Tag Archives: girls inc. of omaha
Sister 2 Sister
I love the Sister 2 Sister peer mentoring program at Girls Inc. Teen and pre-teen girls volunteer to “mentor” our younger girls in programming, such as our GIRLStart Literacy classes, and also with to help them with life skills. A teen will be paired with a younger girl in the cafeteria to talk to her about her day and to help her with cafeteria etiquette. She might teach a younger girl how to use her utensils, how to use an ‘indoor’ voice, or encourage her to try new foods. The teens also help prepare program supplies and then help the younger girls with their craft projects when the time comes to apply glue or use scissors – new skills for our kindergarten and pre-k girls. Teens will be paired for read aloud with a younger Reading Buddy. Sister 2 Sister was a program initiated by the teens themselves and is supported by the Fund for Omaha through the Omaha Community Foundation. – Tess Larson
PS: In the photo below, Dae is helping get supplies together for a GIRLStart parent sharing night. She’ll help the younger girls decorate their own purses after reading Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse.
It takes a village…
…made of refrigerator boxes to get the GIRLStart girls in a major league design mode. They LOVED creating their own neighborhood and setting the house rules themselves.
A shout out to Nebraska Furniture Mart for the great boxes.
Mariah & Aqila Design their own house
Refrigerator Box House
The girls would do Mr. Plumbean (from The Big Orange Splot) proud!
Some sample girl rules…
No hitting was a common theme in the girls’ rules. So was “no dorks allowed.” On girl had a rule that you do jump on the bed in her house. We appreciated the girl that felt that “no hitting the teacher” was a good rule. We agree!
Big Orange Splot
The GIRLSTart girls had a read aloud of The Big Orange Splot. Then they wrote rules for their own house. Then they got to decorate their own houses and post their rules.
Threat Assessment Training
At Girls Inc., the girls’ safety is our #1 one priority.
Girls Inc. of Omaha Board member, and retired OPD officer, Ruth Ann Popp arranged for OPD Officer Jim Pauly to do a 5-hour Threat Assesment and Disruption & Response Training for our staff. We learned a great deal of valuable information to use in our Girls Inc. Safety Plan.
Our thanks go out to both Officer Pauly and to Ruth Ann. You both helped us today with one of the very essential elements of our environment as we work to “inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.”
Thank you Ruth Ann Popp!
In addition to arranging the Threat Assessment Training for staff today, Ruth Ann Popp provided a wonderful lunch catered by Wheatfields. The photo of the cake below is a shameless plug for Wheatfields. C’mon, now, that cake is gorgeous! And delicious!
Exploring 3D Shapes at Op SMART
Teen Grant
Girls Inc. of Omaha received a $2,000 grant through the Youth in Philanthropy initiative of the Omaha Community Foundation for “GREEN: It’s the New Pink.” The GREEN program fetaures recycling, composting, and other green initiatives. The Girls Inc. of Omaha girls will use social media – twitter, facebook, blogging, and web cam chats – to share their project with girls around the country. They hope to learn what other communities are doing and to share their successes and failures with fellow GREEN girls from peer Girls Inc. affiliates In the photo below Girls Inc. members Zhomentee, Talia, and Keyona accept the check from grant committee member Karen Cheng.
[From the Omaha Community Foundation website: The Youth in Philanthropy Initiative is a program designed to involve local youth leaders in philanthropy. Juniors and seniors in high schools from across the city serve as the grant committee for distributing funds established through Youth in Philanthropy.
Youth in Philanthropy is an endowed fund established through the Omaha Community Foundation from the proceeds of the sale of 3-D eyeglasses at the 2000 Millennium Lights celebration on the Gene Leahy Mall. A number of additional Omaha Community Foundation donors who support youth driven philanthropy also contribute to this fund.
Youth Leadership Omaha Ambassadors define the focus of the grant, determine review criteria, and select grant recipients. These high school juniors and seniors have examined issues they believe are most important to the youth of our city, discussed what topics interest them, and researched those areas. This effort helped the committee select “Teens Go Green” as the focus for the 2010 grants.]
