10 Ways We Are Reaching Girls Now
See Our 10 Ways Below
Dear friends of Girls Empowerment Network,
I am so proud to tell you about our virtual self-efficacy resources and programs. Due to COVID-19, we have innovated 10 new virtual ways to meet the needs of girls right now. We will not let this pandemic slow down our work to help girls be unstoppable.
All of our girls have had their worlds turned upside down as their educational and social lives are on hold. However, there are also many girls who face heightened risks during this pandemic:
Increased incidences of self-harm due to stress and anxiety
Being subjected to increased rates of alcoholism, domestic and sexual abuse in their homes
Running away from their homes risking arrest, illness or homelessness
Lost wages for our girls who work to support their families
Reduced access to contraception - increasing their chances of pregnancy
Disproportionate poverty resulting in less testing/food access, longer closures in their communities
Greater risk of exposure to human traffickers as girls spend more time online
Discrimination and limited access to services for girls of color and those in LGBTQ and undocumented communities
Girls Empowerment Network has a precious resource to offer our girls and their families during COVID-19: they know us. We aren’t just a phone number for them to call or a fact sheet about health and safety for them to download. We are the cool adult figure they know from camps, conferences, and their school campuses. We are their fun, trusted role model. We helped them discover they are powerful, and now in this time of increased pressure and stress, we have created ways to connect with them and provide access to a support network they vitally need. Our girl experts are now available to girls and their families through a variety of platforms.
Our team is innovating like never before! Check out our new virtual resources below and please let us know if you have any questions or ideas. We would love to hear from you. #GIRLSstrong
Gratefully,
Julia Cuba Lewis, CEO
10 Ways We Are Reaching Girls Now:
1. Coping and Connection Outreach Project
Girls Empowerment Network is reaching out to nearly 2,000 families with an army of over 50 staff and volunteers in both Spanish and English. We are interviewing them about their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are gaining insight into the critical needs of individual families and have the opportunity to connect them to both emergency resources and our own virtual content. We are learning how Girls Empowerment Network can best serve them at this time. Preliminary interviews have revealed some important information: We've heard from families about their struggles with food insecurity, lost family income, and insufficient access to technology for virtual schools. Parents are worried about their children's stress levels and access to activities and connection. They are asking for virtual programming and check-ins for their children, webinars to support parents, opportunities for peer connection, and activities on creativity, critical thinking, communication, and coping skills. Our girls are telling us about the unique stressors of this time, including separation from peers and boredom, but also how they are using the 6Cs skills they have learned to cope, like doing breathing exercises and making homemade glitter jars. We are excited to continue to connect to our girls and families and meet their evolving needs. Take our family survey and let us know how you are coping with COVID-19. If you have questions about this outreach project, please reach out to Dr. Sarah Miller-Fellows at sarah@girlsempowermentnetwork.org.
2. Connectline
Some girls need serious help now. As we reach out to families via our Coping and Connection Outreach Project, we will find some girls who are experiencing acute distress and would benefit from a conversation with a trained social worker who is also a girl expert. We have launched Connectline, a dedicated bi-lingual line available to girls and their families who need to chat with someone from an organization they trust. Phone, text, and mobile friendly, Connectline allows us to provide girls with familiar support, connection, and referrals to emergency community resources. While this line is open to our current girls and families, keep an eye on our virtual resources webpage as this resource goes live to the public on April 17th.
3. Virtual Check-In
Every Monday at 4 PM, CST, Girls Empowerment Network hosts a Virtual Check-In where girls from grades 3rd-12th can call in and get placed in a virtual breakout room with a trained social worker/girl expert and other girls of a similar age. The girls take turns sharing their “sunny” (something good), their “cloudy” (something not so good) and their “rainbow” (something they are looking forward to). This format allows for girls to quickly gain a feeling of connection to other girls as they identify shared challenges. These check-ins provide a deep sense of connection and increase emotional intelligence. At the end of each check-in the girls learn a fun and simple coping skill they can use forever. Virtual Check-In has received 5 stars from our participants with quotes like, “I felt heard and good about myself” and, “I felt really good because I got to see other girls I didn’t know.” Register for this Monday, April 13th here.
4. Parent/Guardian Workshops
Our trained girl experts are teaming up to host free, interactive, online workshops for parents and guardians of girls in 3rd-12th grades. Our staff created a virtual space for parents to form supportive peer bonds, share experiences, and learn immediate strategies for use in their homes like: discussions on being kind to yourself as a parent during this time of uncertainty, connecting better with their girls, and increasing positive communication. If you are interested in organizing one of these workshops, contact Claudia Arellano at claudiaa@girlsempowementnetwork.org. Our next one is scheduled for April 15th at 6 pm and the topic is Self-Compassion. You can register here.
5. Virtual Resource Website Page
Our 6 C’s curriculum has been repackaged into bite-sized activities on our website where girls, parents and service providers can download pdf instructions and YouTube tutorials on how to conduct the activities. Social media challenges are linked to every activity so that participants can join our larger online conversation about building self-efficacy via #virtualsparks. Our virtual resource page can be found at https://www.girlsempowermentnetwork.org/virtual-resources.
6. Virtual Girl Connect
We have taken our flagship program virtual. This program has been based on school campuses but now convenes online. Girls experience our “6 C’s” curriculum with a selection of 20 customized modules. Girls who were once brought together by a school counselor in a library or a classroom are now coming together on our online platform, opening up new ways for them to stay connected to their peers. Check out details here. If you know of a school who would like a virtual Girl Connect group of their own, contact Sidney Copus at sidney@girlsempowermentnetwork.org.
7. Virtual Girl Advocacy League (GAL)
Our league of gender justice superheroes, who furthers our mission every day, has pivoted programming to give members access to curated content experts via live workshops and online happy hours to promote education and connection around the mission of Girls Empowerment Network. Check out more information about GAL here. If you have questions, contact Chelsea Dean-Martinez at chelsea@girlsempowermentnetwork.org.
8. Cocktail/Mocktail Hour for Educators
Are you an educator, school counselor or principal on a K-12 campus? Join us for our Cocktail/Mocktail Hour to commiserate with educators from other districts about your experience during COVID-19. Certificate of participation for 1.5 hours available upon request. Register here and contact Kameryn Poullard with questions at Kameryn@girlsempowermentnetwork.org.
9. Virtual Volunteering
Would you like to volunteer with Girls Empowerment Network from your own home? Check out our opportunities below. Registration for all opportunities can be found here and please reach out to Brittany Yelverton with any questions at brittany@girlsempowermentnetwork.org.
Virtual Volunteering: Idea Factory!
Are you an innovative thinker who enjoys coming up with creative ideas? Girls Empowerment Network needs you! We’ve pivoted our programming to digital spaces in order to meet the needs of the girls we serve. Now, we want to create and expand our virtual volunteer opportunities. That’s where you come in! Join us to learn about the programming Girls Empowerment Network is offering online and share your insight and ideas on how we can best engage virtual volunteers in a meaningful way during social distancing. Volunteers of all types are invited to join, but we are especially interested in hearing from our friends with experience in engaging volunteer groups and corporate employee resource groups!Coping with COVID-19: Sharing & Planning Session
Navigating Coronavirus is truly an unprecedented experience. Girls Empowerment Network wants to connect with our volunteers and facilitate a discussion on how our agency and advocates can best mobilize to provide support to girls and their communities. This session will provide volunteers with an opportunity to share how they’re experiencing COVID-19, brainstorm how girls are uniquely experiencing this time of social isolation, and help inform next steps in volunteer and girl programming.
10. Virtual Professional Development
Girls Empowerment Network adapted our 6 C’s curriculum for adults and offers online workshops of our gold standard topics. Workshops are customized for service providers, corporate employees, teachers, school counselors, social workers, principals, and law enforcement who want to learn about the timely topics we cover with our girls such as “Growth Mindset”, “Self-Compassion” and much more. Certificates of completion available upon request. If you are interested in requesting a workshop or learning more about our professional development topics and availability, contact Chloé LaPorte at chloe@girlsempowermentnetwork.org.