Summer Review and Fall Updates
Join us in Celebrating our Summer Participants and Welcoming the Fall Season!
This summer, we hosted a variety of programs & workshops including:
- Teen Mentor Program, Dearborn STEM Academy
- BCYF Perkins Community Center
- GROW (Girls Reflecting Our World)
- My Life My Choice
- BCYF Blackstone Community Center
- Boch Center - Wang Theatre
Summer End Celebration at Simmons University!
On August 12th from 5-7pm, Girls' Leap hosted our Summer End graduation celebration at Simmons University, welcoming over 70 community members to celebrate our Teen Mentors. The Mentors presented their Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) projects, demonstrated their learnings about qualitative and quantitative research and their findings. Groups were given free rein to determine what they thought was important to research about social media's impact on youth mental health. Most projects looked at unrealistic beauty standards set by social media and the impact it has on youth, especially on Black and Brown girls and gender expansive youth. This work continues into the Fall as the Teens work with experts to create workshop curriculum for middle school, high school, and parent/youth worker audiences.
Summer Field Trips!
Martha's Vineyard
A group of Teen Mentors joined Girls' LEAP for a visit to Martha's Vineyard where mentors took a tour of the island, rented bikes, and visited the beach. They learned of the rich African American history on Martha's Vineyard and went to Inkwell Beach. A Suffolk County DA's Office Reinvestment grant supported this trip which was the first visit to Martha's Vineyard for over 90% of the Teens.
Harlem, NYC
Thanks to the City of Boston's Small Community grants, Girls' LEAP was able to bring a group of Teen Mentors to New York City to take a historic tour of Harlem, which sparked many discussions about Shirley Chisholm and comparisons of Harlem to Dorchester. The teens also participated in a painting event and ate at an historic restaurant, Sylvia's, Queen of Soul Food. It was an eye-opening experience as only 1 Teen Mentor had previously traveled to New York.
Keep the good work going!
Support Girls' LEAP
Girls' LEAP is proud to announce that we have been selected to receive a transformative Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation 2024 Local Impact grant!
“We are honored to receive the support from NBCU Foundation to help us achieve our strategic goals and expand our capacity to serve more youth in Greater Boston,” says May Vaughn, Girls’ LEAP Executive Director. “We are particularly grateful for their commitment to serving the community and to helping us promote the essential services we offer girls and non-binary youth.” This grant will support our ability to be successful in our mission of providing critical services and early intervention that restores and maintains the safety, health, wellness, and sense of belonging for Boston’s girls, young women, and gender-expansive youth.
Looking to Get Involved?
Interested in hosting a Girls' LEAP program at your community center or school? Get in touch with our program director, Jennyde Dessius, at jennyde@girlsleap.org!
Interested in working with Girls' LEAP? We are looking for Lead Teachers and Teen Mentors! Email leapmail@girlsleap.org with your cover letter and resume or to request more information!
About Girls’ LEAP
Girls’ LEAP has over 25 years experience delivering out-of-school programming to all girls and gender-expansive youth in the Greater Boston area. Our mission is to disrupt the violence that surrounds girls by amplifying their voices, emboldening their courage, and providing critical life and self-defense skills. Our programs, for youth ages 8-22, include physical self-defense and social-emotional skill building. Through physical self-defense training, youth recognize and develop their physical strength. They build confidence to use their voices, set boundaries, create healthy relationships, and develop as leaders. We believe the synergy between physical and emotional intelligence can be transformative in the lives of our program graduates.
"Every day, we are privileged to learn with and from the youth at Girls' LEAP. They teach us, challenge us, and amaze us. We thank them, and we thank you. It is your support and engagement that makes Girls' LEAP possible."
-Girls' LEAP Team