Girls Inc. of New York City

Girls learn about money and the economy, including how to manage, invest, and save money and how to help others through philanthropy.

Through interactive projects and discussions with female finance executives, Economic Literacy explores:
- How personal attitudes, opinions and knowledge of money are formed and influenced
- The nuts and bolts of finance, including saving, investing, loans, banking, taxes, and credit
- Financial responsibility and self-reliance: how to earn, spend, save and share money
-Different types of careers and incomes
- Consumerism and advertising: how to be a smart shopper
- What money can’t buy

Well-rounded and thorough, our financial capabilities program imparts a world of knowledge the girls can use for a life of financial independence.

The G3 and Pre-G3 Data Analytics Program, is a one year, project based, Data Analytics program focused on building girls’ skills in mathematics, critical thinking, and technology. The program includes an intensive four-week summer program and year-round programming. The program is designed to increase the interest of girls ages 12-17 entering the exciting new field of data analytics.
​
G3 prepares girls to:
- Experience and explore the new world of big data
- Build skills in mathematics, critical thinking, and technology
- Develop an interest in data science careers
- Collaborate and work in teams
- Prepare for a college education
- Use data to better understand a social justice issue and advocate for a solution

​

We deliver Girls Inc. Project BOLD® a violence prevention and self-defense program with girls ages 9 - 14.  Over a series of 10 sessions, girls learn both physical and non-physical ways to reduce violence in their lives and stay safe.

A study by the Fern Marx Center for Research on Women  showed that participating in the Girls Inc Project BOLD® violence prevention and self-defense program found that girls who participated in the program increased knowledge of self-defense techniques and increased confidence in their own strength and their ability to make a difference regarding violence against girls and women in their communities.

Implementing one cycle of the program costs the agency $2,900 and can reach 20 girls.

Our Teen Leadership Circles (TLC) is an intensive training and personal development program for high school girls. Through their participation, girls are trained to become Peer Leaders at their schools. As peer leaders, they will educate and support their peers by creating girl-only safe spaces and facilitate workshops on the many challenges they face as growing young women.

Our digitized mental health program, Mind Body Matters, raises awareness about the impact emotional trauma can have on the physical—as well as mental—well-being of girls, families, and communities. Mind Body Matters teaches adolescent girls, especially those who identify as BIPOC, how to cope with the stressors in their daily lives and find inner peace through practices like meditation, movement, mindfulness, and journaling.

Research-based and trauma-informed, Mind Body Matters content is relevant to students’ cultural identities and socioeconomic backgrounds. The program breaks down stigma and misconceptions about mental health to create a safe environment for students to share and process their emotions and seek help if mental health challenges arise.

Aligned with New York State curriculum requirements for mental health, Mind Body Matters covers self-care; interrelated physical symptoms; suicide and self-harm prevention; and treatment resources and recovery.

Girls increase their awareness of the scope and power of the media and the effects of media messages on girls and women.

With interactive, hands-on projects and discussions, preconceived notions of who and what girls are, based on ever-present media messages, are dissected and reevaluated.
Girls Inc. Media Literacy explores:

- Types of media
- The messages we get—subtle and obvious—from media
- The impact of advertising on girls every day, in many ways
- How to be “media smart”
- Real beauty vs. media beauty
- Finding diversity in media
- “Talking back” to the media
- Hard news and how it portrays women
- Evaluating strong, smart and bold characteristics in real and fictional women
- Recognizing and getting rid of stereotypes
- Careers in news media—print, digital, radio, and TV
- Careers in entertainment media: film, TV, magazines, Broadway, etc.

The always exciting Media Literacy program culminates in DVDs and videos made by the girls themselves, based on their original storyboards.

Thanks to this unique program, girls discover the positive and negative aspects of media, as well as new views of themselves and their gender.

Project Accelerate addresses inequality in the workplace, particularly the absence of women of color in positions of influence and leadership. The program will accelerate young women’s trajectories through college and career entry, leveraging partnerships with corporations and social impact organizations to ensure both their preparation and their access to positions of influence.

Our college readiness program prepares students for applying to and enrolling in college.
- Workshops focusing on time management, understanding roommates and building relationships with professors
- Job etiquette training, interview practice, resume writing and internship opportunities
- Opportunity to apply for our annual College Shower awards ceremony and scholarship program

Project REACH engages in data-driven college success case management.
Students receive professional college, financial aid, and career advising and participate in monthly workshops.