Why We Do This Work: A Message from Our Founder

When people ask why I started PureLegacee, I tell them—it started with my own story.

At 19, I was sentenced to 15 years in a women’s correctional facility. I was young, pregnant, and completely alone. I gave birth while incarcerated. I learned how to be a mother in a place that wasn’t built for nurturing, let alone healing. That experience changed me forever.

But even in that dark place, I saw light in the girls and women around me. I saw brilliance, resilience, and dreams deferred not because we weren’t capable, but because the system never gave us a chance.

When I came home in 2017, I knew I couldn’t just move on like none of it happened. I wanted to create the space I wish I had—somewhere young girls who’ve been impacted by incarceration, foster care, and other systems could feel seen, safe, and supported.

That’s why I built PureLegacee. This isn’t just a program. It’s a family. It’s a movement. It’s a place where girls can come as they are and be reminded that they are more than their past. We focus on healing, leadership, sisterhood, and growth. We pour into our girls the way we needed someone to pour into us.

This work is personal. Every time a girl says she feels safe with us, every time she walks a little taller, every time she realizes her voice matters, I’m reminded why I started.

PureLegacee is about legacy. It’s about changing the narrative.

And I’m just getting started.

— Naquasia PollardFounder & CEO, PureLegacee