​​The Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated has sponsored debutante programs in Boston for over 48 years. The first program was offered in 1973. Similar to its existing youth development programs, which provide education and positive growth development and mentoring, the Debutante Program, sponsored in collaboration with The Boston Pearl Foundation, Incorporated, targets young women of color enrolled in grades 10-12. In an era where images of women in various media and entertainment mediums are disturbingly negative, the Precious Pearls Debutante Program gives young minority women within the greater Boston area a positive self-image, role models and personal development activities that promote high moral and ethical standards. The six-month program culminates with a formal ball that allows the community to acknowledge and celebrate the efforts of the debutantes to mature into cultured, confident, principled and civic-minded women.