Girls Inc. of Chattanooga

 In an online video that recently went viral, a young girl, Riley, is standing in front an incredibly pink toy display,  emphatically explaining to her dad how “the companies who make the toys try to trick the girls into buying the pink stuff.” She argues that “some girls like superheroes and some girls like princesses”: 

At such a young age, Riley is already picking up on an issue that Girls Inc., both nationally and locally, has been effectively educating girls about for a long time.

Girls Inc. designed in 2002 the highly regarded Media Literacy® curriculum which teaches girls to decipher and resist media messages that promote gender stereotypes and encourage harmful behavior. The curriculum has age appropriate components for girls ages 6 to 18. Media and Me, the component for girls ages 6 to 8 (around Riley’s age) helps girls understand how messages about gender stereotypes, like “pink is for girls” or “only boys play with trucks,” are used in advertising.

As girls grow older, Media Literacy® teaches them how to navigate media messaging that glamorizes harmful behaviors like sex, substance abuse and violence.  The activities taught in program components such as Media Smarts (ages 12-14) and Girls Get the Message (ages 15-18), provide hands-on opportunities for girls to redesign examples of harmful ads into more positive messages about girls and women.

Girls Inc. of Chattanooga has delivered our Media Literacy® program to Hamilton County girls through our afterschool programs and during school break camps, most recently during spring and summer in 2011. In April 2012, the curriculum will be taught as part of our Design Girl Spring Break Camp.

We are proud to be part of an organization that is helping girls recognize their rights to be themselves and grow into healthy, educated and independent women – strong, smart and bold ®.It is our hope that one day all girls – and boys -- will understand and react to gender messages in advertising in the same way that Riley does.

http://opensource.com/life/11/9/michelle-obama-annouces-new-nsf-undertakings-improve-work-life-balance-and-stem-careers-wo

What’s the best $10 investment you’ll ever make? A raffle ticket to support Girls Inc. programs with a top prize of a rarely driven and lovingly maintained 2001 Jaguar! The powder blue car is in good condition and could be yours if your raffle ticket is the winner.

Support Girls Inc. programs by buying your ticket(s) today at www.girlsincraffle.org.  Raffle tickets are $10 each or five tickets for $40. The drawing will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 2, 2011.

Have you made fall break plans yet for your daughter? Does she enjoy assisting you in the kitchen? Would she like to meet local chefs and concoct a few of her own tasty creations?  If so, Chef Girl is the camp for her.  Girls Inc.  camps offer great value,  a safe and nurturing environment and an opportunity to meet girls from throughout Hamilton County.

At Chef Girl, girls ages 6-8 and 9-11 will learn about healthy nutrition and kitchen safety, practice math and science skills through recipe preparation, explore how food gets from the farm to their plates, learn from experienced chefs, and go on theme-related field trips.

Girls Inc. camps offer hands-on activities,as well as fun and educational field trips.  To counter stereotypes about women doing the cooking, Chef Girl will turn the tables by introducing the girls to male chefs.

Click here to register or call (423) 624-4757.  Don’t delay.  This camp will sell out!

Girls Inc. has been ranked the fifth most impactful youth serving nonprofit in the country by Philanthropedia, a GuideStar research organization.

After surveying 88 experts (funders, researchers, nonprofit senior staff, and government officials) and reviewing 178 national nonprofits, Philanthropedia ranked Girls Inc. fifth out of nine top organizations.     Girls Inc. is the only single sex organization to receive a ranking!

A recent article from the Associated Press by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar:
WASHINGTON (AP) — A half-century after the advent of the pill, the Obama administration on Monday ushered in a change in women's health care potentially as transformative: coverage of birth control as prevention, with no copays.

Services ranging from breast pumps for new mothers to counseling on domestic violence were also included in the broad expansion of women's preventive care under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

Since birth control is the most common drug prescribed to women, health plans should make sure it's readily available, said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "Not doing it would be like not covering flu shots," she said.

Click here to read the entire article

Do you want to have a direct impact on the lives of girls in Hamilton County?  Then join Link35 today, an exclusive membership program for women and men  ages 35 and under.  For just a donation of $150 annually by 200 members, Girls Inc. will be able to add two afterschool program sites for girls ages for the upcoming school year.

Link35 members will enjoy free events throughout the year at unique venues.  The events will give  members an opportunity to have fun, meet like-minded people and enjoy new experiences all while creating a strong, smart and boldSM future for girls.

Girls Inc. needs to raise $30,000 to add afterschool programming for girls ages 9-11 in the East Chattanooga and Harrison communities. You can make a difference in the lives of girls for only $150 a year. It takes just 200 members – male and female -to make these sites a reality!  Become a member today!  For more information, or to join, click on our Link35 page. Tell your friends, family and colleagues.

Come see the difference Girls Inc. programs make by attending one of our June end-of-camp presentations.  Listen to the girls as they talk about what they have learned in four exciting weeks of hands on educational and fun programs.

The Girl Journey summer camp for girls ages 6 to 11 will hold its June end of camp presentation on July 1 at the Church of the Nazarene, 5455 N. Terrace, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Girls attending the camp will present what they have learned about the history of Girls Inc. of Chattanooga as well as display fashion through the decades in which Girls Inc. has been in Chattanooga and exhibit various art projects they created during the camp.

Participants in the Emma Wheeler Health Careers Academy will do a Tae Kwon Do demonstration and share what they learned about health careers with their families and the public on July 1 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Highland Park Neighborhood Association building, 1714 Duncan Avenue.

For more information on the end of camp presentations or to RSVP to either event, contact our office at (423) 624-4757.

What’s the best $10 investment you’ll ever make? A raffle ticket to support Girls Inc. programs with a top prize of a rarely driven and lovingly maintained 2001 Jaguar! The powder blue car is in great condition and could be yours if your raffle ticket is the winner.

 Beginning this summer, Girls Inc. is selling tickets for just $10 each with all of the proceeds benefiting our in-school, afterschool and school break programs for girls ages 6 to 18.

Ticket sales begin this summer! Pay $10 for one ticket or $40 for five! Check your inbox SOON for details and a link to buy your tickets!