Summer Programs Keep Youth Engaged and Help Bridge the Opportunity Gap

We know that over the summer, there are limited opportunities for learning and enrichment—especially ones that are affordable and accessible. Without these opportunities, many young people experience summer learning loss, which can widen existing opportunity gaps. That’s why our summer programs are offered at no cost to families, ensuring more youth have access to the support and experiences they need outside of the school year.  

Our summer curriculum is an intentional part of our academic, leadership and personal growth and resilience programs that foster community, encourage positive risk-taking, and expose youth to new resources and social capital through intentional curricula, field trips, internship placements and more! 

You can be a part of this transformative summer.

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Concordia Park in East Oakland:

Our Concordia Park site in East Oakland hosts our 1st-7th* grade participants during the summer and is critical to maintaining academic goals and engaging youth in STEM activities, while also exposing them to new interests through intentional curricula and field trips.  Field trips all follow similar formulas that maximize participants’ exposure and learning that include facility tours, panel discussions and Q&A opportunities with minority women leaders, key, age-appropriate learning activities and closing reflections. Fieldtrips will include Women in Trades Project (Tradeswomen Inc.), Carmel Partners, Benefit Cosmetics, Port of Oakland, DPR Construction, Denali Therapeutics, Bishop Wisecarver hosted by Comerica, WTS (Advancing Women, Advancing Transportation), and more!  

Field trips often spark interest in attendees that can lead to future internship opportunities and subsequent college and career decisions. 

A pivotal moment for alumna Tayo came while on a field trip to an urban planning firm with Girls Inc., where she learned people actually design the bridges and roads she used on a daily basis. “That day changed everything,” she said. “For the first time, I saw a future I wanted—and believed I could have.” She became the first in her family to attend college, earning a B.S. in Civil Engineering from UC Davis and a master’s in transportation policy. Today, Tayo works as a Civil Engineer, helping build Bay Area infrastructure.  

*This year we will also host 6th and 7th graders who are part of our All STARS program in our downtown Oakland Simpson Center for Girls, and we will host an All STARTS cohort at our Concordia Park location. This expansion, made possible by funding and collaboration with Oakland Unified School District, has effectively doubled our 6th and 7th grade program spots, meeting the growing demand for this age group.  

Golf & Rowing Summer Camp:

This summer, we’re further expanding our middle school offerings through an exciting new partnership with First Tee Oakland and Oakland Strokes Rowing Club. Together, we’ll provide an additional two weeks of free, high-quality summer programming for middle schoolers—broadening their exposure to new experiences like golf and rowing and further enriching the opportunities available to this age group. Participants will start their day with Oakland Strokes at the Tidewater Boating Center for rowing and then transition to Metropolitan Golf Links Golf Course for golf lessons.  

This unique opportunity is about more than just sports and physical wellness. It provides our girls with rare exposure to sports with historically limited access, opening doors to new experiences, future opportunities, and even potential college scholarships. As they build confidence and hone their skills, they’ll not only grow as athletes but also see themselves in spaces and careers where women of color have long been underrepresented. 

Thank you to East Bay Community Foundation and title nine for supporting this opportunity!  

Eureka! at Cal State East Bay:

Our rising 8th and 9th grade Eureka! participants attend summer programming at Cal State East Bay, utilizing top-of-the line amenities like the campus sports and pool complexes, science labs and classrooms. Many students experience a lot of firsts here, including science experiments like dissecting fish and activities like learning to swim!  Experiencing daily life in a university setting also allows our girls to envision similar things for their own futures and can help alleviate any doubts or fears around navigating college campuses.   

Health Empowerment & Leadership (HEAL):

Health Empowerment & Leadership (HEAL) is for girls and their allies who are looking to be a part of the movement for opportunity and respect for all. In this summer program, teens will learn about the movement to ensure a future where everyone has access to quality healthcare- focusing on unmet health needs faced by some groups of people in our communities and country. 

Teens will get the knowledge and tools to become powerful health ambassadors, learning their health rights and exploring the gaps that exist in our country that result in many community members lacking full access to health services they deserve. Teens will share and learn in a supportive space where they can create connections with each other and their facilitator, all while gaining skills that will support them for a lifetime. There are also weekly field trips on Friday. 

At the end of the summer program, they will work together on a fun art or media project focused on raising awareness for others about the importance of their health. This will be in partnership with Cinequest’s "Picture the Possibilities” initiative.  

Internships:

We have forty 10th and 11th grade girls with internship placements among several businesses in the community including ADBC Architecture, FORRELL | ELSESSER Structural Engineers, Girls Inc. of Alameda County, Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers, and more! 

A special thank you to Rakuten for hosting 20 interns this summer in roles ranging from engineering, fashion, marketing, law and more!   

Internships are amazing opportunities for girls to gain real world working experience, professional development, personal growth, business connections, and social capital as they explore areas of interest, and they often factor into participants’ future college and career decisions.    

Alumna, Tehray,  discovered a passion for finance through a Girls Inc. internship with BlackRock and she went on to study Economics at UC Merced. She currently works as an Analyst at BlackRock Asset Management—the very company that first inspired her college and career trajectory. 

You can be part of this transformative summer. .

A generous donor has stepped up with a $15,000 matching gift challenge to make your contribution go even further. 

Our match has three deadlines we need to meet:   

• $5,000 by May 30th  

• $5,000 by June 6th  

• $5,000 by June 20th  

This matching gift means every dollar you give will be matched dollar for dollar and double your impact. Will you help us meet this Friday's deadline, June 6th? 

Your gift will directly support the essential programs youth count on this summer and into next school year. 

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