Launch of Programs

At Lawrence Intermediate School in southwest Tucson, GISA is facilitating Safety in Action^SM for 9 and 10 year old girls. The interactive program strengthens girls’ sense of themselves as valued young people and assists girls with strategies to help ensure personal safety. Ana Gallegos, principal of Lawrence, believes the program is important to helping further her vision of bringing supplementary opportunities to her students. This program is offered through the after school program. Lawrence has most recently made significant academic gains in all areas and is a Performing Plus school!

Girls at two Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson are participating after school in the Girls Inc. Media Literacy® program. From magazines to marketing campaigns to music videos, girls today are bombarded by media images. The 9 to 11 year old girls at the Steve Daru and Holmes Tuttle Clubhouses are learning through this interactive program to become more aware of media messages and their effect on girls and women. The Girls Inc. Media Literacy® program is a supplementary offering to the SMART Girls program which is currently offered at the Boys & Girls Clubs. SMART Girls is a health, fitness, prevention/education and self-esteem enhancement program for girls designed to encourage healthy attitudes and lifestyles.

In 2009 GISA expects to continue collaborating with these two organizations and aims to reach additional girls in Pima County.

Girls Inc. Money Talks Family Financial Literacy Workshop(sm)

This workshop enhances communication and listening skills around family financial literacy between girls (ages 12 - 14) and influential adults in their lives. The workshop runs about 4 1/2 hours. Girls learn together in fun, interactive ways about spending choices, budgeting, borrowing, and saving. Adults receive a refresher on money issues important in today's difficult financial climate; and girls and adults come together in a challenging exercise to enhance communication and listening skills around money issues.

Schedule a Money Talks workshop
GISA is scheduling Money Talks workshops in cooperation with other agencies, community groups and schools. If you are interested in having Girls Inc. bring the workshop to your organization or if you or others you know would like to attend this workshop, please contact Aimee Poll at 299-6855 or Pat Wallace at 529-6095 or email.

Our award-winning programs are grounded in research, tested in the field at Girls Inc. affiliates, and delivered by trained facilitators.

Girls Inc. Operation SMART® builds girls’ skills and interest in science, math, and relevant technology. Hands-on activities give girls the opportunity to explore, ask questions, and solve problems. Components of Operation SMART include: Eureka!, Girls Dig It, Career Action, Thinking SMART, and our Operation SMART Website.

Girls Inc. Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy® helps girls identify ways and reasons to avoid early pregnancy and to prevent sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. The program fosters girls’ communication skills, provides basic health education, and encourages girls to plan for the future through four age-appropriate components: Growing TogetherSM, Will Power/Won't PowerSM, Taking Care of BusinessSM, and Health BridgeSM. The first two components have been translated into Spanish as Crecer juntas and Querer/Poder decir “no.”

Girls Inc. Economic Literacy® introduces girls as young as six to basic economic concepts, including money management and investment. The program explores how the economy affects us locally and globally as it fosters development of the skills needed to achieve economic independence. Girls learn these skills through four age-appropriate components: She’s on the Money!SM, Dollars, Sense, and MeSM, Equal Earners, Savvy SpendersSM, and Futures and OptionsSM.
View more information on this program.

Girls Inc. Sporting Chance® builds movement and athletic skills, cooperative and competitive spirit, health awareness, and interest in all sports. Girls in this program also explore career opportunities related to sports and experience the benefits of healthy risk taking. The program lays a foundation for a lifetime of physical activity and sports participation through two age-appropriate programs: SteppingstonesSM and BridgesSM and one special project: BoneZoneSM.

Girls Inc. Friendly PEERsuasion ® builds girls’ skills for resisting pressure to use harmful substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs or to abuse medications or household chemicals. The two-part substance abuse prevention program teaches girls ages 11 to 14 healthy ways to manage stress and confront peer, media, and other pressures. The girls then assume roles as PEERsuaders for younger children. Friendly PEERsuasion is also available in Spanish as Persuasion positiva.

Girls Inc. Project Bold® strengthens girls’ ability to lead safer lives. In addition to developing skills and strategies for self-defense (including physical techniques), girls learn how to seek out and talk with caring adults about personal violence and to advocate on gender-specific violence issues. Components developed to date include Kid-Ability!™ Kid Jr., a Girls Inc. of Omaha program (for girls ages 6 to 8), Action for SafetySM (for girls ages 9 to 11), and Living Safe and Strong (for girls in their early teens).

Girls Inc. Media Literacy ® , a comprehensive media literacy program, encourages girls to think critically about media messages and fosters their awareness of the scope and power of the media and its effects on girls and women. Girls gain skills that enhance their ability to critically examine and advocate for change in entertainment, news, and advertising media.

Girls Inc. Discovery Leadership® partners girls and women in community action projects chosen by girls, building leadership skills and creating lasting change. This leadership development program for girls ages 9 to 11 celebrates the heritage of girls and women as leaders, and fosters girls awareness of themselves as community resources and trustees of the common good.