Empower a Middle School Girl

Greetings everyone,

On April 29^th and 30^th, the 4GIRLS Organization held our 7^th annual 4GIRLS Workshop. The workshop is our marquee annual event and this was our biggest, most attended event to date! What launched as a one-day workshop in Long Beach, CA with 30 participants has now grown into a two-day annual event with more than 100 attendees. And, we added a new chapter less than a year ago (Anaheim, CA.) and are actively in discussions for additional chapters. The momentum has been amazing!    

Every 4GIRLS Workshop has a theme and this year the theme was “Kind”. The messaging received from all of the presenters and during all of the activities at the workshop focused on this theme. The agenda was delivered by a number of subject matter experts and was chock full of inspiring, empowering and informative content on the topic of kindness towards self and others. Some of the highlights included the following sessions and presenters:

Respect Yourself First, presented by Tara Van Deusen

Tara Van Deusen has been training in martial arts for 33 years and is a 6th degree black belt in American Kempo and also holds black belts in Taekwondo and Karate. She and her team led the girls through a series of valuable and highly effective self-defense techniques. And, even more importantly, she spoke to the girls about making good decisions with regards to their safety (e.g., do not walk around with earphones in your ears and your face in your phone or walk down an alley by yourself) and shared words of wisdom as to how they can best keep themselves out of harm’s way.

Be Kind to Your Changing Body, presented by Sinda Althoen, MD

Sinda Althoen, MD is a pediatrician and Medical Director. She spoke candidly to the girls about their bodies and the changes that they are experiencing. Puberty can be an intense, confusing and emotional time. Dr. Sinda feels strongly that young women should understand what is going on in their bodies so that they can be equipped with the knowledge and have the confidence to make healthy and positive choices.

Building a CommUNITY of Kindness, presented Lysa Gamboa-Levy

Lysa Gamboa-Levy, is co-president of an organization that is focused on developing and maintaining safe and respectful communities. She led the girls in a teambuilding activity that promotes inclusivity, empathy and kindness.The discussion and exercisehelped the workshop participants understand the impact of perceptions, perspectives and prejudice and how they impact relationships.

Making ADIFF, Angela Luna  

Angela Luna was our Keynote Speaker at the event. She is the Founder and CEO of ADIFF (not to mention a highly talented, award-winning fashion designer!). Angela is using her talents to create humanitarian fashion that is designed with the goal of helping those that are in need. Inspired by the Syrian refugee crisis, she has designed a line of clothing that is multi-functional and can be converted into tents, sleeping bags, back packs, child carriers and flotation devices. She is making a difference in the world – one garment at a time. And, was very inspirational and motivational for the group!

Our 7^th annual 4GIRLS Workshop was a tremendous success and based on the feedback received from the participants, they were inspired and empowered to be kind to themselves and to others and they were ready to apply the skills that they had learned at the workshop in their everyday lives.

Thank you for your continued support of our mission.

Sincerely,

The 4GIRLS Board of Directors

Links:

• 4GIRLS Organization