Eastern Shore Training and Consulting, Inc

07/22/2026

You're Invited: ESTACI Young Leaders Scholarship Awards Luncheon!

Join us as we celebrate our 2026 Scholarship Recipients: Karma Robinson, Joyniah Gaskins, and Armonie Reid - three incredible young leaders from the Eastern Shore heading off to college this fall! 🎓

🗓️ Saturday, August 1st
🕛 12:00 Noon
📍 Cape Charles Impact Center — 1500 Old Cape Charles Rd

Come encourage these young women as they embark on their academic and career journeys. Whether you're a past or present scholarship recipient, contributor, intern, or board member, you're part of this community, and we'd love to have you there.

The event is free, and contributions to the scholarship fund are always welcome and appreciated.

RSVP by emailing [email protected] — please include the names in your party and any dietary restrictions.

We can't wait to celebrate with you! 💚

07/08/2026

Join us in supporting ESTACI's own Gerald Boyd as he leads a thought-provoking conversation on "Conscience or Efficiency?" this Sunday with the Unitarian Universalists of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Gerald will explore faith, history, moral courage, and the role of conscience in shaping our communities. If you're looking for an inspiring discussion, we encourage you to attend!

What happens when institutions stop listening to conscience?

This Sunday, Gerald Boyd invites us into a powerful conversation about faith, history, moral courage, and the choices that shape our communities.

As a Bahá’í, counselor, and lifelong student of history, Gerald brings a perspective rooted in both wisdom and lived experience.

Together, we’ll ask:
Do our institutions leave room for conscience, or have we made efficiency the highest goal?

This is a service for anyone who has ever wondered how we stay human, compassionate, and brave inside systems that often ask us to move faster, stay quiet, or look away.

Sunday, July 12 at 10:30 AM
15421 Merry Cat Ln 15B, Belle Haven, VA

Come reflect, question, and be in community.

All are welcome.

07/07/2026

We are thrilled to share that ESTACI has been awarded a grant from Humanities as part of their 2026 round of funding awarded to 29 organizations across the Commonwealth! 🎉

Her Shore: A Legacy of Women's Leadership on Virginia's Eastern Shore will document and interpret the stories of women whose leadership has shaped civic life across our community — through oral history interviews, a traveling exhibit, and community dialogue events right here on the Shore.

We are grateful to Virginia Humanities for believing in this work and in the stories that belong to all of us. Stay tuned! The interviews, events, and exhibits are coming, and you won't want to miss them.

Virginia—Virginia Humanities, the state’s humanities council, announced $267,148 in grants to 29 nonprofit cultural organizations.

07/07/2026

Meet ESTACI's 2026 Young Leaders Scholarship Recipients! 🎉

Please join us in celebrating three remarkable young women whose leadership, resilience, academic excellence, and commitment to serving others have earned them the 2026 ESTACI Young Leaders Scholarship Award.

👏🏾 Joyniah Gaskins
👏🏾 Armonie Reid
👏🏾 Karma Robinson

Each recipient will receive a $2,500 scholarship to support her post-secondary education and will be recognized at the ESTACI Young Leaders Awards Luncheon on Saturday, August 1 at the Impact Center in Cape Charles.

Since 2016, ESTACI's Empowering Women & Girls Initiative has invested $57,500 in scholarships for 23 Eastern Shore students, recognizing young leaders who have persevered through adversity while making a meaningful difference in their schools, families, and communities.

These young women remind us that leadership isn't defined by titles, it's demonstrated through service, compassion, perseverance, and the courage to keep showing up for others.

💛 Congratulations, Joyniah, Armonie, and Karma! The Eastern Shore is proud of you, and we can't wait to see all you accomplish.
If you'd like to help us invest in the next generation of Eastern Shore leaders, please consider supporting the ESTACI Young Leaders Scholarship Fund.

🌐 Learn more or donate at: www.estaci.org

Meet ESTACI's 2026 Young Leaders Scholarship RecipientsESTACI (Eastern Shore Training And Consulting, Inc.) is proud to announce the 2026 recipients of the Young Leaders Scholarship Award, sponsored by ESTACI's Empowering Women & Girls Initiative: Joyniah Gaskins, Armonie Reid, and Karma Robinson. E...

07/03/2026

Coming Home to the Gullah Nation: join Gerald and Polly Boyd as they return to St. Helena Island to celebrate community, memory, and living tradition. Read their reflection on the Original Gullah Festival and the deep ties that bind the Lowcountry.

What place holds your family’s stories? Share below.



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There are places on this earth where the past and present breathe together - where the land holds memory, where the air carries the echo of ancestors, and where community is not just a word but a living, breathing force. For ESTACI co-founders Gerald and Polly Boyd, St. Helena Island, South Carolina...

06/27/2026

Greetings friends of ESTACI,

We are thrilled to announce ESTACI’s 2026 Young Leaders Scholarship recipients – Joyniah Gaskins, Armonie Reid, and Karma Robinson.

Joyniah Gaskins is a graduate of Nandua HS, and plans to major in Psychology at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, with a career goal in the field of Neuroscience/Criminology.

Armonie Reid is a Northampton HS graduate, and will study Biology (Pre-Med) at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, with an eye toward a degree in Nursing.

Karma Robinson is a graduate of Nandua HS, planning to major in Biology (Pre-Med) at Hampton University in Hampton, leading to a career in Pathology.

Joyniah, Armonie, and Karma will each receive ESTACI’s $2500 Young Leaders Scholarship Award during this year’s Awards Luncheon in their honor, which will be held at the Impact Center in Cape Charles on Saturday, August 1.

ESTACI (Eastern Shore Training And Consulting, Incorporated) is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation. We have provided $2500 scholarships to twenty (20!) graduating ESVA seniors since 2016, totaling $50,000. This year’s three scholarships bring the number of awards to twenty-three, with a total award amount of (23 X $2500 = ) $57,500 since 2016.

Much appreciation and gratitude to all of you who have already contributed so much to this exciting opportunity for our ESVA graduating seniors! If you have not yet contributed to ESTACI’s Young Leaders Scholarships, we invite you to do so. Every gift – large or small – is an investment in leadership, dignity, and possibility.

You are invited to gift in these three ways –

By check made out to “ESTACI Scholarships” – mail to ESTACI (or stop by our office) at 3100 Main Street, Exmore VA 23350.

By Zelle - to Polly Boyd (enrolled as Mary Boyd), 678-296-8687; enter “Scholarships”.

On ESTACI’s website - www.estaci.org; click on “Scholarships”.

Thank you all for everything you do/have done in support of ESVA’s future leaders!

06/02/2026

Yesterday, a group of elders met with three remarkable young women who are preparing to step into the next chapter of their lives.

Since 2016, our scholarship program has invested in young leaders who might otherwise be overlooked.

This year, we hope to award all three finalists a $2500 scholarship.
We have already secured half of the needed funds.

We now invite our community to help us cross the finish line by August first.

Every gift – large or small – is an investment in leadership, dignity, and possibility.

You are invited gift in three direct ways –

By check: mail to ESTACI Scholarships at 3100 Main Street, Exmore VA 23350.

By Zelle: to Polly Boyd (enrolled as Mary Boyd), 678-296-8687; enter “Scholarships”.

On ESTACI’s website, www.estaci.org; click on “Scholarship”.

04/06/2026

In March 2026, twelve women gathered for a powerful, multi-generational weekend of reflection, restoration, and reconnection at a cozy lodge in Kiptopeke State Park. Set against a peaceful natural backdrop, the retreat created space for participants to slow down, breathe deeply, and return to themselves.

Over three days, attendees engaged in guided self-care and healing practices, explored the connection between personal wellness and community service, and participated in facilitated sessions designed to help re-evaluate their power and purpose. Through creativity, interfaith devotion, movement, and meaningful dialogue, both in small groups and one-on-one, women built authentic connections across generations.

The retreat centered on a simple but transformative idea: caring for ourselves is not separate from serving others - it is foundational to it. Participants left feeling grounded, renewed, and reconnected to their inner strength and to one another.