the summer program for anyone who wants to participate. Click on http://www.figureskatingindetroit.org/ for more information or on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/GirlsOnIceDET/