Photo Credit: Coach Gary Marks Connection is one of the most crucial parts of youth sports. Whether it’s connections between players, with coaches, or with the sport itself, the way we build community can have a huge impact on young players’ enjoyment of and commitment to the game. In our expanding work with sports …
This year marked our 15th anniversary as an organization, including a major change. While we started as a direct-service girl-serving organization, we’ve arrived at a new approach. When you listen to girls for 15 years you learn a ton, and what we learned is that the girls are powerful; it is the adults in their …
Sports are a powerful source of leadership development and well-being for youth. Studies show that girls who participated in sports had higher rates of academic achievement and hope for the future. Yet by age 14, girls start dropping out of sports at twice the rate of their male peers. That rate is even higher for girls with …
You may have heard of the Alphabet Relay, a fun group relay to brainstorm as many ideas as possible using the structure of the alphabet. The Girls Leadership version, an Emotional Alphabet Relay, is a game to help players express how they are feeling and reflect on their relationship with their emotions. This version was …
Click here to download the Barbie Podcast Activity Guide Check out Katya Echazarreta’s heartwarming video: If you are a youth-serving professional looking for some community, new skills, play, and joy, come join us in one of our programs for sports coaches, family-service providers, and educators. Programs for youth-serving professionals Here are …
Naming our feelings is powerful. That’s true even—or especially—when we’re hurting. School has just begun, and already we’re faced with the horrifying tragedy of another school shooting. We have been bombarded with an overwhelm of news, memorials, and arguments. In order to re-establish equilibrium, we want to invite our community to join us in naming …
To celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, we’ve created a list of books for young people by and about members of the AANHPI community. We encourage you to read these with the girls and gender-expansive youth you know, and connect over characters who face challenges, stand up for themselves, and …
Like all educators, Girls Leadership Program Manager Catherine Castillo Cruz gets up early. There’s always a lot to do, and she has a long commute before she can even start. It’s January in New York and the cold is biting. Catherine checks her phone, hoping for a distraction from the seeping chill, but instead there’s …
Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teen in Oklahoma, died on February 8, 2024. Before their death, they were the victim of bullying in their school, and their death has been linked to a violent altercation with other students. Though not all details are clear, there is reason to believe Nex’s death was linked to their gender …
It’s been 20 years since Mean Girls was released, and it’s no surprise that Hollywood was eager to capitalize on the classic with a reboot—in this case, a musical version of the same name that makes very few changes to the original. The content may be recycled, but the themes are as relevant as ever: …
