Dear Friends,
Great news! Last week long-time GLI supporter Ann Tisch generously offered GLI $50,000 in matching dollars for all donations raised during this important end-of-year giving season. GLI is poised to leverage this support into real change for girls, families, and schools across the country in the form of scholarships, new programs, primary research, and resources for those who don’t have access to our programs. Our girls can’t afford for us to have any less than 100% success in matching Ann’s gift.
Please consider what you can do to support GLI. If you give now, your donation will be doubled by Ann.
The fact is the earned revenue from GLI programs does not fully support all the incredible work that we do. Please consider what you can do to help us. Any amount is deeply appreciated. Click here to donate now.
Read below to hear about the impact of our programs on our participants, including 3rd grader Petra, who is taking her GLI relationship skills into recess time; educator Michelle, who learned from GLI to bring the power of play to her girls; and Ruth, who is practicing her GLI skills as a parent.
Thank you for believing in GLI and the bright future that our programs, research, and outreach will make possible.
All my best,
Simone Marean
Executive Director
Petra, Third Grade
When I was done with GLI, my friendships got much better. The GLI tools work. Once my friends and I were playing a game; I didn’t like the rules, so we stopped the game to talk about it. I said, “Can we change the rules? I don’t like how two people get to chase one person.” They said, “Well, I think we should compromise.” They talked and talked, and then they ran off and left me. Later, I talked to them again. I said, “I think we should talk this over.” And we talked, and it actually helped. That’s how helpful GLI is.
There are no other places where I’ve learned these kinds of skills. At the last GLI session, when it was over, I said, “This the funnest thing in the world. Can I do it again?”
Michelle Cove, Teacher
I was so inspired and excited after taking the Girl Meets World workshop and couldn’t wait to teach the staff the exercises I’d learned. In particular, I loved all the silly risk-taking games the leaders shared, and it was a great reminder that we need to be thinking of fun ways to teach girls to be bold instead of preaching messages at them. All around me I see girls who worry about trying to be perfect and learn to blend in so they’re barely visible. The workshop is about giving teachers the tools they need to boost girls’ confidence so that they actually want to be seen and heard.
Ruth, Parent
“Parents, would anyone like to lead the Shay-Shay warm-up?” Simone asked. Shay-Shay is the collection of syllables and gestures that we do in a circle at the start of every GLI session. I had no idea what the syllables were or what gestures the group would follow. Then Simone added, “We encourage parents to step up to show what it looks like to take a risk and look silly.” My seven-year-old nudged me with her elbow, so I raised my hand.
Our GLI session was for a group of about ten 2nd and 3rd graders and their parents. We met for an hour and a half on four consecutive Tuesday evenings. All the girls said they wished it could have lasted longer.
As a parent, I was riveted by the conversations. The girls were very focused, listening to each other intently and dissecting the social challenges they face every day on the playground. Mostly what I came away with was two thoughts:
The social challenges these girls are dealing with—how to say no to a friend without damaging the friendship, how to express feelings of hurt, how to apologize—are genuinely hard and challenging. I still don’t handle these challenges well as an adult. And that was where the value of the class was strongest: We learned that there isn’t one right way to handle a situation. Social interaction can be a form of play (instead of a life-or-death battle), and girls can make different decisions as they feel stronger and more courageous or find out what isn’t working or reassess the value of a particular friendship.
For me as a parent, GLI has taught me that I don’t have to offer answers when my daughter is having struggles, so much as brainstorm multiple possible actions with her, and think about what the outcomes might be. She still wails, “Mommy, you don’t understand,” periodically, but now I’m more comfortable simply saying, “You’re right. I don’t. I wasn’t there. Tell me about it.”
Shay-shay coulay!
Thank you for helping us change the face of leadership.
Comments 0