Empower a Middle School Girl

July 2023

Greetings Friends of 4GIRLS Organization,

We hope you are enjoying the sunshine and finding ways to stay cool during this warmer-than-usual season, especially if you have kids on summer vacation. We, at 4GIRLS, are staying busy as, on the heels of our 13^thAnnual Workshop, we are planning another Empowerment event for girls going into Middle School this Fall. 

First, let’s recap our signature event: We had 81 participants (middle school girls) and 19 junior mentors (high school girls) participate in the Workshop.  We were back to our in-person, two-day event, and the Annual workshop was held on May 20^th and 21^st at Nelson Academy, a Long Beach Unified School in Signal Hill. This year’s event theme was STRONG, and we had presenters and speakers who focused on what makes them strong when they face adversity and set-backs.  Our first speaker invited the girls to be STRONG in their relationships, and set the boundaries of maintaining healthy relationships.  Another speaker told the story of how she found her purpose in the military and shared highlights of her journey to being STRONG.  Our Keynote speaker, a Punjabi-American poet, inspired the girls and empowered them to take ownership of their identity, in spite of the prejudices and discrimination they may experience.  As a person of color, she had to be STRONG to survive as an outsider in this country.  

The junior mentors also let a crafting activity and presented segments on what to expect in high school with regard to classes, teachers, sports, clubs, and extra- curricular activities.  One of our favorite OB/GYN doctors presented the “Changing Bodies” break out session and taught the girls about puberty and adolescence as it relates to their minds and bodies. As always, we ended the workshop with Sharing Your Word, an activity where the girls come up and share their word with the group and tell what they have learned about themselves, which is always powerful. 

Because we know that transitioning into middle school is hard, we have created a Transitional Workshop Empowerment Event for 5^th grade girls.  This will be our second event and will be held on Saturday, August 5^th8:30-12 in Long Beach. We are still in registration, so if you know of a girl going into middle school this year, please refer them to our website (www.4girls.org) to register.  It will be three and a half hours packed with activities to boost confidence, inspire resilience, and prepare girls for lifelong success. 

Thank you, GlobalGiving donors, for supporting us in this mission.  Our organization is 100% volunteer-based and the programs we offer are free of charge to the participants. Therefore, you make it all possible.  Thank you, best wishes, and stay cool this summer. 

Sincerely,

The 4GIRLS Board of Directors