Travel down Green Street on a weekday afternoon, and you're bound to hear a whole bunch of giggling eminating from the community center. That's where the Capital Region branch of Girls Inc. meets after school, and the girls there seem to have a pretty good time.
“It's a great place to hang out with your friends!” Grace Milliken, a Girls Inc. veteran at age 10, said. “You can never get bored here.”
Milliken is among dozens of girls who attend the afterschool program, aimed at giving girls constructive fun while instilling life lessons in the little ladies.
“It's about giving girls an opportunity to try things that they have never done,” said program director Karen Billings.
Those things include field trips to awesome locations, media literacy classes to help girls understand and evaluate the messages they receive from TV and the internet, or dance classes where they can get their groove on.
“There are lots of arts and crafts, board games, and really fun programs and gym games,” 10-year-old Leanna Bastarache said.
There are a variety of eight-week classes offered through the program, like SMART, a science and math-based class aimed at getting girls thinking about in those fields.
When I visited, the girls were excited about their next class, which teaches them how to make their own clothes and accessories.
While there is a fee involved to get girls into the programs, Billings said that they never turn away prospective members because of money.
“We make it work for every family that walks through the door,” Billings said.
At the end of the day, it's all about giving girls the confidence in themselves to help them be the best they can be.
“We try to teach the girls to be strong, smart and bold,” Billings said. Indeed, the girls were happy to share how they embodied those three words.
“We learn to be strong and take care of ourselves,” Bastarache said. “Smart means we can think of a lot of different ways to do things. And you're bold if. . .” She trailed off, and Alyssa Neal jumped right in.
“Bold means big black letters!” she crowed.
