Girls Inc.
National Resource Center
http://www.girlsinc.org
[Return to home]
[Return to Directory by State]
[Return to Index of Expertise] Last updated 07/24/01
Contact Information:
441 West Michigan Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Phone: 317-634-7546
Fax: 317-634-3024
CENTER DESCRIPTION
Girls Inc. is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. For over 50 years, Girls Inc. has provided educational programs to millions of American girls, particularly those in high-risk, underserved areas. The National Resource Center (NRC) is the organization's research, information services, and training site. Research and evaluation conducted by the NRC provide the foundation for Girls Inc. programs. The NRC also responds to requests for information on girls' issues and distributes Girls Inc. publications.
AREA(S) OF EXPERTISE
Adolescents and girls; child care; community service; cultural diversity; drug and alcohol abuse; economic literacy; education; employment issues; entrepreneurship; equity issues; family; girls and young women of color; girls and young women with disabilities; girls in careers; girls in juvenile justice; health and health care; leadership and leadership development; media; politics; reproductive rights; rural girls; science and technology; sexuality; sports and fitness; statistics on girls; urban girls; violence against girls; welfare reform.
RECENT PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES
Drug and Alcohol
Friendly PEERsuasion. With the Friendly PEERsuasion initiative, Girls Inc. has addressed drug and alcohol abuse prevention as a peer issue. The program uses positive images of young people engaging in healthy behavior as role models.
Stamp Out Smoking. An education campaign to inform girls about the adverse effects of smoking.
Girls and Money. New research from Girls Inc. indicates that girls and boys share pragmatism and ambition about future financial success, but that girls fall behind in knowledge and confidence to attain desired goals. The She's on the Money advocacy campaign works to inform girls about the influence of money and economics so that they can make informed financial decisions in their own lives.
Money Matters: Economic Literacy Program for Girls gives girls critical money management, investment, job, and compensation related knowledge and skills to help them set a course to a financially sound future.
Girls Dig It: An Archaeology Program for Girls 12-14 introduces girls to the interdisciplinary world of archaeology and the analytical and interpretive skills used in this discipline, as well as to the epistemological and ethical questions raised by archaeological investigation. Girls Dig It will help girls explore issues of gender and culture and learn about the field itself. The program consists of core activities and group projects, and has a web site.
Teens for Teens. This program seeks to get girls actively involved in health issues at a time when studies indicate that the health of teens is in jeopardy.
Discovery brings together women for the purposes of making girls and women partners in community action, building leadership skills, and creating lasting change.
Girls Re-Cast TV. This media literacy, national education campaign helps girls develop the skills to recognize gender stereotypes on TV and make distinctions between TV life and their own.
Operation SMART is an informal education program to interest every girl in math, science, and technology. Begun in 1985, Operation SMART most recently has focused on encouraging girls to be high-end users of information technology.
Sporting Chance. Girls Inc. launched this program to encourage girls to participate in sports. Studies have indicated that girl athletes are more likely to exhibit positive self-esteem, confidence levels, and to gain experience in cooperation, competition, and mental and physical self-discipline.
Project Bold: Action for Safety is a self-defense and violence prevention program to give girls the awareness and skills to protect themselves and feel safe in their communities.
PUBLICATIONS
Girls' Bill of Rights. Six important rights of girls developed by Girls Inc. to help girls and adults understand the social change needed to achieve an equitable society.
Strong, Smart & Bold Tips Brochure. Offers tips on how to help girls stay strong, smart, and bold, and suggests ways to make the world a better place for girls.
What's Equal? Figuring Out What Works for Girls in Coed Settings (1993). A report that serves as a resource for parents and educators committed to creating non-sexist learning environments.
Past the Pink & Blue Predicament: Freeing the Next Generation from Sex Stereotypes (1992). A review and summary about the research on gender, why and how girls and boys differ and ways they do not, with a discussion concerning myths about our nature as human beings.
Drug and Alcohol Abuse
It's My Party: Girls Choose to be Substance Free (1993). This document provides an excellent summary of the Girls Inc. Friendly PEERsuasion program, outlining the research project, results, and policy recommendations.
Economic Literacy
Economic Literacy Action Kit (1999). Designed to help girls to become smart money managers, investors, and change agents, this kit contains eight sections with activities, questions and "money moments" that introduce girls to other opportunities to use this new knowledge.
Health and Health Care
Reproductive Rights
Truth, Trust and Technology: New Research on Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy (1991). This summary report on the Girls Inc. Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy program development and research project is an excellent resource documenting program and research results and policy recommendations.
History
No Turning Back: Milestones for Girls in the Twentieth Century, Edith B. Phelps (1995). A recounting of the tradition of action taken by women on behalf of girls in the 20th century.
Strong, Smart and Bold for the 21st Century (1995). A journal chronicling 50 years of Girls Inc. history and the original "Girls' Bill of Rights," adopted in 1945.
Leadership and Leadership Development
Holding Our Own: A Handbook for Girls and Women Exploring Leadership (1996) introduces a process for girls and women to work together to redefine themselves as natural leaders, to practice natural leadership, and to positively change their communities.
Literature
In Their Own Words: Young Women Write About Their Lives (1993). A collection of poems and stories by Girls Inc. girls and young women.
Media
Girls Re-Cast TV Action Kit (1995). A kit containing cards with activities to teach girls how to watch TV actively and critically.
Re-Casting TV: Girls' Views (1995). Summary and excerpt from the poll commissioned by Louis Harris and Associates.
Science and Technology
The Explorer's Pass: A Report on Case Studies of Girls and Math, Science and Technology (1991). A naturalistic study of messages to and from girls ages 9 to 14 about math and science.
Sports and Fitness
Sporting Chance: Sports Resource Kit includes a guide to develop a sports program for girls, a sports resource guide, a booklet on the 10 reasons to encourage girls' participation in sports, and a videotape on winning and sports.
Violence Against Women and Girls
Prevention and Parity: Girls in Juvenile Justice (1996). A joint project with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention resulted in a conference and this publication. The report continues to provide a basis for understanding how violence affects girls and how girls wind up in the juvenile justice system.
Girls Inc. also publishes fact sheets, resource lists, recommended web sites and other documents pertaining to women and girls. Information on how to start an affiliate is also available to the general public. A substantial library of program guides is available to Girls Inc. affiliates and program partners only. Please contact the Distribution Department (x33) at the NRC for a complete list of publications.
Please send comments or corrections to webmaster@ncrw.org