Girls Incorporated of Northern Alberta Business Plan – 2015/2019 Executive Summary 1. MISSION STATEMENT Empowering girls to realize their full potential through gender specific programming that inspires all girls to be strong, smart and bold. 2. VISION STATEMENT Empowered girls and an equitable Society® 3. VALUES AND IDEOLOGY We believe that by offering well developed research based programming and innovative opportunities to the girls and young women we serve, we are able to change the systems within which girls and young women function and create an equitable society where all women are inspired to be strong, smart and bold. We believe that girls have the same opportunity for success; education, personal achievement and access to services as anyone else and our organization will endeavor to deliver those opportunities to them. Girls have a right to be themselves and to resist gender stereotypes. The involvement of girls or young women in our programs will be a rewarding and positive experience designed to allow girls to grow with confidence, openness and appreciation for who they are, where they come from and what they are capable of. As a formal commitment to what we believe, we have created advocacy statements on the following; gender equity, diversity. Inclusion of girls with disabilities, advocacy, citizenship and reproductive freedom, substance use and abuse, HIV/AIDS, a safer world for girls, juvenile justice, child abuse and neglect, education, math, science and technology and economic independence. These advocacy statements are the base upon which all program and services are developed. 4. ORGANIZATIONAL DISTINCTIVES Our Girls Bill of Rights contains the guiding principles for all programs and services by the agency:

I have the right to be myself and to resist gender stereotypes I have the right to express myself with originality and enthusiasm I have the right to take risks, to strive freely, and to take pride in success I have the right to accept and appreciate my body I have the right to have confidence in myself and to be safe in the world I have the right to prepare for interesting work and economic independence

Girls Inc. seeks to do more for girls to strengthen them today and prepare them for critical roles tomorrow. It is this single minded goal and our ability to deliver best against that goal that makes Girls Inc. unique. We call this “enabling girls to be strong, smart and bold”. Girls Inc. is equipped to deliver best against this goal because of our ability to access unparalleled expertise in the development of research based programming. These programs encourage girls 6-18 yr. to take risks and master physical, intellectual, and emotional challenges. Gender specific programming and a passionate commitment to the goal, positions Girls Inc. as a key contributor to the success of young girls in the Northern Alberta region.

Girls Incorporated of Northern Alberta Business Plan – 2015/2019 A focus on girls is critical in order to be effective. Youth serving organizations play a crucial role in helping youth achieve their full potential. One of the strongest fundamentals to realizing one’s fullest potential is the degree to which a young child or adult receives quality guidance, nurturing and attention with special emphasis on ‘quality’. In today’s society a child’s gender remains a powerful predictor of the experiences and opportunities available and for this reason, youth programs must take gender into account to build skills and attitudes girls and boys need to succeed. While research shows that girls and boys are more alike than different, especially prior to puberty, family, cultural and societal expectations tend to shape opportunities and experiences that impact girls’ choices and opportunities pursued. We at Girls Inc. know girls are as capable. Despite similar capabilities, girls lag behind boys in many areas, especially those critical to economic well being and leadership. When one considers that most single parent families are headed by women and that almost half the people entering the work force are likely to be women, the need for the support and nurturing of girls is obvious. This urgent need remains the reason Girls Inc. exists. To enable girls to be strong, smart and bold. 5. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Our goal is the Prevention and Intervention of behavioral, social and emotional problems in the young girls aged 6-18 whom we serve and all of whom have these elements of risk in their live. By providing young girls with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed and by building and promoting a fair and equitable society, we can positively influence the lives of those we serve. Demographics

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Girls Incorporated of Northern Alberta Business Plan – 2015/2019 Objectives ❖ Increase revenue by $300,000.

Strategies ❖ Secure corporate funding ❖ Secure funding from foundation /other funding organization ❖ Diversity funding base to reduce dependence on gaming revenue ❖ Hire fund development position ❖ Hold fundraising event yearly to generate revenue entertainment

Tactics ❖ Match program goals with corporate philosophy ❖ Match priorities of funding agencies with specific programs ❖ Look for funding sources to cover long term operational costs

Objectives ❖ Increase awareness of Girls Inc.

Strategies ❖ Make Girls Inc. the ‘expert’ on girls and young women in the region ❖ Develop (2) signature Girls Inc. event ❖ Make Girls Inc. a high profile organization that woman want to work with and for ❖ Partner with other organizations of similar philosophy

Tactics ❖ Work within schools and other agencies to promote philosophy ❖ Review existing functions find one that uniquely promotes our values ❖ Be very visible in the community with promotional material and programs ❖ Use services of communications specialist ❖ Women’s crisis center, etc

Objectives ❖ Expand programming

Strategies ❖ Partner with other female focused organizations with RMWB i.e. Kinettes, Girls Guides, Tar

Sand Betties, Wood Buffalo, Wood Buffalo Women in Networking Tactics ❖ Match programming with similar programs that complement each other

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Girls Incorporated of Northern Alberta Business Plan – 2015/2019 Objectives ❖ Continue to expand to outlying communities:

● Fort MacKay ● Fort Chipewyan ● Anzac

● Conklin ● Janvier

Strategies ❖ To form partnerships with other groups in outlying areas, ‘train the trainer’ (i.e. Fort Chipewyan-

Helping Hands) Tactics ❖ Secure aboriginal revenue for programming ❖ Develop relationship with Northland School Division

Objectives ❖ Expand co-operating agreements with other organizations within the province

Strategies ❖ Train the trainers for interested agencies (i.e. Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Health Authority

Wainwright, Alberta Military Base) Tactics ❖ Add section on website with co-operative agreements option

Objectives ❖ Offer more curriculum based programming: Media Smart, Friendly PEERsuasion, Economic

Literacy, Allies In Action

Strategies ❖ Work with schools to incorporate curriculum based programs in schools

Tactics ❖ Letters to School Councilors, Teachers, School Boards

Objectives ❖ Expand number of schools served with RMWB: 15 schools by 2019

Strategies ❖ Develop relationship with Public and Separate School Board.

Tactics ❖ Work with School Boards, Teachers, Principal, Counselors

Objectives

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Girls Incorporated of Northern Alberta Business Plan – 2015/2019 ❖ Improve effectiveness of existing programs

Strategies ❖ Develop and use outcome measurements model for all programs ❖ Measure existing programs to ensure the delivery of highest possible standards of service ❖ Offer and encourage staff development and training opportunities

Tactics ❖ Use Girls Inc. material and guidelines ❖ Survey of parents/agencies/guardians/schools on perceived outcomes ❖ Use local training opportunities in conjunction with Girls Inc. training. Send staff to Ontario

affiliates for shadow training ❖ Send staff to National conference for training

Objectives ❖ Optimize human resources (staff, volunteer, board)

Strategies ❖ Define job description to include very specific goals and accountability ❖ Salary increase to achievement of goals ❖ Focus resources to key strategies and tactics ❖ Assign clear timelines to executing strategies and tactics

Tactics ❖ Advertise volunteer opportunities and tie in with philosophy of the organization ❖ Put dollar value on volunteer and Board efforts ❖ Advertise community commitment to program delivery

Objectives ❖ To find a venue for after school/weekend programming/summer program

Strategies ❖ Secure a classroom in a school/church to accommodate after school programming/weekend

programming. ❖ To find a venue for July and August for Summer programming ❖ Find a sponsor to cover costs of venue

Tactics ❖ Contact schools/churches/other agencies, i.e. Justin Slade Foundation ❖ Contact agencies FCSS, Thickwood Arena, Lions Clubhouse, MacDonald Island Recreational

Center ❖ Check locations in Thickwood, Abasand, Gregorie, Beaconhill

Objectives ❖ To maintain a vehicle for travel to program sites

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Girls Incorporated of Northern Alberta Business Plan – 2015/2019 Strategies ❖ Acknowledge a sponsor who purchased vehicle (Bouchier Group)

Tactics ❖ To find company to donate revenue for vehicle maintenance, gas and insurance

Objectives ❖ Develop program for prevention of violence for indigenous girls

Strategies ❖

Tactics ❖ Develop network of indigenous organizations for program development, ie. Nistawoyou,

Athabasca Tribal Council ❖ Obtain Aboriginal revenue to fund development and delivery

Why Girls Only?  Girls in the U.S. and Canada today face vast and often intersecting challenges such as bullying, sexual harassment, barriers to academic and career success, unique health disparities, limited expectations and stereotypes, to name a few. Further inequalities associated with race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, and socio-economic status only exacerbate these issues. Girls also have strengths, positive experiences and potential to build upon. There is a tremendous need for programming that focuses solely on girls and young women, especially from low-income communities, in order to address the hardships they encounter every day while leveraging their capabilities.

Girls Inc. inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold through direct service and advocacy. Our comprehensive approach to whole girl development provides girls programming in healthy living, academic enrichment, and life skills instruction. A combination of long-lasting mentoring relationships, a pro-girl environment and research-based programming equips girls to lead fulfilling and productive lives, break the cycle of poverty, and become role models in their community.

The unique environment - explicitly pro-girl, girls-only, and physically, socially and emotionally safe - confirms that girls can succeed. In a pro-girl environment, girls’ strengths and opportunities are celebrated, girls develop positive relationships with girl peers and women mentors. While girls may lack opportunities for leadership development in mixed-gender environments, in girls-only spaces, all leadership positions within the organization are filled by girls. At Girls Inc., girls are taken seriously for the persons they are now and the women they will become.

SUMMARY  ● Girls today face real and profound challenges to their well-being and success, including

sexual harassment and violence, inequitable access to education, mental health issues, teen pregnancy, and limiting stereotypes and messages.  

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Girls Incorporated of Northern Alberta Business Plan – 2015/2019 ● Girls living in poverty are at increased risk of chronic health and psychological disorders,

higher rates of violence and crime, lower rates of high school completion, and limited access to economic and social capital necessary to thrive.  

● Girls-only spaces are designed with the unique needs of girls in mind, provide girls physical and emotional safety, increase girls’ self esteem and positive decision making, create social support networks, and allow girls to discover their strengths and their voices.  

● Pro-girl, girls-only spaces nurture and celebrate the strengths girls bring to the table and confirm that girls can succeed. In pro-girl, girls-only environments, girls’ concerns are valued and respected and all leadership positions are filled by girls, allowing for girls to develop and thrive as leaders.  

● Girls Inc. focuses our efforts on those girls who could benefit the most from the comprehensive Girls Inc. experience: girls in low-income and under resourced communities. In doing so, we equip girls with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to improve their lives, break the cycle of poverty, and strengthen their communities as a whole 

GIRLS TODAY Frequently face bullying, sexual harassment, violence, and other forms of trauma.

Girls and young women experience many forms of violence and trauma. Girls are more likely to experience bullying than their male peers, both online and on school grounds and are also at a higher risk than male peers to experience dating violence.1 Young women are also at especially high risk for forced intercourse, with 40% of rape survivors first forced to have intercourse before age 18, including 12% before age 11.2 Girls who experience dating violence, are at high risk for substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and other mental and physical disorders.3

Experience inequitable access to education and economic opportunities.

While girls and women today are graduating from high school and college at higher rates than in previous decades,4 girls continue to lack equitable education and economic opportunities. Girls of color are less likely than white female students to graduate high school on time4 and are more likely to attend under-resourced schools and be involved in the Juvenile Justice System than white peers.5 Girls in foster care and girls who are homeless are especially vulnerable to trauma, have higher rates of teen pregnancy, and are at a greater risk for being “pushed out” of school than their peers.5

Barriers to success persist as girls enter into adulthood. Women, especially women of color, are underrepresented in rapidly growing, high-paying sectors6 and are typically paid less than men. If current trends continue, women will not reach pay parity until 2059, black women are not projected to reach parity until 2124 and Hispanic women until 2248.7

Have distinct health concerns

Mental health, teen pregnancy, and physical inactivity are of specific concern to girls and young women. Adolescent girls are more likely than male peers to have experienced a depressive episode8 and to have considered attempting suicide.1 Girls who experience traumatic incidents, such as sexual violence and bullying, are at greater risk for mental health issues.

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Girls Incorporated of Northern Alberta Business Plan – 2015/2019 The United States has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the developed world.9 In 2013, nearly 1 in every 20 teen girls in the U.S. ages 15-19 became pregnant, and Latina and Black teen girls were more than twice as likely as White teen girls to become pregnant.10 Girls also tend to have lower rates of physical activity than boys, especially during middle and high school years. Physical activity and sports participation benefit youth in many ways, yet, girls are less likely to be physically active and participate in sports than their male peers.1

Encounter harmful stereotypes in their daily lives and in the media

Starting at a young age, girls receive messages about the sexualization and objectification of their bodies, which can cause them to believe that their appearance matters more than their internal qualities.11 Media messages also pressure girls into believing they should conform to a specific, unrealistic body type, which can cause girls to have low self-esteem.

Gender stereotypes also prevent girls from achievement in certain fields. Girls are often thought to have less aptitude in math than boys and are often discouraged from pursuing fields that require advanced mathematics skills.12 These and other attitudes place artificial limits on both girls and boys, as girls and boys are more biologically and psychologically similar than different, yet are socialized to believe otherwise.13

GIRLS GROWING UP IN LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES

Girls living in low-income and under-resourced communities are uniquely exposed to the limits and dangers of poverty. Nearly 1 in 5 girls in the U.S. lives in poverty.14 Living in poverty negatively impacts the health, safety, education, and overall well-being of girls, making it difficult to break the cycle of poverty later in life. Child poverty disproportionately affects girls of color. In 2016, 27% of Hispanic children and 31% of Black children lived in poverty, compared to only 11% of White children.14 And across all age and race groups, women and girls in the United States experience the highest rates of poverty.15

Girls growing up in low-income communities experience greater health challenges than their wealthier peers. Children in poverty are significantly more likely to be food insecure,16 putting them at an increased risk of chronic health and psychological disorders, as well as internalized experiences of depression, anxiety, and poor self-esteem.17 Children in poverty are also less likely than their wealthier peers to have health insurance18 and have fewer opportunities than higher income peers to be physically active.19 And adolescent girls in poverty are more likely than wealthier peers to become pregnant.9

Girls living in neighborhoods characterized by concentrated poverty are also exposed to higher rates of violence and crime. Living in a poor household more than doubles the rate of violent victimization compared to high-income households.20 Growing up in areas with high levels of gendered violence negatively impacts girls’ development, mental health, educational attainment, and long-term financial stability.21

Girls from low-income families are five times more likely to drop out of high school than their financially secure peers.22 Those girls who do graduate high school and go on to higher education are more likely to have student loan debt upon graduating from college and are more likely to experience financial struggles due to student loan repayment.23 Without the social and economic capital afforded to their

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Girls Incorporated of Northern Alberta Business Plan – 2015/2019 higher income peers, girls in poverty often grow up to be women in poverty, perpetuating this cycle into further generations.

PRO-GIRL, GIRLS-ONLY ENVIRONMENTS AS A SOLUTION

The Girls Inc. Experience and our girls-only environments equip girls with the tools they need to combat the struggles faced in their daily lives to grow up strong, smart, and bold. As part of the 2016-2020 Strategic Plan, Girls Inc. aims to increase the number of girls served in low-income communities, as girls from low-income and under-resourced communities experience the damaging impacts of poverty and typically lack access to opportunities during the out-of-school time. The pro-girl, girls-only environment is a critical piece of the Girls Inc. Experience, as girls-only programming has been proven to positively impact adolescent girls’ overall well-being. This type of environment provides a safe, supporting space where girls can resist gender stereotypes, take risks, and discover the power in being a girl.

Girls who participate in girls-only programs express that improvement in self-esteem was one of the most significant factors in their experience, as they feel comfortable and less judgment in these environments as compared to mixed-gender environments. Girls stated that these programs helped them to create social support networks, build new friendships, and develop mentoring relationships with girls and women who have gone through similar experiences.24 In doing so, girls programs can create a space where young women feel safe, which is essential to empowerment.25

Girls-only spaces help girls live healthier, more productive lives. Girls who participate in girls-only programs have demonstrated outcomes such as improved problem-solving, conflict resolution, critical thinking, anti-bullying, and refusal skills26 and increased levels of physical activity.24 By aiding girls to make healthy choices, girls programs also prevent risky behaviors amongst adolescent girls as well as promote overall physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Girls groups and programs enhance girls’ leadership abilities. While girls may lack opportunities for leadership development in mixed-gender environments, in girls-only spaces, all leadership positions within the organization are filled by girls. Program leaders and mentors within girl-serving organizations also tend to be women, providing girls with female role models. When exposed to a variety of female leaders and leadership styles, girls better understand their leadership potential and are more likely to define themselves as leaders.25, 27

Girls state that they desire spaces where their voices can be heard. In girls-only spaces, girls’ concerns are valued and respected. Girls express frustration with their communities’ inability to meet their needs and want to find a place to have a voice in matters that concern them, without being “shut-out” by male perspectives.28 Girls also say that in all girls groups, it is easier to talk about certain issues, to look how they want, and to be themselves.29 Girls-only programming meets these needs by providing such a space where girls’ perspectives are welcomed and embraced.

Historically, mixed gender programming within youth-serving organizations have not been designed with the unique needs of girls in mind.30 By nature, girls-only programs are designed to address girls’ concerns in a safe, supportive manner. Such spaces allow girls to resist and escape societal barriers such as prejudice, discrimination, expectations from others, peer pressure, and violence. Through emphasizing girls’ self-esteem, mental and physical well-being, and leadership potential, pro-girl, girls-only environments equip girls to navigate gender, social, and economic barriers in today’s world.

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THE GIRLS INC. DIFFERENCE

Due to limited resources and a time-intensive program model, Girls Inc. has chosen to focus efforts on those that can most benefit from the comprehensive Girls Inc. experience: girls living in low-income and under-resourced communities. Girls Inc. is uniquely positioned to equip girls to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers. Knowing that girls in poverty lack equitable and safe opportunities in the out-of-school time,31 Girls Inc. provides a pro-girl, girls-only environment where girls can access the resources and supports they need. In partnership with schools and at local organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada, we provide long-lasting mentoring relationships, a pro-girl environment, and research-based programming to equip girls to grow up healthy, educated and independent and break the cycle of poverty.

It is critical that we invest in girls’ futures. In doing so, we will not only improve the lives of girls, but the communities in which they reside as a whole. Girls today face many barriers to success, from violence, to health disparities, inequitable opportunities, and biases, yet these challenges also present opportunities. Society typically does not view girlhood as a position of strength or agency. However, pro-girl, girls-only environments at Girls Inc. encourage girls to embrace the power of being a girl and to grow up strong, smart, and bold.

END NOTES

1. Kann, L., et al. (2016). Youth risk behavior surveillance, United States - 2015. Surveillance Summaries MMWR, 65(6). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/ yrbs/pdf/2015/ss6506_updated.pdf

2. Brieding, M. J., Smith, S.G., Basile, M. L., et al. (2014) Prevalence and characteristics of sexual

violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence victimization - National intimate partner and sexual violence survey, United States, 2011. MMWR Surveillance Summaries. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6308a1.htm?s_ cid=ss6308a1_e

3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control,

Division of Violence Prevention. (2016). Teen dating violence. Atlanta, GA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/Teen_dating_violence.html

4. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2015). Digest of

Education Statistics. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/2015menu_tables. asp

5. National Women’s Law Center. (2017). Let her learn: Stopping school pushout. Washington,

DC: Author. Retrieved from https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/final_nwlc_Gates_OverviewKeyFindings.pdf

6. Landivar, Liana Christin. (2013), Disparities in STEM employment by sex, race, and Hispanic

origin. American Community Survey Reports (ACS-24). Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved from https://fortunedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/acs-24.pdf

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7. Institute for Women’s Policy Research. (2016). Pay Equity & Discrimination. Washington, DC; Author. Retrieved from https://iwpr.org/issue/employment-education-economic-change/pay-equity-discrimination/

8. National Institute of Mental Health. (2015). Major depression among adolescents. Retrieved

from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/major-depression-among-adolescents.shtml

9. Kearney, M. S. & Levine,P. B. (2012). Why Is the teen birth rate in the United States so high

and why does it matter?. Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, 26(2): 141-63. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/papers/w17965

10. Kost, K., Maddow-Zimet, I., & Arpaia, A. (2017). Pregnancies, births, and abortions among

adolescents and young women in the United States, 2013: National Trends by Age, Race and Ethnicity. New York: Guttmacher Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.guttmacher.org/report/us-adolescent-pregnancy-trends-2013

11. Ward, L. M. & Aubrey, J. S. (2017). Watching gender: How stereotypes in movies and on TV

impact kids’ development. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense. Retrieved from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ research/watching-gender

12. Kane, J. M., & Mertz, J. E. (2012). Debunking myths about gender and mathematics

performance. Notices of the AMS, 59(1), 10-21. Retrieved from http://www.ams.org/notices/201201/rtx120100010p.pdf

13. Girls Inc. (1992). Past the pink and blue predicament: Freeing the next generation from sex

stereotypes. New York, NY: Author.

14. Semega, J. L., Fontenot, K.R., & Kollar, M.A. (2017). U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, P60-259, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2016. Washington D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2017/demo/P60-259.pdf

15. Re: Gender. (2014). Gender Lens on Poverty. Retrieved from:

http://files.ctctcdn.com/64b59e24001/ ac8179c4-89ac-4b75-b23a-25ac3329daac.pdf

16. Coleman-Jensen, A., Rabbitt, M., Gregory, C., & Singh, A. (2016). Household Food Security in the United States in 2015. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. Retrieved from https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/err215/err-215.pdf

 17. American Psychological Association. (2012). Effects of poverty, hunger and homelessness on 

children and youth. Retrieved from American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/pi/families/poverty.aspx  

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Girls Incorporated of Northern Alberta Business Plan – 2015/2019 18. Wolfe, B. (2015). Reducing health disparities by poverty status. Madison, WI: Institute for 

Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved from https://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/policybriefs/ pdfs/PB4-ProvenPoliciesToReduceHealthDisparities.pdfm  

 19. Frederick, C.B., Snellman, K., and Putnam, R.D. (2014). Increasing socioeconomic disparities in 

adolescent obesity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(4): 1338- 1342. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/111/4/1338.long  

 20. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2014). Household poverty and nonfatal 

violent victimization, 2008-2012. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ hpnvv0812.pdf  

 21. Popkin, S. J., Bogle, M., Zweig, J. M., Priya, S. D., Breslav, L., & Michie, M. (2015). Let Girls Be Girls. 

Washington: DC, Urban Institute. Retrieved from: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/2000490-Let-Girls-Be-Girls.pdf  

22. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972-2009. Washington, DC: Author. http://nces.ed.gov/ pubs2012/2012006.pdf  

 23. American Association of University Women. (2017). Deeper in debt: women and student loans. 

Washington, DC; Author. Retrieved from http://www.aauw.org/research/deeper-in-debt/   

24. British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health. (2012). I love it because you could just be yourself: A study of Girls’ perspectives on girls’ groups and healthy living. Vancouver, BC: British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health. Retrieved from http://bccewh.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/BCCEWH_girls_perspectives_final_report.pdf  

 25. Rorem, A. & Bajaj, M. (2012). Cultivating Young Women’s Leadership for a Kinder, Braver World. 

Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. Retrieved from: http://repository.usfca.edu/cgi/ viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=soe_fac  

 26. Williams, R. L., & Ferber, A.L. (2008). Facilitating smart-girl: Feminist pedagogy in service learning 

in action. Feminist Teacher, 19(1): 47-67. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ820266   

27. Hoyt, M. & Kennedy, C. (2008). Leadership and Adolescent Girls: A Qualitative Study of Leadership Development. American Journal of Community Psychology, 42 (3-4): 203-219. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/ s10464-008-9206-8  

 28. Phillips, L. M. (2002). Speak for yourself: What girls say about what girls need. Chicago, IL: Girl’s 

Best Friend Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.issuelab.org/resource/speak-for-yourself-what-girls-say-about-what-girls-need.html  

 

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Girls Incorporated of Northern Alberta Business Plan – 2015/2019 29. Girl Scouts Research Institute. (2002). The ten emerging truths: New directions for girls 11-17. 

New York, NY: Author. Retrieved from https://gshistory.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/ten-emerging-truths.pdf  

 30. McLaughlin, M. (1999). Community counts: How youth organizations matter for youth 

development. Washington, DC: Public Education Network. Retrieved from https://gardnercenter.stanford.edu/sites/default/ files/Community%20Counts.pdf  

31. Deutsch, N. L. (2017). Social Class and Socioeconomic Status. In K. Peppler (1), The Sage 

Encyclopedia of Out-of-School Learning (pp. 711-716). New York, NY: SAGE.

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