Powerful Together Newsletter

January 27, 2022

What Comes Next

As we say hello to 2022, now is the time to be thinking about what happens next. Today, tomorrow, and beyond. Girls Are Powerful is looking forward to this year! We will introduce you to some new programs while bringing back some new(er) programs, and all are focused on helping girls and young women thrive.  

As we think about what comes next, it’s also important to note that Girls Are Powerful cares deeply about our community’s physical and mental health. We are keeping our eye on the current COVID trends and the Omicron spikes. To help us all stay healthy, please stay home if you’re sick, wear a well-fitting mask, stay 6 feet from others, avoid crowded spaces, wash your hands often, and, of course, get vaccinated.

ORGANIZATION ANNOUNCEMENTS

Hello 2022!

A Note from Shawntan Howell, Founder and CEO

“The year 2021 has come and gone. I’d like to share my Girls Are Powerful yearly reflection with you and an update on some of the exciting things we have to look forward to in 2022.

First of all – thank you! Thank you to everyone who supports Girls Are Powerful. Our volunteers, program participants, family members, and donors make our work possible. Thank you for supporting girls’ empowerment!  

In 2021, we had some terrific events where we connected with remarkable young girls across the country: 

  • We Anchored our Love and Strength through our Mother Daughter event
  • We Sprung into our Greatness at our first-ever Girls Are Powerful Day event
  • We discovered the Power of ME and WE during the Summer of Power 
  • We then took in some sun, shared knowledge and space for the community during our Sunday in the Park event

We also had a year of outstanding partnerships that facilitated our work. GRP was nominated by amazing people like yourself and won several awards. We even had one of our best years fundraising. This is so meaningful because it means we can put more resources into the work that we love and help young girls flourish.  

2022 is going to be a big year for us! We are embarking on empowerment on all levels and tapping into our commitment to excellence. We have a new outlook, new direction, new program, new partners, and new volunteers coming together as we move from an event-based organization to one that allows us to create sustainable relationships. Here are some of the exciting engagements we have planned: 

  • Girls Are Powerful Day in May 
  • Summer of Power in July 
  • Mentor Program in October

 I hope you continue to be a part of our work as we journey into this new and exciting year. 

Have a happy and healthy 2022,

Shawntan” 

Save the Date! May 21 is Girls Are Powerful (GRP) Day!

This spring, Girls Are Powerful brings you GRP Day! This interactive, community-building virtual event is dedicated to providing girls ages 8 to 17 with the tools and techniques needed to nourish and maintain healthy self-esteem.

Our goal is to help the next generation of women thrive through unique activities based on social-emotional learning. The virtual sessions will focus on embracing personal strengths and values, sharing and receiving gifts through positively formed relationships, showing empathy for others, and learning to understand and manage emotions. 

REGISTRATION OPENING SOON.  
SAVE THE DATE:  GRP Day, Saturday, May 21, 2022, 10AM-2PM CST
Tell Us What You Want to Learn!  

Girls Are Powerful works to develop the strengths of girls and young women so they can become leaders in the future.  That is why we often offer professional development skills and training in our events. But what would the girls like to learn next? 

We would like to collect some feedback from past GRP Event participants over 12 years old about what skills the girls would be interested in developing with support from GRP.  This information will be used to help GRP create a series of professional development and leadership events for young women. We are partnering with a group of fellows from the Leaders of Today and Tomorrow (LOTT) program to create this event series. Your participation in the survey is invaluable, so thank you ahead of time for helping us out! 

Here is a link to the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9Y9JKHZ 

All young women and girls (ages 12+) who complete the survey by February 11th will receive a small thank you gift!

Volunteer with us in 2022!

Girls Are Powerful is volunteer-run! We are looking for volunteers who can help make a difference in our community.  We’re looking for thought-leaders, experts, and people who just want to give back.

Available Roles include: Adult Mentor (Mentor Program), Peer Mentor (Mentor Program), Communications Specialist, Parent/Caregiver Liaison (Mentor Program), Volunteer Coordinator, Grant Writer / Fundraiser and more.

To learn more about volunteering with us, please visit Become a Volunteer.

Girls Are Powerful is launching its very own Mentor Program this October. This program will bring together girls ages 7 to 18 to discover and embrace their identities and use their power to positively impact their communities. This program will connect groups of girls with Peer Mentors and Adult Mentors who will guide participants through a three-year curriculum within a safe environment for sharing and growth. 

January Information Session

Thank you to the parents, caregivers, and women who joined us last week to learn about GRP’s Mentor Program. Our information sessions are an opportunity to learn about GRP’s approach to building community connections and spaces of belonging for girls today. Hosted by our Mentor Program team, we hold sessions for families and prospective volunteers to meet the program leaders and interact with other individuals interested in joining our flagship program. 

FAQs 

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?

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. Please join us to learn more about our upcoming program by signing up HERE.

New Year, New Habits

The best way to turn a goal into reality is to make it a habit! There are three main types of habits: behavioral, emotional and way of thinking. At Girls Are Powerful, we often focus on examining existing habits and identifying how to change them to achieve our goals. Sticking to a routine is one great way to create long-term habits. That means doing something every day. After all, great results are the outcome of continuous work overtime!

Wonder Woman! 

This month we wanted to recognize the one and only author and social activist, bell hooks. She passed away on December 15, 2021 and is best known for her feminist theory across racial lines. She published over 40 books during her lifetime. She preferred her name in all lowercase to signify that it’s the ideas that matter, not the people behind them.

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!