Beautiful Me event looks to raise teen girls' self esteem, confidence

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Building up strong self-esteem can be hard for lots of teenage girls, and it's especially difficult when they have no support system or have been through tough times.

But one organization is trying to help girls find their inner beauty through a day of empowerment and pampering.

"We don't care what you look like, if you're big, small, in between," founder Karin Hlywiak said. "We just want you to know that you're beautiful."

Beautiful Me is a day of special treatment and confidence building in Manhattan, and it's the brainchild of Hlywiak.

"To pretty much help young teens with having emotional problems or self esteem issues," she said. "Raise their confidence level, help them feel better about themselves and know that they're not alone in this world."

The first Beautiful Me event was held back in 2012, and Ciara Williams was there, nominated by her mother.

"They just kept telling me and telling me and telling me that I am beautiful and that I should feel this way every single day of my life," she said. "With or without makeup, without a dress on, without a massage or cupcakes, I should feel this way. And now I do."

She says the impact on her self worth started with that one day, not because beauty was defined, but because it wasn't. Another mom, Tracy Ingham, is thankful she nominated her daughter Lauren.

"It helped her to see and to not feel bad about herself," she said. "To actually realize the potential of the woman that she's now grown into."

Hlywiak was motivated by the change in the girls and feedback from parents and her own history.

"There's been a lot of things throughout my life that have been hard to deal with," she said. "And I did not have any support at that time."

The Beautiful Me event is totally free, as everything is donated. The next event is July 23, and nominations through the website are due July 15.

Visit BeautifulMe.co for more information or to make a nomination.