Neighborhood Center for Families - Girls Empowerment Movement Program

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

ABSTRACT The Girls Empowerment Movement (GEM) is a group dedicated to inspiring, encouraging, and empowering young disadvantaged girls ages 12-18 to take full advantage of their talents, academic interests, career pursuits, and potential for healthy relationships. The West Orange Neighborhood Center for Families offers the Table Talk experience as a part of GEM where girls embrace the opportunity to connect and discuss issues affecting their daily lives. They are afforded the opportunity to talk openly and support one another, promoting problem-solving techniques and encouraging family-like dialogue and interaction. The group’s goal is to help girls believe in their self-worth, realize their potential for greatness, embrace their uniqueness, and prepare them to lead successful, independent, fulfilling lives. The girls are exposed to numerous opportunities and experiences. Professionals from all ventures are invited to be speakers, field trips expose students to numerous arts, and girls give back to their community through clean-up efforts or service to seniors, younger students, or those who are sick. The girls understand that they are leaders in the community — that they’re looked up to and they demonstrate to all striving to be just like them what it is to be a jewel emerging from the rough.