LAPLACE — Shona Lawrence and Erica Jackson say they are about as opposite as two best friends can be.

Lawrence, a nurse practitioner, is the outgoing one who talks a mile a minute.

Jackson, a senior analyst for a Fortune 500 company, is the more reserved one.

Fate brought them together, though, kept them together and even led them to buy neighboring houses in LaPlace.

They also share a vision.

Together Lawrence and Jackson want to make a difference in the lives of young women through what they call a “sisterhood.”

Prodigy Youth Foundation is a year-old mentoring organization for young women ages 8 to 18. It offers its members educational and empowerment seminars, team-building activities and fun, and includes community service events.

It’s all designed to help young ladies set and achieve goals in life and not allow obstacles to get in their way.

Prodigy originally was the idea of Lawrence, who saw the need while working at an Orleans Parish school and because of some of the things her own young daughter has endured in St. John the Baptist Parish.

“I see a lot and hear a lot,” Lawrence said. “There is a need, especially for young ladies, for life skills. There’s a lot of bullying. There’s sexual behavior among teens, STDs. Sometimes kids are a product of their environment and they don’t have to be.”

Jackson said her background story is the perfect example. While Lawrence grew up with two parents in Kenner, Jackson grew up in a one-parent household in a New Orleans housing project. She had to overcome a lot of adversity to get where she is today.

“Basically, she’s trying to use my story to teach the girls that your current situation doesn’t dictate where you end up in the future,” Jackson said. “That’s kind of my story.”

New members will be accepted each April. Applications are available on the group’s web site, prodigyyouthfoundation.org.

The membership cost is $150, which goes toward purchasing T-shirts, tote bags and other membership items for the girls.

Applicants will be interviewed by other members (to build both leadership and interview skills) then formally inducted.

Throughout the year, Prodigy members — who are broken down by age into rubies, emeralds and diamonds — enjoy trips, spa days, a day of pampering and the year-end fashion show, which was the main fundraiser as well as an event to raise blood cancer awareness.

They also are paired one-on-one with an adult female mentor who can provide advice and guidance.

Lawrence and Jackson recently inducted eight new members into the group with a special ceremony reminiscent of a sorority induction. A few of the initial members also graduated, including Dominique Cage, who received a $250 book scholarship as she prepares to attend the University of Southern Mississippi in the fall.

Lawrence said she simply reached out to parents who were looking for something for their daughters.

“It was a pilot year,” she said. “What I’ve found is, kids really want to be a part of something. We try to make everything a big deal.”

The organization plans many more activities in the upcoming year, including adopting a family to help gather school supplies.

Lawrence said her goal for her second year is to solidify funding so she can eliminate the membership fee. Her long term goal is to see Prodigy become a part of the local schools.

“Kids don’t have outlets,” Lawrence said. “They don’t have that go-to person to confide in, to talk to. They talk to a friend but that friend has a lot of misinformation. Sometimes they are afraid to talk to their mom or they don’t have a mom. If we give these kids something positive they’ll go in that direction.”