Ruby, a rising sophomore, told us about the very difficult decision to leave a close relationship, one of her best friends since pre-school. He sent a huge text, swearing at me, blaming his relationship problems on me. I replied, apologizing, and still felt awful. At first I blamed myself. Before Girls Leadership I would not …
Change Your World: Keds Brave Life Grant Winner Emily Cole
This Fall, Keds gave away fifty $1,000 grants to help young women ages 13-24 bring their dream change projects to life. Emily Cole, a Girls Leadership Summer Program alumna, was one of the grant recipients.
How did you hear about the Keds Brave Life Project? I actually heard about the Keds Brave Life Project from the Girls Leadership Institute Facebook page! My mom directed me to the post and I thought, “What could it hurt? Only good could come from it.” What goal for change do you have for your …
Dear Friends, Thank you for your incredible support! Together you donated $65,000, enough to bring a record 58 girls to our three-week Summer Program. Because of you, the Girls Leadership Institute community is stronger, more diverse, and more inclusive than ever before. I can’t imagine a better foundation for the future of leadership.To catch a glimpse of the summer …
Dear Friends, Happy Mothers’ Day month! We have a special place in our hearts for the incredible moms in our community. Girls Leadership Institute (GLI) moms are our dynamic, daily faces of leadership; they bring our programs to their schools and communities, raise funds for us to provide scholarships and build capacity, and, most importantly, work hard …
Dear Friends, I want you to meet Amani. When she signed up for our spring break day camp three years ago, we were immediately taken with her quiet wisdom and passion for self-improvement.The feeling was clearly mutual: Amani fell in love with the freedom to be yourself that the Girls Leadership Institute community creates. By eighth grade, Amani set her sights on our three-week …
Dear Friends, Imagine a teacher who is unprepared to guide female students through relationship challenges, a parent whose daughter comes home in tears after being ignored by her friends all day, or a volunteer coach who is trying to build community with his team of third-grade girls. What if these teachers, parents, and coaches had …
Dear Friends, We are big fans of Valentine’s Day. At Girls Leadership Institute (GLI), Valentine’s Day is a winter reminder of Love Notes, a Summer Program and Day Camp tradition dating back 13 years! Every day throughout the Summer Program and Day Camp, each participant writes notes to the other girls describing something she admires …
Fierce, Fabulous Female
Former GLI Camper turned Camp Counselor, Emily Sannini, descibes how the Fierce Fabulous Female award represents a girl’s hard work towards becoming more emotionally honest, brave, and confident.
The boa plays an important role in the day-to-day lives of Girls Leadership Institute (GLI) campers. Most days, if you take a quick peek around camp, you’ll see a girl rocking one: an absurdly brightly colored boa wrapped twice around her neck, or her waist, or her head, shedding feathers everywhere, with her head held …
GLI Camper, Lily George: Weaving a Web of Authenticity
Anneka Fagundes interviewed Lily to hear her thoughts about how GLI has helped shape the person she has become.
Over the course of three summers working at GLI, I have had the great pleasure of getting to know 8th grade camper Lily George. In some ways, it’s remarkable how little she has changed – Lily is a girl who embodies kindness, compassion, and creativity no matter what is thrown her way. On the other hand, I marvel at how Lily has grown over the years. Where I once saw a soft-spoken girl slowly weaving a web of self-discovery, I now see a confident young woman with incredible aptitude for verbal and artistic expression, and a strong sense of herself. I interviewed Lily to hear her thoughts about how GLI has helped shape the person she has become.
Dear Friends, Happy camp season! We have 250 girls participating in GLI Summer Camps this year, from California to Massachusetts. At Day Camp, our youngest girls are already forming amazing communities and taking the risk of being true to themselves. Is there any better preparation for middle school? Check out our Facebook page to catch a glimpse of …
