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GIRLS

TO

LADIES

Girls to Ladies (G2L) is a character and life-skill development group for teen girls in which members learn and grow through collaborative problem solving and community service.

Since 2004, Girls to Ladies has helped girls develop their own skills and talents, and experience new challenges as they are regularly offered leadership roles. Our girls understand, develop, and appreciate their own and others' power. 

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Girls to Ladies is a response to:

1. Perpetual violence cycles among female students

2. Lack of problem-solving and conflict resolution skills

3. Self-esteem and values deficits

Our girls meet each week to talk, cook, read, volunteer, job-shadow, listen to guest speakers, and attend cultural, social, and academic events. Girls to Ladies serves as a space for girls to communicate their personal needs through open conversation.

 

Girls to Ladies seeks to meet those needs by providing members with the support they need. The group is facilitated by two teachers who advise members as they learn to interact positively and assist one another in overcoming challenges. 

 

Through these activities and conversations, members acquire knowledge and skills that coincide with G2L's core values of conflict resolution, time management, academic structure, self-advocacy, personal wellness, financial planning, resistance to peer pressure, and community action. 

Hear from some of our members!

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Terri Ledo

[Our Core] teaches me CORE values of being responsible, caring and mature. It shapes me to be the student I need to be. It has really shaped my outlook on life through a more mature lens

Mariah Henry

G2L has completely helped mold me into the wonderful young woman that I am today! I made lifelong friendships and connections that I will always cherish. G2L gave me the foundation to build my interpersonal skills along with perfecting my leadership skills that have helped me in my many achievements I have under belt today!

Activities and Events

COURTHOUSE JOB SHADOWING

Each year, Lisa Noroian coordinates a tour of the Orange County family court, introducing girls to women working in all employed positions-including court officers, judges, lawyers, advocates, support magistrates, and clerks. After spending a day shadowing these women and sitting in on actual cases, we debrief at lunch and discuss how these women make the court system work.

FUTURE WOMEN CAREER EXPO

Every spring we organize an expo where women working in fields that the girls are interested in present about their professional experiences. Past presenters include a nurse, veterinarian, psychologist, and cord blood specialist.

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HEADSTART HOLIDAY PARTY

G2L has been a part of the annual holiday celebration for our Head Start of Eastern Orange County, Inc. students (aged 5 and under) for over 10 years. Our girls plan activities; fundraise money for the party at our Annual Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser; put together kits for ornament-making; decorate and set up the gym; prepare a menu and serve lunch; collect holiday-themed books for story time; and lead a holiday sing-along.

COAT DRIVE

Our G2L girls host an annual coat drive at Heritage Middle School and Newburgh Free Academy North. The coats are distributed at the "We are Newburgh" winter celebration led by one of our very own community pillars, Brenda Sanders.

LOAVES & FISHES

Loaves & Fishes is a local food pantry, and each year, multiple charities in the Newburgh area host a Thanksgiving Food Drive. G2L sorts and arranges food so families can come in and shop for food to prepare their Thanksgiving meals. This program feeds ~1,000 families, and G2L is a proud participant of this program for over 7 years.

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EASTER EGG HUNT

Every year our girls volunteer to help organize an easter egg hunt at Downing Park in Newburgh. This event makes for a fun day for the Newburgh community!

MAKING PIECE

Our girls collaborated to create an anti-violence art installation to be shown at multiple venues within the Newburgh community. This was followed by a performance and community discussion. Some of the pieces were also included in a book, available at the Newburgh Free Library.