GIRLS INCORPORATED OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY

Research-based curricula, delivered by trained professionals in an all-girl environment, equip girls to achieve academically, lead healthy and physically active lives, manage money, navigate media messages, and develop an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Specifically, Girls Inc. embraces the following program goals are for girls to:

-Improve academic skills and attitudes towards school, graduate from high school and consider higher education as a means to economic and personal independence;

-Understand the restrictions of gender stereotypes and develop the confidence to overcome them when seeking opportunities to enhance their lives;

-Avoid the risky behaviors that could derail plans and goals;

-Develop skills that will help them avoid drugs, alcohol, and other risky behaviors; and,

-Set goals for their own future that build on their strengths, talents, and abilities.

The Girls Inc. Experience helps girls to grow up:

Strong: Girls gain knowledge to embrace physical activity, positive body image, and nutrition while decreasing or delaying substance use and risky sexual activity.

Smart: Girls increase their love of learning, improve performance in school, and aspire to and plan for education beyond high school.

Bold: Girls build life skills to set and achieve goals and increase resilience in the face of obstacles to live productive and fulfilling lives.

As we embark on a new strategic direction, building from our current position of strength, our goals for the future include:

- Girls Inc. Westchester's program framework will effectively deliver desired outcomes for girls.

- Girls Inc. Westchester will grow the number of girls served with the Girls Inc. experience, with emphasis on girls aged 9-18 from underserved communities.

- Girls Inc. Westchester' will expand its impact by strategically identifying the key topical issues to pursue in our Community, and advance Girls Inc. Westchester values and program priorities through public activism in those areas, advancing the rights and opportunities for all girls.

- Girls Inc. Westchester will have the necessary resources, systems, and supports to be a data-driven and performance oriented organization and external influencer.

Girls Inc. Westchester program framework will effectively deliver desired outcomes for girls: we will reach girls with an intensive, holistic approach that is distinctive to Girls Inc.

Girls Inc. Westchester will consistently deliver a high-quality Girls Inc. Experience: we will align with common business practices and strategic goals to emphasize sustainability and risk mitigation, opening the way to innovative reach to new communities.

Girls Inc. Westchester will grow the number of low income girls served with the Girls Inc. program model: we are recognized experts in our area, anchored into the fabric of the communities where we serve girls who most need the Girls Inc. Experience.

Girls Inc. Westchester will expand its impact by becoming a leading advocate for advancing the rights and opportunities for all girls: as part of the Girls Inc. network, we engage in advocacy at the national, state, and local levels, as appropriate, with a particular focus on the needs of girls from low-income communities and girls who face multiple, intersectional challenges such as those based on sex, race, ethnicity, immigration status, sexual orientation, and gender identity. We are committed to a “girl-centered" advocacy approach that prioritizes the lived experiences of girls in our network and lifts up their voices; we aim to empower girls with the tools necessary to be change agents in their communities and beyond.

Girls Inc. Westchester will have the necessary resources, systems, and supports to be a data-driven and performance oriented network and external influencer: The Girls Inc. Outcomes Measurement Strategy is designed to help us understand and showcase the measurable difference we make in the lives of Girls Inc. girls. Gathering information about outcomes for girls will, over time, meet three important purposes:

- Mission accomplishment – how well are we working toward the Girls Inc. mission?


- Performance management - how well are we meeting our objectives?

- Evaluation – how do we know that we are having the impact we aspire to have?

Girls Inc. program framework will effectively deliver desired outcomes for girls: The program framework has been established and drives planning.

Girls Inc. Westchester will consistently deliver a high-quality Girls Inc. Experience: the business model has been established and bolsters planning.

In 2014, Girls Inc. Westchester partnered with New Rochelle High School to create the first school-based, girls' safe space in Westchester.

In 2015 we formally implemented the Latina Initiative to address the needs of Latinas aged 9 to 18, with the goal of increasing the number of Latina girls served and increasing the sensitivity to Latinas in all Girls Inc. efforts. Outreach materials and components of our curricula have been adapted into Spanish to more effectively reach the Latina/o community — the fastest growing minority group in the United States.

In 2016, we reached more girls than ever before. We have developed many strong community partnerships with corporate partners, local colleges and universities, school districts, and other non-profit organizations.

In 2017 our Board of Directors ratified a three-year strategic plan that articulates our organizational vision, values, and serves as a road map to meeting the Girls Inc. National strategic goal of increasing the number of girls served with impact in low-income communities. Our Board also finalized a succession plan for Board Officers through June 2020 to certify that all positions are filled, and in-coming officers are trained by their successors.