girl action teams
Girl Action Teams!
Girls For A Change empowers young women to create change in their own communities with the guidance of adult women. About 5-10 girls and two women "coaches" make up a Girl Action Team. Teams design and implement a social change project that will make a lasting change in their neighborhood, city or school.
More than 100 Girl Action Teams meet across the US and internationally each year. Check out how Girl Action Teams are transforming the world in your city.
Here are few sample projects from around the country:
Girl Action Team #7, Graham Middle School, Silicon Valley: Greening Our School
The girls on Team 7 decided to focus on environmental awareness as their issue. They are focusing on their school through two projects. First they researched facts and images about the environment that they are putting the school newsletter, called "Bear Tracks." The girls are now actively working with the school faculty to reduce waste at lunch. The girls want to acquire recycle bins for the paper/cardboard trays that are used during lunch or to replace the paper waste with reusable plastic trays. The girls want to create awareness and reduce waste to green their school! Read Team 7's posting in their school newsletter!
Girl Action Team #1, MS399, New York City: Breast Cancer Prevention
The G.I.R.L.S. team slogan is, “Get Health Insurance Now, Prevent Breast Cancer Later.” The team created a video about two women who are both diagnosed with breast cancer, however one woman has health insurance, and the other women does not. They also interviewed students in their school about what it means to have health insurance. The video and a presentation the girls designed debuted at an hour long student assembly at MS399. The assembly also launched a campaign to connect people who may not have health insurance with a Facilitated Enroller at the Morris Heights Health Center. There was a week-long contest among the homeroom classes to see who can bring in the most names of people who are interested in getting health insurance. The presentation and the contest will address the team’s root cause of cancer prevention - educating people about the importance of health insurance. The girls determined that educating people on how to get insurance and preventative care will reduce the number of people who may go undiagnosed for diseases such as cancer. The team raised money through bake sales to fund the video production and supply prizes for the insurance name drive.
Girl Action Team #12, Madison Park Middle School, Phoenix: Bring Safety Back to Madison Park
The girls of Team 12 felt that eliminating the Resource Officer position at their school decreased the safety at their school. The team wrote and performed two skits, created posters and made bookmarks to demonstrate the ways the Resource Officer makes the school safer. Through their action, the girls hope to convince the school officials to restore the Resource Officer position and keep their school safe!
Girl Action Team #12, Camp Diva, Richmond – Building Relationships with Fathers to Build Self-Esteem
The girls at Camp Diva began with wanting to address girl fighting in their neighborhoods. As they started digging deeper to root causes, they discovered a root cause: girls low self esteem often resulted from girls’ relationships with their fathers. For their project the girls recorded a CD bringing awareness to the importance of the relationship between fathers and daughters and the impact it has on a girls’ lives. The CD includes interviews of two fathers and three of the Girl Action Team members. The girls asked questions of the men and each other about how to create, or in some cases rebuild, relationships between fathers and daughters. The recording will be played on local radio and available on GFC’s and Camp Diva’s websites so other girls can listen to and learn from it.
Girl Action Team #10, San Jose High Academy, Silicon Valley: Immigration Education
The girls of Team 10 are committed to equal access to higher education for immigrant students. They feel that there is a lack of resources for immigrant families regarding access to higher education and that those families are unaware of the rights and resources available to their children. They partnered with a community agency to present a workshop geared toward high school juniors and seniors and their families in order to inform them of the resources available. They believe that by raising awareness of these issues more immigrant students will access higher education after leaving high school.
Girl Action Team #26, Back To Life, Phoenix: Hate Talk Hurts
The girls of Team 26 believe that hate speech perpetuates fear, exclusion, and racism. In order to address this growing issue, the girls chose to create a skit, rap and posters that address the harmful affects that hate speech can have on a community, and how it leads to racism. The project was performed before an audience of teens and young adults at the local Boys and Girls Club. The team believes their project helped kids understand how their hurtful words continue negative patterns of prejudice, discrimination and exclusion.
Girl Action Team #17, KIPP San Jose Heartwood Academy, Silicon Valley- Teen Pregnancy: What You Should Know
Peer pressure is a very powerful thing, and the girls of Team 17 feel that it is a major cause of teen pregnancy. The team created an educational campaign aimed at educating their community on how peer pressure influences teen pregnancy. The girls want their peers to think before acting and learn how to make more positive choices. They feel that by educating their peers they can create a culture where it is ok to make your own decision.
Girl Action Team #5, Henderson Middle School, Richmond – Cease the Violence Against Women
The girls at Henderson are planning a rally to end violence and sexual assault against women. Their rally was held at a local community center and included guest speakers from community organizations working on the issue, information about resources available in Richmond and a self defense workshop for participants. The girls also did media outreach tolocal newspapers to spread the word about their event. The team believes that education and awareness about this issue will mean a safer place for women and girls.