School Is Out---Girls Inc. Summer Programs Are In!
July 9, 2010
Strong. Smart. Bold! This year’s participants experienced authentic, engaging, thought-provoking programs that inspired them to develop their potential and be their best. Girls Inc. of Alameda County’s full continuum of programs evolve with girls’ unique developmental needs. We support young women in underserved communities in their journey of building academic, career, and life skills that foster success in school, at home and in the world.
Though the school year is behind us, Girls Inc. summer programming has begun and will continue through mid August. Girls will participate in fun hands on activities, go on weekly fieldtrips, participate in internships, and challenge themselves in ways they never imagined. Girls Incorporated of Alameda County offers award-winning local and national programs that build self-esteem, foster creativity, and promote critical thinking skills. No other youth agency in the Bay Area offers such comprehensive programming designed specifically for girls.
Thanks to the support of our passionate supporters, our programs enjoyed a year in which major milestones were met. We are especially pleased to share that 100% of graduates of our five-year Eureka! Teen Achievement Program enrolled in college last fall.
Girls in grades K-3 participate in this program focused on building reading and writing skills. Special program components also focus on the development of health and 
fitness and social/behavioral skills to strengthen the girls’ literacy foundation for their school years and beyond.
This year GIRLStart celebrated Women's History Month with a special Interview Day. Three different women from the community came to talk to the girls about careers in nursing, marketing, and science education. One student, who has shown low self confidence and often struggles with completing tasks due to her low literacy level, was inspired about a potential career in marketing. She has since set a goal to improve in school so that she can go to college and pursue her new-found interest in advertising.
Fourth and Fifth grade girls in the Watch Out World (WOW!) program build on their literacy skills and work to develop an “athlete identity,” which research shows can be a protective factor as they grapple with the physical, social, and emotional changes of adolescence.
WOW! staff engaged 5th graders this year with the Media Smart Youth curriculum, which focuses on how media influences the choices that girls make in eating well and participating 
in sports. After lessons in the classroom, girls visited Charles Schwab’s San Francisco Marketing Department to gain a first-hand understanding of how the company utilizes the media in order to increase public exposure. WOW! girls then chose to create their own newsletter that included articles, games, and recipes to spread positive messages about making healthy choices to other youth their age.
Girls in 6th-8th grades participate in this program focused on Sports, Technology, Academics, Responsibility, and Sisterhood. Every day after school, our middle school girls develop their capabilities through activities focused on technology literacy, academic enrichment, career exploration, leadership, fitness, and team-building.
This year, after many participants expressed a desire to learn about building, the All STARS staff developed and delivered an 
architecture curriculum. Girls experienced wearing the hat of both builder and designer of structures while exploring engineering concepts. Girls did a comparison analysis of common structures in their community and created their own unique design that would positively benefit the community. The structures incorporated concepts such as trusses, columns, beams, and reinforced concrete.
Community Programs
Girls Inc. integrates character development into our Continuum of Services model. Central to this work is supporting girls to develop positive interpersonal relationships in the classroom, the home, and in the community. Together with strong girls and women as mentors, coaches, and models of character, girls engage in a variety of programs including service learning, advocacy, systems change work, family engagement and sports. Specially designed activities support girls in their practice of team building, self-management, conflict resolution, and personal responsibility in a safe environment.
This year girls participating in our Advocating Change Together (ACT) program presented policy recommendations around healthier options for high school students to the San Leandro Youth Commission who endorsed them. Also girls in our fitness program, Bodies in Motion,participated in an intern program with Impact Academy where they learned about physical fitness activities and then implemented them with our elementary programs.
This important Girls Inc. program provides outpatient mental health services to girls, clients, and families in English and Spanish. Pathways therapists also deliver campus-based mental health services for students at selected elementary, middle, and high schools. Participants in HEART (Helping Everyone Achieve Respect Together), a girl-driven health and sexuality education program for underserved youth, made over 900 contacts last year in San Leandro and Oakland. As trained peer educators, HEART girls learn about and work to expand and improve access to health and sexuality information through positive influence and one-on-one conversations among peers in their own informal social networks.
