The Sister Circle: Building Better Women and Stronger Communities
Listening to Leah McNair, it’s hard not to feel like anything is possible. Every word from her lips is filled with hope and echoes a resounding confidence in what the women in her circle, The Sister Circle, can achieve and become. In just four short years, what started out as a book club in the heart of the pandemic, has now become a collective of diverse women united by a sisterly bond and a desire to live empowered. Through The Sister Circle, women in High Point and around the globe are finding restoration, and the confidence to redefine their lives and the roles they play within their respective communities.
“Women from every generation have found a commonality in the Sister Circle,” Leah says. “Our focus has become building women, plain and simple. Because when you build women, build strong women, you build stronger communities.”
When The Sister Circle began in 2020, Leah never imagined that her daily outpouring of inspiration would spark an almost instantaneous hunger for more. The half dozen women who logged in at 6:30 each morning to hear her share from her book, 21 Days of Powerful Prayers for Women, wanted and needed that inspiration.
“We went through this 21-day journey book, and it brought a hope to women that even though we’re in a bad situation, we don’t have to be isolated. We don’t have to be depressed. We can make good out of a bad situation,” Leah shares. “And so, those women who went through the 21-day journey, loved it, felt inspired.”
And they wanted more of that same inspiration, not just for themselves, but for the women connected to them – friends, sisters, daughters. As word of The Sister Circle grew, so did the number of women who had found within the organization the freedom and permission to hope and dream again. To date, The Sister Circle currently serves over 9,000 women through several programs and resources, each designed to meet their emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical needs, and to equip them to fulfill their life’s purpose.
The Healing House is one of those programs. It is an intimate and highly sought after 72-hour weekend retreat during which women unpack, in the care of licensed therapists, past and present traumas as an entryway to their healing process. Recognizing the effects that trauma and unresolved emotional wounds have on one’s ability to thrive, Leah has been very intentional in providing women with this outlet to begin their journey toward healing and wholeness.
“There are so many things that women don't address from years back, emotional hurts or just things that we deal with as women that we just sweep under the rug,” she says. “Here, they get a safe place to address those needs.”
While the Healing House empowers women in the form of self-care, She Works, She Wins taps into what The Sister Circle believes is equally important for today’s woman, and that is, self-development. One of the organization’s newer initiatives, She Works, She Wins is offered in conjunction with Greensboro Technical Community College (GTCC) and NC Works, and helps women go back to school for free or at a reduced cost.
“It has been a true blessing to see women getting back into school,” Leah says, clearly excited about the progress women in The Sister Circle are making, and the access that has been made available to them thanks to High Point’s strong collaborative culture and emphasis on building meaningful relationships. She credits much of what her organization has been able to accomplish to the people and businesses that have come alongside her to support The Sister Circle’s mission and vision for the future of this city and the women who live and work here.
“When we became a nonprofit, High Point was so on board with our mission and what we do to inspire women that they have been so generous with grants and other funding to help us create initiatives and programs that take it a step further,” she says.
And taking it a step further is exactly what Leah and her staff did and continue to do. They have added to The Sister Circle, Circle Kids, an after-school enrichment program that provides children with a safe and reliable outlet, and an in-house training program, Sister Circle University. The latter includes three distinct arms: a School of Business and Leadership, which emphasizes self-sufficiency through entrepreneurship and connects women with the resources needed to start and grow businesses; a School of Health and Wellness that promotes total wellness – spiritual, mental and physical; and a School of Ministry, which takes ministry leaders through comprehensive hands-on training in order to maximize their impact.
With so many offerings, it’s as if The Sister Circle is bringing women full circle, positively affecting every aspect of their lives, and equipping them to live and give out of their newfound inspiration.
“You know, we can do anything,” Leah says with the same confident tone. “We can hold down the home, hold down the kids, build a house…come over here and be spiritual and rely on our relationship with God. We can blaze trails. We can write books, we can start businesses. I want women to know that they can do anything. They can do anything and everything. And this assignment that has come into my hands, has shown me that I can't even box myself into what I thought I was.”
An East Orange, New Jersey native, Leah had come to accept her life as the wife of a Thomasville pastor but found herself stepping out of her comfort zone and into new spaces when he retired. Feeling the need to lead out spiritually, she started a podcast, and discovered her ability to captivate audiences and build a sense of connectedness. Fast forward, The Sister Circle founder is now using her influence to help women become the best version of themselves for their families and their communities. Together they are doing more good than they ever imagined – with organizations like Carl Chavis YMCA, Habitat for Humanity, High Point University, and I Am Queen to name a few.
“Our focus has become building women, plain and simple. Because when you build women, build strong women, you build stronger communities.”
Leah McNair, Founder of The Sister Circle
“It has been a blessing to see my life evolve and to see that I have been able to really make my life worth living,” Leah says, “because giving back and seeing women grow and change, it really does make life worth living. I love that my life is all about giving to others because when my days are done, I do want to know that I've helped somebody, and I've made this world a better place, and I've left a legacy that even when I'm gone, my name will live on and The Sister Circle will live on.”
Discover our High Points,
The HPD Team
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