Girls, ALL girls, are struggling more then ever. We want girls to become leaders, not a statistic.
We all know that self-esteem cannot be medicated, and we also know that when girls are equipped with core life skill sets that they can build strong self-esteem and powerful skill sets to better navigate their teen years to become successful adults. Our youth will inherit complex social and economic problems in the future. We must equip them to be able to have the communication, leadership, self-esteem and problem-solving skills to confront these issues with leadership. But many girls today are feeling depressed, anxious, lonely, insecure and battle with an array of mental health issues. Let’s talk about the statistics of girls today. We are battling the highest suicide rate in girls in 40 years along with many other staggering statistics like teen pregnancy (7100 teen pregnancies in AZ in 2016 and 1 million nationwide in 2016). Read more statistics here. Additionally, suicide experts say electronic and social media addiction is one of the main causes behind the rise in suicides and lower self-esteem.
Our Mission:
Our mission is to teach teen girls positive skill sets through online and live programs that will influence healthy choice making, create strong self-esteem and build bright futures after high school. Through teaching core life skills we equip girls with the tools and skill sets to thrive emotionally, financially and academically.
Our 4 Learning Objectives are to:
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- Increase high school and college graduation rates of all girls to help them become leaders.
- Increase leadership skills in all girls so they can lead and navigate their life and become successful adults.
- Increase core life skills in all girls so they can overcome hard things and build healthy coping skills.
- Increase financial literacy and money confidence in all girls to help progress their goals and impact the world economy.
Our Purpose:
We help girls become the next generation of leaders.
We help girls build healthy, empowered, successful lives.
We help girls build a path to their dreams and higher education education.
We help girls know that they are brilliant, beautiful & bold as they are.
Our Curriculum:
Our programs teach girls core life skill sets to accomplish goals to build a successful life and help them from getting derailed or becoming a statistic. Research tells us that Financial Literacy, Social and Emotional Learning and leadership skills are core life skills for success!
1. Our 12 Leadership Principles:
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Module 1: Dream it!
1: Dream Big – Girls learn to identify goals and dreams to become women with vision.
2: Self-Acceptance – Girls learn self-esteem skills so they can lift themselves to their highest potential.
3: Greatness Mindset – Girls learn to live and lead from their greatness mindset to overcome any challenge.
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Module 2: Plan it!
4: Plan Your Work – Girls learn how to plan their work and work their plan.
5: Responsibility – Girls learn to be accountable for their own choices, communication, body, finances, & dreams.
6: Goal-Setting – Girls learn how to get clarity in their goals and milestones to achieve them.
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Module 3: Lead it!
7: Leadership! – Girls learn to lead every day and don’t wait for a title.
8: Make Positive Friendships – Girls learn to build healthy relationships, community and collaboration.
9: Practice Self-Care – Girls learn to care for their mind, body, & spirit so they can live with balance, and not burnout.
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Module 4: Complete it!
10: Participate in Teamwork! – Girls learn to work in teams, ask for help and accomplish their role in the team.
11: Be Compassionate & Giving – Girls learn the power of 1 and that they can be the change they want to see in the world.
12: Complete Things, Don’t Quit! – Girls learn to trust themselves to finish, not to quit.
2. Plus the financial literacy skills:
- Financial Literacy: The building blocks of financial literacy, known as the MyMoney Five: Earn, Save, Invest, Borrow, Spend/Budget.
3. Plus the confidence skills: - Self-awareness: Know your strengths and limitations, with a well-grounded sense of confidence, optimism, and a “growth mindset.”
- Self-management: Effectively manage stress, control impulses, and motivate yourself to set and achieve goals.
- Social awareness: Understand the perspectives of others and empathize with them, including those from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
- Relationship skills: Communicate clearly, listen well, cooperate with others, resist inappropriate social pressure, negotiate conflict constructively, and seek and offer help when needed.
- Responsible decision-making: Make constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on ethical standards, safety, and social norms.
- Leadership skills: our 12 leadership principles (above) help girls lead themselves, their actions, their finances, and their choices confidently.
This work leads to better academic outcomes and improved behavior:
- 27% more students improved their academic performance by learning these skills
- 24% more students improved their emotional well-being and social behavior by learning these skills
Our 10 Core Values – We Are Committed To:
- Having team members, vendors, and employees who know WHY our organization exists and are crusaders for the cause.
- Clean communication – in all we do we lead by example in our words and actions. No drama, no negativity, no gossip. Ever.
- Creating a fun and empowering environment in everything we do for our clients and our teams.
- Leading with integrity – we plan our work and work our plan.
- Intentionally making wise and healthy choices that further the mission and efforts of the organization, not ourselves.
- Creating a ‘we’ community of girls and women who encourage each other’s success within the organization and outside.
- Working and leading from a place of love, focus, fearlessness, and empowerment.
- Having a financially well-running organization and make wise decisions to accomplish that.
- Being brilliant, beautiful and bold role models and advocates in the world for all girls and women.
- Teamwork to make the dream work and ask for help and collaboration when needed.
Our Tshirt line
GIRLS CHANGE THE WORLD Tshirt line. Shop here
Our Co-founder, Dena Patton
Dena Patton has a calling and a passion to empower and advance women and girls. Read about her on our leadership page here.
We are made up of men and women volunteers, financial supporters, sponsors, and committee members who help our organization grow to impact more girls to reach their greatest potential. It takes a village. You can get involved a few different ways: read our wish list or help us fundraise in simple ways.