PORTSMOUTH, Va. - Three months after 19-year-old Ashanti Billie's body was found outside a Charlotte, NC church, a summit in her honor is hoping to empower area teen girls.
The first 100 Young Queens Teen Summit kicked off Wednesday at 5:30 at Venue 757 on George Washington Memorial Highway in Portsmouth.
The four-day event, which focuses on girls ages 13-19, features a number of sessions with different themes and guest speakers.
Wednesday's sessions focused on bullying, nutrition and fitness, self-esteem and finances.
Themes for the rest of the week will focus on college and entrepreneurship.
At the end of the final day, Saturday, each girl who attends will leave with an ID card from the Virginia Child Identification Program.
"You have Christmas and then what are they doing? They're just in the house or they're probably in the streets so they have a safe environment to come to for an entire week and also be able to learn," said Kimberly Wimbish, a co-organizer for the event and the spokesperson for the Billie family.
Police say Billie was abducted September 18 when her car was last seen leaving JEB Little Creek and later murdered.
45-year-old Eric Brown is charged in the case.
