GIRLS GROUPS
The most popular way for youth to access the Girls Inc. Experience.
Girls Groups are our most wide-reaching program, operating in partnership with multiple school districts and dozens of community partners throughout the Pacific Northwest to serve youth ages 6-13. Grounded in the Girls Inc. Experience, Girls Groups meet after school on a weekly basis over three, eight-week terms. Through research-based, gender-specific programming, Girls Groups are formed by age group and designed to help participants grow up to be healthy, educated, and independent. Over the course of the year, groups focus on different strong, smart or bold themes, diving into age-specific curricula such as: Allies in Action, Operation SMART, Economic Literacy, Media Literacy, Mind + Body, Healthy Sexuality, Project BOLD, Go Girl Go!, Sporting Chance, Leadership and Community Action, and She Votes.
HOW DO GROUPS WORK
IN-PERSON GIRLS GROUPS
- Girls Groups meet with their Girls Inc. PNW volunteer Girls Guides weekly for 90 minutes over three eight-week terms each school year.
- Each group is made up of youth from two consecutive grade levels.
- Girls Groups will spend each term finding their way through the age-appropriate component of one of our Girls Inc. curricula with the help of our Girls’ Guide volunteers and facilitators.
- The majority of our Girls Groups are available throughout the school year and as a component of our summer programs.
GIRLS GROUPS TOPICS
ALLIES IN ACTION
Youth learn how to overcome relational aggression — otherwise known as bullying — helping them to identify how to navigate conflict as individuals and as peer leaders.
GIRLS INC. ECONOMIC LITERACY®
Youth learn about money and the economy, including how to manage, invest and save money, and how to help others through philanthropy. As participants explore how the economy affects everyone locally and globally, they develop skills critical to being financially savvy and to becoming economically independent adults.
GIRLS INC. HEALTHY SEXUALITY®
Youth are empowered to understand and embrace sexuality in a comprehensive, medically accurate, age-appropriate, culturally sensitive, non-shaming, and LGBTQ+-inclusive environment that also includes information about consent and healthy relationships. They are equipped with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values they need to live healthy and thrive.
GIRLS INC. LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY ACTION
Youth build leadership skills and create lasting social change through community action projects. With support from professionals in their community, participants celebrate the heritage of girls and women as leaders and social change agents, and realize their own power as community resources and trustees of the common good.
GIRLS INC. MEDIA LITERACY®
Youth increase their awareness of the scope and power of the media and the effects of media messages on girls and women. They learn to analyze what they see and hear in the media and advocate for change in entertainment, news, and advertising. As they create media that are more realistic and reflective of their lives, they learn about careers and the positive use of media.
GIRLS INC. MIND+BODY
Participants are supported and educated around whole body health, focusing on the importance of physical activity, nutrition, positive
body image and stress management.
GIRLS INC. OPERATION SMART®
Youth develop enthusiasm for and skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Through hands-on activities, they explore, ask questions, persist, and solve problems. Youth interact with STEM professionals and come to view these careers as exciting and realistic options for themselves.
GIRLS INC. PROJECT BOLD®
Participants learn skills and strategies to lead safer lives in their homes, relationships, communities, and online. They learn specific self-defense techniques and how to seek out and talk to caring adults about personal violence. Older youth also take on a community action project to advocate for a safer world for folks of all gender identities.
TIME TO INVENT
Youth are connected to STEM role models and engage in invention challenges to spark their interest in STEM fields. They learn how the design process helps them with creative problem solving and what inventing is all about. As they learn to think like inventors, they grow confident in their abilities, maybe even seeing science, technology, engineering, and/or math as exciting pathways for their own lives.