From Prom Dresses to Policy:
One Woman’s Drive to Help Others

Story by Gail Parsons  |  Photos by Leidy Lester

When families lost their homes to Hurricane Helene, Nisha Giustino, with the support of her Board of Directors, raised $23,000 for Family Promise. When kids needed mentorship, she created summer camps and college tours. Through her nonprofit, Operation Kid Forward, Nisha is not just helping individuals—she’s strengthening the entire community.

Fifteen years ago Nisha Giustino had no idea what a few random acts of kindness would lead to.

 “I was doing initiatives privately,” she said.

One Christmas, a friend was gathering donations to help a shelter for women and children. Giustino posted the event on Facebook, and her friends helped buy gifts. When she started working as the Human Resource Director in 2017, the company she worked for supported more of her initiatives.

“I started doing a dress drive for high school girls who couldn’t afford to attend prom,” she said, “We would get the dresses, makeup, shoes—all that. We started actually hosting that as a Nine Line initiative. They allowed me to use their resources and of course, it was good publicity for the company.”

It was a project she took personally. Growing up with a single father, she never had the luxury of going out and buying a new dress.

“I remember borrowing one of my dad’s girlfriend’s dresses for my junior prom,” she said. “I understand, being in that demographic, how hard it is sometimes for parents to provide a dress, shoes and makeup.”

Operation Kid Forward

Fast forward to 2020. Nisha met a pregnant 14-year-old who was living in a domestic violence situation. She started working with the district attorney’s office to help the young lady. That was when conversations sparked the idea of forming a non-profit where she could expand on the initiatives she was doing.

“Realizing what I was doing in the community, they were the ones that told me, ‘You should start a nonprofit. You have a lot of good ideas and relate really well with these kids’” she said. “And that’s how Operation Kid Forward started.”

Since then, Nisha and a dedicated team of volunteers and board members, have provided free summer camp, raised money for Family Promise to help after Hurricane Helene, hosted college tours, helped youth find scholarships and financial aid for school, and much more.

In 2022 they started partnering with the Chatham County Sheriff’s for a Christmas event called “Shopping with the Sheriff.”

“The meaning behind that was for children to have positive interactions with the local law enforcement and our most at-risk youth,” she said. “Most of the time they only have negative perceptions of our law enforcement, so we try to build those positive interactions.”

She said they are planning to change it to “Shopping with a Hero” next Christmas so they can include and highlight our military members and first responders.

One of the highlights of the year is the annual Princess Ball for girls in first through fifth grade. Operation Kid Forward provides dresses and shoes. The girls get their hair done and arrive at the ball ready to meet their prince for the night.

“We definitely go all out with this event,” Nisha said. “It literally looks like Disneyworld in Savannah. But it’s a way to empower little girls. We have our first responders come out, local politicians, law enforcement, military—anybody that has status in the community as a male will support. They’ll escort the girls in, pull out their chairs, and make them feel like the true Princess they are.”

An Instinct to Help

Her instinct to help was instilled in her as a little girl. Her grandfather and grandmother immigrated from India in the 1950s. Her grandfather with just $5 in his pocket and big dreams. They both latched onto the American dream and worked tirelessly. He earned his doctorate, and built a career at NASA. Her grandmother earned her bachelor’s in nursing, caring for mentally disturbed children for over 40 years.

“Despite their success, they never let me forget the importance of compassion,” she said. “They drilled into me the idea that you should never turn a blind eye to someone in need because you never know when you might be in their place.”

She also attributes her soft spot for children, especially those at risk to lessons from her grandfather. His stories of growing up in extreme poverty, going to bed hungry, missing school because there was no money, would break her heart, she said. Watching him as she grew up she saw that he put his money where his mouth was.

“He didn’t just talk about helping others; he lived it,” she said. “He’s the kind of person who has literally taken homeless people into his home to help them. That is the kind of mentor I had growing up.”

Although she has a soft spot for the children, Nisha also looks at other parts of the community where she can use her talents and skills. Strengthening a community helps everyone to include breaking down barriers.

Beyond Operation Kid Forward

An Army veteran with nearly six years of active duty and two combat tours under her belt, Nisha has a healthy respect for guns. However, she doesn’t like the idea of guns in the hands of untrained people.

As the owner of Peach State Firearm Safety and Training, she helps people lose their fear of guns while providing safety awareness, and responsible ownership. 

“I love training,” she said. “Most of my clientele are women. I think women are more inclined to learn from another woman.”

She also wanted to get certified so she could help youth understand the liabilities involving weapons.

During this legislative session, Nisha is working as a legislative aid to a State Representative to learn firsthand the ins and outs of government, and about policy from the top down. She has contemplated running for office.

When she decides the time is right, she will throw her hat in the ring, fully prepared. As a woman she said she is already 10 points behind her male counterparts, add her minority status and she will have to be able to prove her worth.

“I believe, as a woman, we have to be smarter, we have to be on our A-game to even be viable against the male candidate,” she said. “When I come in and you see my resume, it’s not going to be viewed that I woke up one day bored and decided to run for a position. No, I’ve been back planning for years, and this has been a purposeful path to be in a position where I can make or implement change for all.”