Girls Group

The vision of Girls Group is to help economically disadvantaged young women achieve self-sufficiency. The ultimate ambition is that each young woman finds their voice, defines their goals and dreams, and moves forward in the world with pride and self-confidence.

Girls Group was founded in 2003 to meet the needs of disadvantaged young women in Washtenaw County. Girls Group empowers young women to achieve emotional and economic self-sufficiency by ensuring they graduate from high school and begin their college or career journeys.

The ultimate ambition of Girls Group is that each young woman finds their voice, defines their goals and dreams, and moves forward in the world with pride and self- confidence.

Girls Group supports young women to become first-generation high school and college graduates. We begin building a college mindset in 6th grade, and continue services throughout middle school, high school and college/career. We facilitate weekly programming within the schools and work closely with families. We “meet each girl where she’s at” with year-round programming including weekly curriculum, field trips, college tours, and summer programming to build academic and social emotional skills.

Girls Group builds long-term, lasting relationships with the girls and young women we serve. We ideally meet girls in 6th grade, and support them through middle school, high school, high school graduation, college, and college graduation. Because many of the young women we serve struggle through high school and have the potential to become first-generation college students, each milestone is critical in their path to economic and emotional self-sufficiency.

Girls Group serves 690 girls and young women who are generally economically disadvantaged and have the potential to become first-generation college students and graduates: 300 middle school students, 150 high school students, and 240 young women on their college and career journeys. These young women reside primarily in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor.

Despite the challenges faced by Girls Group participants during the pandemic, we saw 30 - 12th grade students graduate from high school. In 2021, Girls Group saw the largest cohort of college graduates in Girls Group history despite the increased barriers and challenges experienced by college students in the pandemic.