Recruitment Update!

Beginning in March 2007, GENaustin staff members along with interns and volunteers visited every AISD middle school during lunch periods and after school, surveying girls' interest in participating in clubGEN.  Staff, interns and volunteers have continued recruitment by attending summer transition camps for incoming 6th graders.  So far, over 3,000 girls have expressed interest in joining clubGEN!  You can help us meet our goal to expand the clubGEN program, by providing clubGENs for all of these enthusiastic girls. You can make the difference by contributing today! 

 

GENaustin is Moving!

We are very excited to announce that on July 18, we will be relocating our headquarters to the new Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. Opening in Fall 2007, the Ann Richards School is the first all-girls public school in Austin, and we are pleased to join forces with them. For more information about our new location, please visit the Ann Richards School website. Our new contact information will be available soon and we will be having an open house on Tuesday, October 16th- so mark your calendars! Also, please visit our online wish list for our new office space to check out the many ways to contribute!

 

Original Voice Educator Kits are Available for Download

oriGENal Voice, GENaustin's program that seeks to motivate and educate girls on how to promote social change, is now more accessible than ever to GENaustin supporters. The program currently aims to increase awareness for parents, youth-related organizations, educators and policy makers about tobacco-free living for girls. This is done through activities, fact sheets and tips from our Educator's Kit, all of which are now available to download for FREE! You can click on the tabs at the top of the web page to access both information about the harms of tobacco and the benefits of being tobacco-free, as well as the downloadable items from the Educator's Kit.

 

 

Summer Programs

GENaustin's fun, engaging programs do not end with the school year! We have summer programs planned for AISD middle school transition camps and at Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center that will have girls feeling empowered and motivated!

 

Transition Camps

Transition camps occur at middle schools in order to introduce new students to their new school and make them comfortable and excited about the transition from elementary school. These camps also serve as a great opportunity to introduce the clubGEN programming to the incoming 6th grade girls.  clubGEN is an important component to entering the 6th grade because it gives girls a safe outlet to learn, grow, and express themselves during this often stressful time in their lives.

 

 

Gardner Betts

Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center is a local  juvenile detention center. GENaustin will be leading girls at Gardner Betts in numerous activities centerd around media literacy and personal exploration of their body image in order to help them develop critical thinking skills.  The girls explore ways in which women are depicted in the media and reflect on the messages sent to their communities (and ultimately themselves) about standards of beauty and success.  They will also explore personal relationships that influence how they perceive themselves and their own inner beauty.  Finally, through writing, discussion, and role plays the girls will examine how cultural and relational messages impact self and body image.  The curriculum used for this activity is a research-based curriculum proven to positively impact girls' attitudes towards their bodies.

 

Why does GENaustin curriculum focus upon body image for girls?  More than 80% of girls hate their bodies by the time they reach age 18, which results in unnecessary weight loss control, eating disorders and depression.

 

Did You Know?

We are working hard to empower girls, so that they won't become a part of these startling statistics:

• More than half of teenage girls are, or think they should be, on diets (Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc.).
• 83% of girls grades 8-11 have experienced some form of sexual harassment at school (American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, 2001).
• 64% of girls ages 13-18 who have been in a relationship have felt like their boyfriend or girlfriend made them feel bad or embarrassed about themselves (National Center for Victims of Crime, 2003).
• In a recent study, girls grades 9-12 who experienced physical and sexual dating violence were 2.6 times more likely than non-abused girls to have contracted an STD (Pediatrics. Vol. 16, Issue 2, 2005).
• Between 2001 and 2006, the number of girls ages 10-19 who were prescribed antipsychotic drugs increased more than 117% (Medco Health Solutions, 2007).
• The number of female juvenile offenders in custody increased 52% from 1991 to 2003 (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2006).
• Approximately 800,000 girls become pregnant every year (Advocates For Youth).
• Texas has one of the highest teen birth rates in the country (Guttmacher Institute, 2006).

Please see our website for more information on the state of girls today at www.genaustin.org