Apr
01
by Perry Rogers, Director of Kid City
I have become convinced that the most effective hours of my entire work year may be the few hours I spend each year helping our girls prepare their applications for Girls First. Girls First has a dramatic and lasting impact on the girls it serves.
It is hard to know where to start in describing the impact that Girls First has on its girls. Part of the reason for Girls First’s success is that the girls themselves love it. I always know when an event is coming up because our girls repeatedly (repeatedly!) check to make sure they will have a ride to the activity. The girls themselves might tell you that the best part of Girls First is the variety of camp activities. They love the African dance instruction, the swimming lessons and, of course, the trip to the water park. Others, however, most enjoy the chance to practice their independence (sleeping in a dorm! eating in a college dining hall!) while under the nurturing supervision of the older girls who serve as counselors. For some of the girls, the monthly activities during the school year, where they can catch up with their friends and counselors from camp, learn new athletic skills and simply play, are the highlights of their participation in Girls First.
I love recommending girls to Girls First because of its long-term commitment to its girls. The women who run the program take a personal interest in each girl who attends camp. Their vision is to help the shyest girl, the feistiest girl, the girl faced with tremendous adversity and build her into a strong, capable, young woman — a young woman who has confidence in her abilities as well as the self-discipline necessary to create a successful future for herself, and indeed for the younger girls coming after her. I know that, when I recommend an eight-year old who is struggling because of weak academic skills or family issues, Girls First is going to commit to building that child’s confidence by teaching her new skills, helping her develop a positive body image, and making her a part of a community that makes her feel special. I know that, as that child enters her teen years, Girls First is going to be there to help develop her leadership skills, by giving her opportunities to stretch and lending her support when she struggles.
I constantly worry about how our elementary girls will deal with adolescence. Will they lose their pride in achievement? Will their body image be skewed? Will they lose focus on their goal to go to college and start the career that they want for themselves? However, I feel that those of our girls who develop a long-term involvement in Girls First are “safe.” Just by spending so much time on a college campus through participation in Girls First, these girls develop an expectation that college will be a part of their future. I know that these girls are surrounded by a community of both peers and adults that celebrates achievement each month, a community that helps them negotiate the difficulties of growing up by giving them a positive vision of who they can become, a community that provides both the tools and confidence to overcome the challenges of staying true to one’s own hopes and goals.
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