The Girls Inc. Experience & Elements
Girls Inc. Theory of Change Statement: We believe the Girls Inc. experience equips girls to navigate gender, economic and social barriers and grow into healthy, educated and independent adults.
The Girls Inc. mission is to inspire all girls to be Strong, Smart, and Bold. We put our mission into practice through the Girls Inc. experience that equips girls to navigate gender, economic and social barriers and grow into healthy, educated and independent adults.
The essential elements and foundation of the Girls Inc. experience have been developed over decades of Girls Inc. affiliate experience, guided by our Research and Program & Training Services Departments, and documented in the Girls Inc. Programming Toolkit.
There Are 6 Essential Elements of the Girls Inc. Experience:
- A pro-girl and girls-only environment that is physically, socially and emotionally safe and confirms that girls can succeed and deserve to be taken seriously for the persons they are now and the women they will become;
- Trusting, mentoring relationships with adult staff and volunteers trained in an approach that is grounded in a belief in girls’ rights and abilities;
- Holistic, compensatory, and intentional programming focused on girls’ needs and that provides exposure to a wide variety of experiences and options that girls might not have experienced otherwise;
- Relevant, field-tested, and research-based curricula that confront the serious needs of girls while building the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to enable girls to be competent, confident individuals and adult women;
- Girl-centered, motivating, deliberate, and interactive activities that develop and promote girls’ strengths;
- Sustained exposure to programming and connection with a girl over time to increase positive outcomes and reduce the potential for negative outcomes.
The essential elements provide a holistic approach that is grounded in a belief in girls’ rights and abilities. A belief in girls’ rights and abilities is the foundation for all of the essential elements. At different ages, developmental stages, or happenings in life, one essential element may be more dominant or present for that moment or period of time. However, that element is always supported and enhanced by the other elements.