GlobalGiving.org: Academic Support & Mentoring for Underserved Girls

Girls Share Academic Achievements

Girls To Women — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:24:18 GMT

NASA Fieldtrip

Dear GlobalGiving Community,

This year we celebrate five years of continuous service! As we reflect on the years since our inception, we thank you for the support you’ve provided to our community girls, and are excited for what the future has in store for our programs and the girls we serve. As always, we are happy to share updates on our after-school program. Please continue reading to learn about girls’ recent academic achievements and fun traveling to nearby educational destinations.

THANK YOU for your support!

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Girls Share Academic Achievements

One of our favorite parts of the after-school program is when girls share their many scholastic accomplishments with each other, parents and staff. We love it when a girl walks in with a grin on her face, goes straight to a staff member and shares the news. There are also the more subtle girls, who will walk up to you, hand you their progress reports and continue on their way to sit down, as you look over the report. This is just how Esmeralda, 7^th grade student, shared her latest academic achievement: an A++ in Social Studies and an A in Language Arts. As staff then congratulated Esmeralda, the smile we love so much appeared on her face. Our girls concentrate on thriving academically, and when they attain the grades they work towards, they can’t wait to share the news.

Keitlan, 7^th grade student, just last week walked in to the office stating that she received 100% in a fractions test for math class! The week before the test she spent the afternoons with program staff reviewing fractions and getting the practice she needed. Aside from acing her fractions test, Keitlan also received a Core Value Award for Courage. Keitlan has the courage to ask for help when she needs it and to always step outside of her comfort zone.

These stories show why academic support continues to be one of our highest priorities in our after-school program. Interns from nearby college-preparatory schools, volunteers from universities in the surrounding cities, and program staff, continue to work closely with the girls providing academic support and creating a positive culture of learning.

Middle-School Girls Attend NASA’s Science on Saturday Lecture

On Saturday, January 28^th a group of middle-school aged Girls To Women participants attended one of NASA’s Science on Saturday lectures. The lecture focused on Lunar Learning and answered questions such as, “What is it about the craters that help us learn about the moon? How do we use that information today? Why do we want to study the lunar atmosphere?” (www.nasa.gov). The girls, along with other middle-school students from the area, learned the answers to these questions through a lecture and a demonstration.

Girls To Women participants were so enthusiastic about the lecture that they were among the first to raise their hands to answer questions or to volunteer for demonstrations. Aside from the lecture and demonstration, the girls had the opportunity to look around the NASA Ames Exploration Center, and even took home Astronaut Ice Cream Sandwiches among other souvenirs! We hope to continue offering trips like these, using our neighboring resources to further introduce and acquaint girls with new academic and professional possibilities.

NASA Fieldtrip

Core Value Award

Links:

Attachments:

Report (DOC)

A "Drama-Filled" Summer at Girls To Women

Girls To Women — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:37:44 GMT

g2W's The Wiz

Dear GlobalGiving Community,

As promised, we provide you with a more detailed report on our busy, fun and drama-filled Summer 2011: g2W’s Wiz. Read the attached report to find out about our creative participants, amazing service-learners and interns, exciting fieldtrips and our culminating End of Summer Celebration. To hear from the interns and staff on their experience with Girls To Women please see the short video: Girls To Women's Volunteer Luncheon - Summer 2011.

Please remember that for a basic rundown of this program (the basic objectives and the organization of Academic Support & Mentoring) you can always read one of our earlier Progress Reports, for example from January of 2010. For details on school-year activities please read reports from earlier this year (January and April 2011).

THANK YOU!

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Summer 2011: g2W’s Wiz

Writer, designer, director, and actress … just a few of the roles Girls To Women participants took on during our all-day, six-week summer program this past July and August. This summer’s theme was ‘The Wiz’ – encouraging girls to build their own yellow brick road to success! We had a total of 27 participants representing the spectrum of our culturally-diverse community.

The summer was activity-filled! Girls participated in morning outdoor games, team-building games, circle-time, reading, music, dancing, art, and drama. The overarching activity of the summer was for the girls to put together their own production of The Wiz – Ken Harper’s musical take on the classic story of The Wizard of Oz that incorporates African-American cultural experience. Working together, our older Summer Session girls adapted the script, made the set, designed the costumes, and finally performed the play for families and friends at the End of Summer event. The younger girls (girls in grades K-2) performed their own puppet show version of the story...(Please see the attached document for the full report).

Links:

Attachments:

Report on Summer 2011: g2W's Wiz (DOC)

End of School-Year Celebration and Summer Fun!

Girls To Women — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 23:48:13 GMT

Alumna speaking at End of School-Year Celebration

Dear GlobalGiving Community,

With each report that we write we realize how quickly time is moving and how much we have accomplished. Despite the challenges that come with running a non-profit in our current economy, we continue to push forward because we see the impact that we are making on the lives of girls and their families. As we witness the alumni of our program return as volunteers, speakers for our events, or to simply visit and interact with our current girls, and as we see how far they have come, they continue to motivate us to provide services to more girls from the community. Thank you for supporting us as we work together in giving girls the tools necessary to reach their highest potential and to make their dreams a reality.

THANK YOU for supporting Girls To Women and the amazing girls we serve!

*Please read our attached report for details on our End of School-Year Celebration*

Participants performing the g2W Rap

Links:

Find Girls To Women on Facebook!

Attachments:

More Information on School Year 2010-2011 (DOC)

Our latest accomplishments!

g2W — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 23:22:13 GMT

Dear GlobalGiving Friends,

We are excited to share with you our latest accomplishments! Girls To Women was recently named a Top-Rated Women's Nonprofit at GreatNonprofits.org. Please visit Great Nonprofits to read and/or write a review on Girls To Women.

Our after-school program continues to be an on-going success; please read below for the latest news. Thank you for your continued support and interest!

All the best,

G2W Staff

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The after-school program continues to have a high focus on homework completion as was requested by both the girls and their parents. The girls are focused on achieving and maintaining high academic grades, and they continue to create a safe environment of learning where girls support one another during homework time. Joanna, a 3^rd grade participant, was recently named Student of the Month at her school and received two medals for her high performance on the Benchmark Tests.

Admittance to College Prep School

We are proud to say that two of our participants were recently admitted to our neighbor college-prep school, Eastside College Preparatory School. One participant will be entering as a freshman and the other as a 6^th grader. We are excited that they are well on their way to preparing to attend four-year colleges! Their achievement is one that the entire Girls To Women community celebrates. When the girls announced their admittance, the other girls and staff celebrated with high-fives, hugs and a room full of smiles!

*Please see our attached report for more updates on our after-school program!

Links:

Read what parents, volunteers & community members wrote on g2W!

Attachments:

g2W GlobalGiving Update (DOC)

Fall 2010 Project Report

Girls To Women — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:50:52 GMT

Homework Time

Dear GlobalGiving Community,

Thank you for your continued interest in supporting Girls To Women and most importantly the girls we serve who are well on their to a successful womanhood. We are glad to provide you with the following update on Girls To Women's Fall 2010 after-school program.

Best wishes,

G2W Staff

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During this first half of the 2010-2011 school year, Girls To Women participants have been busy with school work and, setting and meeting the personal goals they set for themselves. Families continue to come to us with specific goals for their girls, whether it be that extra help in math, science or English. As always Girls To Women makes the aspirations of these girls and their families, the aspirations of Girls To Women. The staff and volunteers are dedicated to seeing all of the participants succeed and will go the extra mile in supporting the girls. During winter break, one of the staff members met with Madeleine, 3rd grader, to work one-on-one on Madeleine's reading. Madeleine said the following on why she enjoys attending Girls To Women's after-school program, "My favorite thing about Girls To Women is that I love that they help me with my homework. I am getting more stars and happy faces from my teacher, and that makes me happy."

Please see attached report for further information on the Fall 2010 update!

Homework Time

Links:

Read Girls To Women reviews on GreatNonprofits!

Attachments:

Fall 2010 Project Report (DOC)

September 2010 Update!

Girls to Women — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:20:05 GMT

g2W Participants

We are glad to share our most recent update on our project, specifically Girls to Women's 2010 summer program!

Summer Program was multi-themed inclusive of arts and fitness activities but definitely included academics, especially literacy-building. Every morning all participants played group games outdoors to build teamwork, fitness, and overall health. Summer Program also included a daily hour of "Reading Time" during which participants either read to themselves or in a group for twenty minutes. After Reading Time was over participants could either continue reading or engage in a learning game for the rest of the hour. We found that the older girls enjoyed reading with younger girls, and these interactions clearly helped to make literacy a fun and bonding experience. Furthermore, every Wednesday participants participated in activities such as “Wheel of Fortune” and “Minute to Win It” races that emphasized problem-solving, numerical reasoning, and vocabulary skills-building.

For more detailed information on our summer program, including pictures, please read the attached report. Thank you for your support!!!

Cooking Activity

Attachments:

Summer 2010 Report (DOC)

GlobalGiving Report June 2010

Staff — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 21:32:14 GMT

USF Volunteer and g2W Participant

We at Girls to Women are glad to update our project with the following report on our recent progress. Thank you for the support we have received from the GlobalGiving community.

Attachments:

Report on Project - June 2010 (DOC)

GlobalGiving Report January 2010

Girls To Women — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:49:35 GMT

Tutoring

We are pleased to present the following Report on our recent Project progress. We wish to reiterate our appreciation for the support we have received from the GlobalGiving community.

Attachments:

Project Progress (DOC)

GlobalGiving Report 2009

Girls to Women — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:08:31 GMT

We greatly appreciate the support we have received from the GlobalGiving community. We are pleased to present the following Report on our recent Project progress.

Attachments:

GlobalGivingReport2009.doc (DOC)