Having been sprinkled with rose petals and entertained with dance, the young women sat in a semicircle and chatted as women manicured their hands and rubbed their backs.

But this was no expensive spa for spoiled suburban debutantes. It will take more than fake fingernails to hide the problems facing residents at the Whitington Home.

“A lot of the girls at Whitington have been disappointed in relationships. We hope that, through nurturing and attentiveness, they will be able to gain inner strength, self-worth, confidence and empowerment,” said Mary McDonald, a member of the local chapter of the American Association of University Women, which this week began a year-long mentoring program for residents of the transitional shelter at 2423 Fairfield Ave.

Don't let the program's touchy-feely debut fool you. With its nationwide network of more than 100,000 members, 1,000 branches and 500 college and university partners, the Washington, D.C.-based AAUW has advocated equity and education for women and girls since 1881 — long before it became trendy. Most of Whitington's residents desperately need both, and the presence of AAUW mentors will open their eyes to unimagined possibilities.

“Most of our residents don't want to be here,” said Director of Development Marty Kocks-Hamrick, whose agency mostly houses young women who are pregnant or have children. They have been placed there by the state, to learn parenting and life skills when they aren't attending school or working.

“But this program will give the girls a chance to do their own thing,” Kocks-Hamrick said. “They can ask their mentors about life: ‘What do I need to do to be like you?'”

It's easy for people who have had the benefit of strong role models to minimize their importance. But for young women who have grown up with absent or abusive parents, or in homes in which work, education, careers and goal-setting were devalued, exposure to confident, accomplished women can be a life-altering revelation.

As the first meeting proved, it can also be enjoyable — and there's more frivolity where that came from. The group will meet twice each month, the first focusing on fun special events (how to read to children, an Easter egg hunt, a Thanksgiving meal) and the second on building so-called “resiliency” skills that contribute to morality, relationships, insight, independence and other facets of life most of us take for granted.

Each young woman will be paired with two adults to assure continuity of the relationship and minimize potentially harmful disappointment should one mentor be unavailable.

Kocks-Hamrick said this week's inauguration capped nearly two years of planning between the AAUA and Whitington, which was founded in 1974 by judges from Whitley and Huntington counties (hence the name). In 1995, it moved into a converted funeral home on Fairfield, expanding service throughout northeast Indiana. Since then, about 1,400 girls, mostly between the ages of 13 and 18, have lived there; most stay about a year before returning to their families or venturing out on their own. Whitington's $1.5 million annual budget is funded mostly by the state.

This week's smiles belied the seriousness of the mission.

“I'm excited. I've never had anything like this, and it will help lead me where I want to go,” said 19-year-old “T” — I'm not using her full name at Whitington's request — who hopes to become a police officer one day. “I've been on the bad side of the law. I want to be on the good side.”

“This will help me be more in tune with myself, to appreciate who I am,” added “K,” 17, who wants to be a cosmetologist one day. “I've never had anyone throw rose petals at me before.”

There will no doubt be other — and more substantial — “firsts” for this program, which McDonald said the AAUW may replicate nationwide if it yields the hoped-for results.

Ideally, there would be no need for programs like this. In the real world, though, too many of our children need guidance parents cannot or will not give. Those who fill the void deserve our thanks — and the satisfaction of knowing their influence will be reflected in the growth of those they touched.