Powerful Together Newsletter
February 24, 2022
Growth and Change
The Omicron variant appears to be in retreat, with reports from the Minnesota Department of Health sharing that cases are as low as they’ve been since mid-October. This is very encouraging news as many of us are ready to return to normal activities. Girls Are Powerful is looking forward to our upcoming spring and fall events. But like many of us, our normal will be a bit different from before the pandemic. We are launching a new Mentor Program and are eager to work with girls over a longer period of time and help them through times of growth and change. This is going to be a meaningful program for our participants, and we are so excited for our community to join us on this journey.
Past Newsletters
ORGANIZATION ANNOUNCEMENTS
Girls Are Powerful (GRP) Day’s Passport to Power is Coming in May!
Girls Are Powerful Day inspires young girls to embrace their whole selves while building community in a series of sessions focused on celebrating their identities, nurturing self-love, and amplifying their powerful, unique voices.
Our goal is to empower the next generation of women to embark on their journey of self-discovery by exploring unique activities developed in alignment with social-emotional learning. Our sessions will introduce girls to new destinations where they can embrace personal strengths and values, share and receive souvenirs within their community, learn to understand and manage emotions and prepare for any adventure.
Prior to the event, girls will receive a goody box full of tools to make the event interactive, unleash their creativity and display their memories and lessons. During the virtual event, girls will be learning, creating and sharing among friends.
REGISTRATION OPENING SOON.
SAVE THE DATE: GRP Day, Saturday, May 21, 2022, 10AM-2PM CST
Visit our Event Page to sign up to be notified when registration opens.
Thank You RaiseMN!
Girls Are Powerful recently wrapped up our RaiseMN Institute Campaign. We had an incredible experience working with coaches to help move our fundraising initiatives forward. We have new tools and techniques that we are working into our annual strategy. We hope we can count on your support!
Mentor Program
Launching in October 2022, Girls Are Powerful’s Mentor Program will be our new flagship initiative. This program will bring together girls ages 8 to 17 to discover and embrace their identities and use their power to positively impact their communities. Our approach will connect girls with Peer Mentors and Adult Mentors who will guide participants through a three-year curriculum within a safe environment for sharing and growth. Prospective families and mentors can learn more by joining us at upcoming Information Sessions – learn more below!
Recap: February Mentor 101 Session
As we embark on a new programming journey, we invited all volunteers to participate in a Mentor 101 learning session. This session was for us all to level set around the new direction of the organization and for them to ask any questions / give us feedback. We had a total of 33 incredible women join us. These volunteers are an extension of GRP’s vision, goal, and dream. To successfully make this shift, we will need their involvement and your support to do this work!
Our Next Information Session: March 10
We are hosting our next information session on THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2022 from 6 PM – 7 PM CST. This session is for Parents/Caregivers and Prospective Mentors.
Sign up today to join us!
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What does participation look like?
Girls in the Mentor Program will connect with peers from different schools, neighborhoods, and cities. They will work together with the guidance of a mentor to learn about and tap into the personal and collective power.
As they journey through the Mentor Program, girls and young women will learn about critical social/political skills, self-knowledge and cultural knowledge, identity formation and self-efficacy, self-determination and civic engagement. Their mentor will guide them through a curriculum based on GRP’s six Essential Elements: Determined, Smart, Confident, Unique, Beautiful, and Powerful.
Why Mentoring?
Youth mentor programs come in many forms, but a primary focus is engaging youth in caring relationships to provide opportunities for support, growth, and development. The result? Everything from an increase in social and emotional well-being, better relationships with peers and family, improved attitude and behavior management, and even better grades.
Why Girls Are Powerful? Why Now?
After eight years of working with girls and their families to promote personal transformation and empowerment, GRP has created unique programming to bring together a diverse background of girls, families and volunteers. The wide range of programming that we’ve developed since 2013 makes us uniquely positioned to create and deliver an immersive curriculum. We’ve seen the bonds that form between girls at Girls Are Powerful (GRP) events, even if it’s just one day. We started to think: what if we could harness this power into a long-term, impactful program?
Get Involved
We frequently receive emails from people asking how they can get involved in Girls Are Powerful. There are so many ways we can use your support!
Volunteer with us
Girls Are Powerful is volunteer-run. We’re looking for thought-leaders, experts, and people who just want to give back.
We now have a new webpage dedicated to answering your questions about volunteering: www.girlsarepowerful.org/volunteer AND we even have an open position page: www.girlsarepowerful.org/open-volunteer-positions.
Don’t wait, join us!
Nominate GRP!
We are always so grateful when we learn that we’ve been nominated by our supporters to apply for a grant. If you’re looking for ways to support our work, please take a look at these options and see if they are something you’d like to nominate us for:
- WW Wellness Impact Award – https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/impactaward
- Headwater Foundation: https://headwatersfoundation.org/bsf-grant
Amazon Smiles
Now you can add Girls Are Powerful to your Amazon Smiles account! Adding us to Amazon Smiles means that when you purchase eligible items, we receive 0.5% of your purchase total – at no extra cost to you. It’s a great way to give back just by shopping. If you don’t have an Amazon Smiles account, it’s super easy to sign up: smile.amazon.com.
Embody Empowerment
Self-Love
Self-love and self-esteem are linked together. Self-love means being able to see who we are, see our imperfect selves and still knowing our power and self-worth. Self-love is also connected to confidence, it allows us to try new things that feel scary, knowing we could fail. If we do fail, however, we don’t think of ourselves as failures but instead see areas where we can improve. There are times in our lives when self-love can feel like hard work, but it is so important to power through those negative feelings. This month, we challenge you to think about ways you can improve your self-love, as well as increase your self-esteem and confidence.
Wonder Woman!
Erin Jackson is the top-ranked 500m speed skater in the world, and now this 29-year-old has a gold medal to prove it! Erin is the first American to win this event since 1994. She is also the first Black American woman to ever take a medal in the sport. Go Erin!
Black History Month
February is Black History Month. But Black History doesn’t begin and end in February. It is something to be celebrated year-round. So when February ends, we encourage you to keep supporting Black-owned businesses, keep donating to anti-racist charities, and continue to appreciate Black history and culture!
Donate to Girls Are Powerful!
Donating resources to causes you care about is an incredible way to embody empowerment. To support the work of Girls Are Powerful, please consider becoming a monthly donor! You can make your donation here. Thank you for all that you do to empower girls!