Below are projects girls across Silicon Valley created in the 2008-09 program year.

Team 2, Allen at Steinbeck, San Jose: Project Stop Pregnancy 
The girls of Team 2 felt that there is not enough education available in their community around teen pregnancy and teen parenting. They felt it leads to an increase in negative choices around this issue. By using the power of personal stories and testimonies, the girls are educating their peers on the reality of teen parenting by creating a video. The video includes individual experiences with teen pregnancy/parenting, resources and current facts and statistics. They also plan to create a facebook page and post their video to help get the word out to other teens.

Team 3, Alum Rock Youth Center, San Jose: Graffiti Free Alum Rock
The girls of Team 3 chose to address the graffiti issue in their neighborhood.  The team reached out to the City of San Jose to complete a mural project in a high graffiti area. The mural will act as a community art piece and will stop individuals from tagging in the future. The girls also interviewed community members about the graffiti and what it means to them. They hope to create a short commercial to share with their neighbors on how graffiti affects their community.

Team 4, Independence High School, San Jose: Healthy Choices
The girls of Team 4 have noticed an increase in the number of pregnant or parenting teens on their campus.  They wanted more resources and information available to students to assist in making healthier choices. They chose to create a brochure to educate their classmates on the issue and let them know where they can find resources. The team partnered with Planned Parenthood to educate themselves on the issue and get their own questions answered. The team felt that with more education their peers will begin to make healthier choices. 

Team 6, Los Altos High School, Los Altos: No More Stressed Out Schools!
Stress has become a highly prevalent and damaging reality for students, families, and staff at Los Altos High School. The Team is working with the Challenge Success program through Stanford University to recognize, address, and reduce stress at the school. The Team created Stress Awareness Week with activities that included an art contest, showing a video the team created and distributing a student survey. About 100 students, parents and staff also joined the team for their School Stress Awareness Night on April 2nd with student-led demonstrations and skits. The team continues to assess the surveys submitted by students about their stress level and bring ideas for reducing stress to the school community.

Team 7, Graham Middle School, Mountain View: 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!

Team 8, August Boeger, San Jose: Project Safety
Team 8 wants to ensure that all students are safe. The team felt that many female students were feeling unsafe and wanted to do something about it. The girls organized self-defense training for their peers after-school. The team secured the trainer and worked with the school to reserve a room on campus, they then invited girls from the school to attend the free event.  The team felt that the new skills would lead to an increased sense of personal safety and that those that participated with be able to now teach their friends.

Team 9, Fremont High School, Sunnyvale: Educating the Public on Aspects of Animal Care
Team 9 knew they wanted to address the issue of animal abuse. After completing research at the Santa Clara County Humane Society, the girls decided to focus their project on educating future pet owners about the importance of training and caring for their pets. They created an awareness campaign with fliers and pamphlets advertising animal training classes. They believed that if new pet owners had this information prior to adopting, they would be less likely to abuse of neglect their animals. The team hopes that with their action less pets will have to suffer abuse and neglect.

Team 10, San Jose High Academy, San Jose: Supporting Victims of Child Abuse
Child abuse is an issue that affects many people and is not a topic that is always talked about openly. The girls of Team 10 felt that students need to know that there are resources and services available to help them deal with this serious situation.  The team created informational materials for their school and community to let them know of local services and where to get help. They also plan on collecting stories from their peers about how abuse has affected their lives. They hope that their peers will learn that they are not alone and will be able to get help. 

Team 11, Leadership Public Schools, Hayward: Valuing Children and Stopping the Cycle of Violence
For Team 11’s project, they partnered with two middle schools to educate middle school youth on the issue of child abuse. At each school they talked about Day of the Child, highlighting the day and its meaning through a presentation and by handing out child abuse hotline information. They also included the middle school students in the program through interactive skits. Through this project the team increased the knowledge of participants in order to break the cycle of violence in families and communities.

Team 12, East Palo Alto Charter School: Educating Our Peers to Stop Teen Pregnancy
Team 12 wants to educate their community about teen pregnancy. The team is going to other middle schools in the city to present information about the realities of being a teen, including the lifestyle change, myths associated with pregnancies, and costs associated with being a teenage mom. They chose this project after noticing that an increasing number of teenage girls in East Palo Alto are pregnant.  They are confident this education will prevent pregnancies among their peers.

Team 13, Fair Middle School, San Jose: The Truth about Being a Teen Parent
Team 13 is preventing teen pregnancy through creating a commercial that helps their peers better understand the realities of being a teen parent. The girls are also tackling their root cause of self-esteem. Each of the girls has a segment in the commercial to share what is important to them personally regarding teen pregnancy prevention. The segments of the commercial include what it means to parent a child to how to prevent teen pregnancies by standing up for yourself. The team found resources at their school for creating the commercial and plans to post it online and also get the message to their peers through TV and radio.

Team 14, Leadership Public Schools, San Jose: Real Beauty
After exploring several issues this year, the girls on Team 14 decided to take on the issue of what beauty really looks like. The girls learned about facts associated with self image and self esteem and also took a critical look at the images they see in the media. The girls made posters to spread the word about what the media portrays as beauty and how negative these images can be on self esteem. The posters were colorfully decorated with images, strong messages of self worth and facts. The girls displayed the posters at school spreading their message of empowering yourself through positive self image.

Team 15, Everett Middle School with the Beacon Center, San Francisco: Learning About Social Change
This year, the girls at Everett have been introduced to the concept of social change, and are now aware of the difference between change and charity. In exploring some of the social issues they are passionate about, the girls have zeroed in on two issues: funding cuts for after school programs and discrimination or prejudice they see among their peers about speaking different languages. The girls are currently exploring root causes of both of these issues and will complete a done in a day project before the end of the year.

Team 17, KIPP Heartwood Academy, San Jose: Safe Space 
The girls of team 17 chose to address the issue of abuse among young people and the difficulty in accessing resources. They felt that there is not enough education around how and where to get help. The girls want to ensure that all members of their community know how to get support and resources if need. The team created a video to share information about the issue and inform community members when and where to get help.

Team 18, St. Elizabeth Seton School, Palo Alto: Animal Cruelty and Neglect – How You Can Stop It
The girls on Team 18 are teaching people how to be responsible pet owners. Through educating the community on techniques for training and caring for animals, they believe many more animals will live healthy lives. The girls wrote a script, gathered props and created a set for a talk show. In the show, the girls review preventative training techniques for dogs and spread knowledge about the prevalence of animal abuse. The girls taped the talk show and have posted it online on YouTube. Watch the show!

Team 19, Pioneer Plus High School, San Jose: Continuing Our Work to Stop Gang Violence
The girls at Pioneer are continuing their work against gang violence in their community. After surveying the community about the prevalence of gangs and gang violence last year, they have created an assembly for elementary and middle school students. In the assemblies, the girls want to spread the word about how gangs are formed. Students in the assemblies will learn how to stay out of gangs which will prevent gangs from growing and therefore slow down gang violence and create a safer community.

Team 20, Lighthouse Charter, Oakland: Stop Stereotypes 
The girls of Team 20 decided to focus their project on stereotypes and the issues that arise from this. The girls saw that stereotypes can lead to large societal problems such as racism.  The team is in the planning phase and is looking forward to completing their project. They hope that by creating a project that focuses on the negative impact of stereotypes, the community will be a safer place for everyone.

Team 22, College Track, San Francisco: Speaking Out Against Police Brutality
This team has seen how police brutality creates fear and causes tension between police officers and community residents. The girls want police to treat people in their community fairly and follow the laws they are responsible for enforcing. The girls are creating fliers to bring attention to the issue of police brutality and share with youth actions that can be taken on the issue. The team will also create a blog to share their experiences on police brutality and create dialogue in the community. This blog will not be a place to bash police officers, but to create productive conversations and improve the relationship between community members and law enforcement.

Team 23, Sobrato Family Living Center, Santa Clara: Standing Up to Peer Pressure to Stop Drug Use
Team 23 wants to decrease drug use among their peers so they are creating a video to increase education about the danger of drugs and how to say no. The video will include the girls speaking out against drug use and sharing facts about the issue. Girls will also include a message about how to say no to drugs. This video will address their root cause of education and how to stand up to pressure from peers. The girls are taping and editing the video and plan to show the video to youth groups in the community. Watch the Video!

Team 24, Rancho Milpitas Middle School, Milpitas: Stop the Judgment
The girls of Team 24 are tired of all the judging that goes on at their school.  When they looked harder at the issue they realized that a lot of the judging that goes on is based around jealously. The team thought that if they focused on shedding some light on the issue people would begin to accept each other as individuals. More than 120 students completed a survey, created by the team to gather the feelings and experiences their peers have around jealousy. The girls published their findings and shared with their community how detrimental jealously can be. 

Team 25, College Track, East Palo Alto: Looking Beyond Skin Color – End Discrimination
The girls of Team 25 want to decrease the use of racial slurs among their peers in order to take a stand against discrimination. The team wants people to realize that as human beings we are all the same. They will spread this message through t-shirts they crated. The t-shirt displays an image of the team and other youth and encourages people to not judge others by their skin color. The team wants the t-shirts to start conversations among their peers so they can spread the word and stop discrimination. The girls are also committed to embracing their message by not pre judging others now and throughout their lives.

Team 26, Ronald McNair Middle School, East Palo Alto: Sunshine Recycling
When Ronald McNair implemented a new school-wide recycling program the girls on Team 26 were very excited.  The team began to notice that not everyone on campus knew about the program or were using the new bins. The girls decided that they needed to help spread the word. They created flyers to advertise the program and will present them to the student body at the back to school night.

Team 27, Sierramont Middle School, San Jose: Project Hope For Mental Health
Team 27 is concerned about the mental health of their peers. They have seen what the effects of depression and suicide can do to a community. The team felt that more needs to be done to address this issue and let their peers know that someone cares. The girls created a public service announcement to address this issue and raise awareness about teen depression and suicide prevention.  In the future they would like to post their video on the internet and continue to get the word out and educate their community.

Team 31, Mission San Jose High School, Fremont: Vent Day To Stop Violent Anger!
The girls of Team 31 wanted to combat anger by providing their fellow students with tools and resources to express their voice in a non-violent way.  The girls created and built a frustration wall where fellow students had an opportunity to design a tile that depicted safe and healthy ways to deal with stress and emotional anger and frustration. They hoped the wall would serve as a visual reminder of the pledge to healthy behavior by their peers when dealing with difficult situations. 

Team 32, East Palo Alto Boys and Girls Club, East Palo Alto: Stomping Out Drug Abuse 
Team 32 has chosen to address the issue of drug and alcohol use in teens. The girls felt this was a pressing issue in their community and worked with the youth at the Boys and Girls Club to address it. The team created a workshop for the Club youth to attend to discuss this issue and talk about resources available.  The team also plans on creating a skit and other outreach materials to educate their peers.

Team 33, Notre Dame High School, Belmont: Love Your Body
The girls of Team 33 want to put a stop to the media’s portrayal of what a women’s body “should look like.”  They believe that if woman of all shapes and sizes were portrayed as beautiful and valued for more than just their physical appearance, girls self-esteem would increase. To address this issue, the girls created an educational workshop to put on in homerooms about body image.  They did various activities where students in the school were asked to write on the paper what they like about themselves to promote positive body image. They hung the results on the wall of the school foyer for a week. They hoped that by brining attention to this issue they would see a rise in self-love respect.

Team 34, Burnett Middle School, San Jose: Results on Animal Abuse
Team 34 decided to focus on addressing the issue of animal abuse. The team felt that the sooner you educate individuals about this issue the better.  They believed that middle school is the perfect time to start. The girls created bookmarks to get their fellow peers to start thinking about the issue and raise their awareness. The team handed them out during lunch and after-school.  The hoped that by educating their peers about the issue they will be inspired to educate others.

Team 38, Hillsdale High School, San Mateo: Drive Safe
Team 38 knew the dangers of reckless driving. They felt it has become a big issue in their community and something needs to change.  The team decided to make bookmarks for their school that remind students to stop and think when driving. The team also had a booth at lunch to distribute the bookmarks to their peers.

Team 36, Ocala Middle School, San Jose: Just Say No
Girl Action Team 36 was worried about the peer pressure young people face when it comes to trying drugs.  The team decided to create a positive message campaign to educate their peers and themselves.  They interviewed people who have experienced drug abuse and are now in recovery.  They girls hoped that by collecting this information for themselves they will have real life stories and examples of the negative impact drugs can have on your life when confronted with peer pressure. The girls shared this information with their peers to show you can have fun without drugs.
 
Team 37, Hoover Middle School with Boys and Girls Club, Redwood City: Girls For Spaying and Neutering Pets
The girls of Team 37 were concerned about the overpopulation of ownerless dogs and cats in their community. They decided to create posters and a YouTube video to inform pet owners about the how and why of spaying and neutering. They believed that by informing the community about the importance of spaying and neutering their pets, they could create educate around the issue and help reduce animal overpopulation and the euthanization of unwanted animals. Watch the video!

Team 40, Lionel Wilson Preparatory High School, Oakland: Walk For Awareness
Team 40 is concerned about the growing number of women without access to affordable health care.  They believe this could indirectly lead to an increase in the number of women diagnosed with cervical cancer each year. In order to raise awareness about the need for affordable women’s health care and cervical cancer; they hosted an awareness walk and distributed flyers with information about prevention measures and early detection methods.  

Team 41, Lionel Wilson Preparatory Middle School, Oakland: Face To Face With Abuse
The young women of team 41 were concerned about how sexual abuse was affecting girls and women in their community. The girls held a town hall meetings were they invited fellow middle school girls to attend. They presented facts on sexual abuse and raised awareness about the warning signs and how and where to ask for help. The girls hoped that by raising awareness around this issue their peers would feel more confident and safe when asking for help.

Team 42, Piedmont Hills High School, San Jose: Everyone Deserves To Go To School
Team 42 is concerned about the misconception that girl’s education in the developing world is not as important as boys. The lack of hygiene products available to girls in developing countries interferes with their ability to attend school.  By holding a tea social for middle school girls in their community, Team 42 hoped to education and raise awareness about the important need for girls all over the world to be able to attend school without interruption.  

Team 43, Sherman Oaks Elementary, San Jose: Stop the Bullies
Bullying is a big issue on many school campuses. The girls of Team 43 decided to focus on this important campus issue.  The team created a video to educate their peers on why they shouldn’t bully each other. The team also plans on creating some posters to hang around their school to remind students not to bully.

Team 44, Menlo Park Boys and Girls Club, Menlo Park: Slam For Respect!
The girls of Menlo Park Boys & Girls Club held a poetry slam at the club for follow member about respect. The girls have written original poems that address the impact positive self-esteem can have on respect for you, but also for others.  The girls believed that by having other club members participate in reading and sharing their words, a greater understanding around the important of respect will be created. They hoped to change some of the culture not only in the club, but also in their community.

Team 45, Fischer Middle School, San Jose: Redefining Beauty
Team 45 was tired of seeing their friends talk about themselves in a negative way. They saw how negative body-image affects their peers and want to work on increasing individual’s self-esteem. The team planned an entire Redefining Beauty Week. The girls first surveyed the student body to see how the felt and what work really needed to be done. They then created workshops for students to attend during the school day that focus on skills and tools for increasing self-esteem. The team also created posters to hang around the school during the week.  They closed the week with an inner beauty fashion show. 

Team 46, Oak Grove High School, San Jose: Myspace for Change
The girls of Team 46 chose to tackle the issue of harassment on their campus. The team felt it is a growing problem not being addressed. The team decided they needed to raise awareness and help inform their classmates about the issue.  They created a Myspace page that provided facts and resources about harassment and where to get help. The team felt that harassment is the root cause of many serious issues and hoped that by raising awareness the amount of harassment incidents on campus will decrease. 

Team 51, Monroe Middle School I, San Jose: Use Your Voice; Speak Out Campaign! 
Team 51 felt very passionate about using their voices to create change and raise awareness.  They decided to host a speak-out at their school on various concerning issues in their community.  They invited the principal and their teachers and each presented out on their issue, two root causes, and their suggested solutions. They also designed posters to raise awareness about the importance of using your voice to speak out displayed them around the school for one week.

Team 52, Monroe Middle School II, San Jose: It’s Not Cool To Join a Gang                         The girls of Team 52 are fed up with gang violence in their community. The girls decided to create a t-shirt campaign with an anti-gang logo on it.  They wore the t-shirts to school and explained to anyone who asked that they were promoting awareness about gangs as a problem in their community. They hoped that by creating wearing the t-shirts they would raise awareness about gang violence and the dangers of being in a gang.

Silicon Valley Girl Steering Committee
The Girl Steering Committee has devoted time this year to planning GFC girl events, speaking at networking events, and advocating for girl leadership.  The girls emceed and planned Spring Into Action and the Completion Ceremony this year. They are the voices and the leadership body of the Girls For A Change Silicon Valley site.