Yesterday, I managed to carve out time to work on my program for girls. Deshong Perry-Smitherman and I run A Girl's Gift Inc., a non-profit 501c3 organization, dedicated to improving the quality of life for young girls (www.agirlsgift.org). The program runs from February through May of each year. The program has been such a success that we are looking for ways to grow the organization. Yesterday, I spent a lot of time looking at opportunities for growth and developing a growth strategy.
My mission today, with respect to this blog entry, is to bring your attention to the need for female role models for young girls. I can't tell you the joy that A Girl's Gift has brought me. It has become clear to me that A Girl's Gift was definitely a HUGE reason God allowed me to be put on this earth.
The Girls in our program are a diverse group. They are "haves." They are "have-nots." They are "traveled." They are "less-traveled." They are from two-parent homes. They are from single-parent homes....but what they all share is a need for confidence, exposure to more than they may currently know and for other women to believe in them and to support them.
Did you know that suicide is the third leading cause of death for girls ages 15-24 (third only to accidents and homicides)? Are you aware of the challenges girls face now with cyberbullying, sexting, facebook, twitter, cell-phones, youtube, etc? My experience has taught me that a lot of these young girls may look great on the outside, but inside they are struggling with real issues--and that as adults, we may think their issues are small--but in actuality, they are often big enough to lead many girls to attempt suicide.
The toughest part of running our program is the small number of mentors who volunteer. If you could just take a few minutes to learn about our organization or a similar organization, I am sure that you will sign up to be a mentor or volunteer. We can't afford to lose another young girl because she didn't believe that anyone loved her, cared for her or believed in her...
Please take a look at this story, comment and tell me what you will do about this issue...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/42699893#42699893
Now, here's a little more info about A Girl's Gift! Take a look!
We hope you will sign up to be a Mentor at www.agirlsgift.org!
Thank you! Looking Forward to Day Seven!
2 comments:
A Girl's Gift, Inc. is a wonderful life-changing program - not just for the girls, but for their mentors too. Indianapolis wouldn't have this program without the vision and forethought of Ericka K. Gibson. If you have a middle-school age girl who lives in central Indiana, please consider having her apply for our program! They will absolutely love it! DeShong Perry-Smitherman
Erika it's so sad and devastating Im actually doing my dissertation on bullying Im hoping to gain more insight on interventions to help prevent this vicious abuse.
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