A place where all teenagers are always welcome

Today’s middle and high school students face a world that can be frightening or can be an adventure. There are students who see the world and want to hide. There are students who see the same world and prepare to take on whatever comes. Both need each other – one for support and one for insight. 

How do teenagers connect? How do those who have faced difficult situations encourage those still going through them? Cynthia Borgwing, the founder of Rebuild Yourself, states that this organization is a place where teenagers can find answers to these questions.  

Cynthia said, “Rebuild Yourself stems from a personal experience as a mother when I felt helpless. When the school year started, it broke my heart to hear one of my children say, ‘I have no friends, and I eat lunch alone.’ I truly had no idea my child was having this problem, and we speak every day. Then I thought to myself, ‘I wonder how many other kids feel like they don’t have the ability to make friends or connect with other youth their age.’” This realization propelled her to pursue ways to help children develop the skills they need to grow and support each other.

Rebuild Yourself is a nonprofit organization that was built by people who want to see teenagers not only thrive but help each other flourish. Teenagers have many peers they can look to for inspiration, but they just need a place where they can find others who are facing similar problems and dreams. The goal is to help teenagers grow and become the best versions of themselves. We want teenagers to never feel alone and ensure they never feel like they do not have any friends. 

Rebuild Yourself is coming to the Lake Nona region. They are preparing middle and high school students to embrace their dreams, expand their knowledge, and then empower others around them to do great things as well.

The core value of Rebuild Yourself is to create a safe space where teenagers can express themselves. Embrace, Expand and Empower are the guiding principles to give teenagers the skill sets that they need to build self-esteem, confidence, and a deeper understanding of empathy. These skills are important to helping teenagers not only navigate the changes in their own lives and bodies but also the changes happening around them.

Embracing who they are is always a hard part of being a teenager, from the various voices telling them what they should do to being able to understand that their opinions and goals are important skills to learn. For many teenagers, these foundational skills have not yet developed. Once they realize that their opinions and dreams are important, many find the confidence to power through all obstacles. The empowered teenager is an incredible force that can change the world!

Knowing others are going through the same things is an immense source of comfort and growth for teenagers. Oftentimes, people – adults and teenagers – can get lost in their own little worlds. The routine – wake up, go to school, come home, and do homework – can be a safe space but also a space where growth is impossible. Rebuild Yourself breaks up this routine to give different perspectives. Here, teenagers can learn about their world but also learn how others see the same world. 

Empowering teenagers to find their strengths is key to developing strong, healthy adults. By learning about their strengths and helping to provide positive growth, teenagers will find that their world is easier to manage. Through gaining confidence in their strengths, they will encourage others around them to do the same. 

Borgwing hopes that their “approach will help children rebuild their relationship with themselves and others, leading to long-term, positive changes in their self-esteem and confidence.” This positive addition to the Lake Nona community will help teenagers gain the assurance they need to face the adventures and problems that may come their way. 

iLingo Academy graciously opened their hearts and doors for this newly-established nonprofit organization. Rebuild Yourself offers sessions for middle and high school students both in-person and virtual. There is no fee for them to join, and all are welcome. Rebuild Yourself wants teenagers to not only feel welcomed but to find a community that will also help them to grow.

“Although Rebuild Yourself is young, we know our service is needed because we have not found any other organizations providing this kind of peer-to-peer support,” Borgwing said.

As a nonprofit organization, they look forward to working with community members to partner with them. After all, it does take a community to raise a child. Today’s teenagers need all the support they can find. For more information how people can help, visit the Rebuild Yourself website: www.rebuildselfcare.com. 

For more information, contact Cynthia Borgwing or David Rodriguez at www.rebuildselfcare.com.