Global difference: Local girls supported by Athens Foundation grant

My Sister's Place, the Athens-based domestic-violence shelter, has worked for more than 30 years to empower women in the surrounding communities, and this year the shelter was the recipient of the first-ever Athens Foundation Women's Fund endowment.

The grant of $2,058 is being used in collaboration with Girl Power, a national campaign that's being conducted in Trimble, Federal Hocking and Amesville elementary and/or middle-school classrooms.

The program aims to empower young girls and adolescent females through diverse programming, according to program coordinator Kerri Shaw, an Athens County Children Services social worker based at Trimble Middle School.

"We target (at-risk) girls who are not involved in many activities, or girls who are good role models and show their strengths," she said. "We don't want this to be a stigmatized group."

The program has enjoyed a good retention rate, Shaw said, though some girls who stop participating in the program do so because they find other activities in which to take part.

Athens Foundation Director Susan Urano said the foundation, established in 1982, was proud to honor My Sister's Place with the first-ever women's fund endowment grant.

She said the fund was begun three years ago and will provide an annual grant to an organization that supports women and girls of Athens County.

"It's a fun project with an important focus," Urano said.

According to the Athens Foundation, one out of every five women in Athens County is living at or below the poverty level.

Girl Power was begun by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the Clinton administration, but funding was discontinued while President George W. Bush was in office.

My Sister's Place Executive Director Kate McGuckin said other sources of funding kept the program alive.
"Girls generally begin to fall behind in (the 8- to 14-year-old age group), academically and athletically," she said. "They generally start dating. ... Girl Power shows them they can do anything they want to do; they have the power to be good students and to excel in athletics, sciences and sports. They can pursue their dreams."

The after-school program is held once a week and includes age-appropriate education, Shaw said.

Elementary school girls discuss self-esteem, team building and participate in arts and crafts, while the older age group works on health and wellness, as well as safety issues.

"The goal of the program is to build a resiliency in the girls by educating them," Shaw said.

The Athens Foundation grant provides an opportunity for the Girl Power program, which is in its fifth year at Trimble Middle School, to educate the girls about sexual assault and teen dating violence.

An annual lock-in is open to all girls in fourth through eighth grades and to girls in neighboring school districts, Shaw said.

The girls take part in a self-defense workshop led by Cheryl Cesta, a local self-defense expert.

Shaw cited The Girl Effect, which is supported by several international and national foundations, that points to statistics that show educating girls leads to a better global community in which to live.

"The Girl Effect says if we invest in girls, it makes a global difference," Shaw said.

For instance, women who are educated more often than men invest back into their families and their communities.

According to the Web site, girls and women who earn incomes reinvest 90 percent of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40 percent for a man.

Research also shows that educated girls grow into educated women, who have healthier babies and are more likely to educate their children, the site says.