As summer programming comes to an end, we can't help but look back and say WOW. Last year we were scrambling, along with the rest of the world, trying to maintain programming as usual. But Covid had other plans and quickly normalized the word "virtual" for us all. We took on the challenge and ended 2020 on a positive note. Click here for our 2020 Annual Report.

We are still cleaning up glitter from our fabuloius Virtual Strong, Smart, & Bold Happy Hour! With support from Philips 66, and many other sponsors, we were able to raise $270K!!! If you weren't able to attend you can watch the event in it's entirety here.

If you have been following us on social media you've seen our girls living their best lives at Camp Smart and Be BOLD Institute. We are so grateful for our volunteers and partners who made these camps a success! Read all about it below.
Girls Inc. offers a variety of research-based programs led by trained facilitators. The curriculum is age-appropriate, interactive, and project based. Programs are developed in cooperation with school instructors and administrators to address specific needs of each campus.
Congratulations, Graduates!
We celebrated our Chinquapin High School graduating seniors with dinner, gifts, and a whole lot of smiles. Thanks to our gracious Board members, each senior received gifts from their wishlist and 3 girls received a $500 scholarship. The future is bright!!
Summer Programs
What a difference a year makes! We were able to offer in-person, as well as virtual, camp to our girls (all ages) this year. It was a joy to be face-to-face again...masks and all! We served a total of 41 girls, 31 in-person and 10 virtual for Camp Smart and 39 girls for Be BOLD Institute; 33 of the 39 were brand new to Girls Inc.! So many partners made camp a blast!
Just to name a few...

CAMP SMART (7-12 yr olds)

Imagine Science is a partnership between four leading national youth organizations to bridge the STEM gap by igniting the imagination of historically underrepresented youth. Through Imagine Science, Girls Inc. of Greater Houston invited Houston’s 4-H Club to lead an adventure to Mars! The Mars Base Camp STEM Challenge allowed our girls to explore space careers as well as engineering, mechanics, and physics as they attempted to safely land a space ship on Mars.
 
We piloted Data Detectives Club, which combines reading a time-traveling adventure to learn about viruses of the past with examining modern-day data related to the coronavirus pandemic. in the end, the girls created PSA's reminding us to wash our hands.

The Girls Inc. National program My Girlfriend Zelda allows girls to learn about the human body and how it works. The Zelda dolls open up to show the heart, lungs, digestive system, and kidneys! Here our girls have scrubbed up and are prepared to launch their careers in surgery.

We went on an amazing field trip to Children’s Museum Houston! They built creations at the Inventor’s Workshop, solved geometry puzzles by folding a buckyball, and went wild in Kidtropolis, where kids run the city!

After learning about light and color, our girls spent the morning at The Color Factory, which is an interactive art museum that lets visitors explore color with all their senses. Did you play with a Lite Bright as a child? The Color Factory offered our girls an entire room reminiscent of that vintage toy.
BE BOLD INSTITUTE (13-18 yr olds)

HAULThe Houston Area Urban League ID program encouraged and positioned each girl to academically succeed through two writing workshops that centered on defining their journey and advocating for their self through an ID session called “BRUISED.” Girls tapped into their academic competitiveness for a 10 minute writing challenge. The top four writers received a $25 gift-card. 

Comp-U-Dopt - Their programs serve to eliminate limited access to computers,facilitate growth in digital literacy skills, and support youth in our communities. Perfect match! Our girls learned the parts of a computer modem by taking it apart and putting it back together from memory. Each girl who completed the program received a personal refurbished laptop from Comp-U-Dopt.

WITS The Writers In The Schools partnership included four virtual and in-person writing workshops led by two amazing WITS writers. The writing themes included female empowerment, self-love, and acceptance.

SheSpace - The girls received red carpert treatment while touring SheSpace. SheSpace is a work and meeting place where bold women gather to find community, amplify ambition, and propel their dreams forward. They didn't want to leave!

Family/Parent Engagement This year we hosted our first family engagement workshop series! Families received "Family Night" kits and were entered into a raffle contest. In collaboration with JP Morgan, Writers In The Schools, and Volunteers of America we held several workshops covering: financial literacy, writing, community engagement and tips for supporting a Strong, Smart and Bold Girls Inc. girl!
We are looking forward to an exciting Fall semester! We are expanding into Alief ISD and continuing our partnership with Grace United Methodist Church to offer "open to community" programming. Follow us on social media for updates!
Volunteer Corner
This summer we had some awesome volunteers from various companies decorate and assemble boxes for our Camp Smart and Be BOLD Institute. These wonderful employees from Crestwood, Enterprise, and Credera made a guest appearance at the office to help decorate summer camp kits. It was great to see them tap into their inner child and be as creative as they can be. The boxes were a hit and our girls truly loved them.

Want to help support us for the fall school year? Please see our list of needs in the picture below.

If you would like to volunteer for the Fall semester, please don't miss our Volunteer Orientation on August 27th Sign up here Volunteer Orientation
If you or your organization is interested in volunteering with GIGH, please contact
Juno at juno@girlsinc-houston.org or call 713.802.2260
Are you interested in becoming a mentor with GIGH? Reach out to
Suzanne at suzanne@girlsinc-houston.org or call 713.802.2260
We are excited to announce Girls Inc. of Greater Houston is participating in the
2021 Houston Open Birdies for Charity Contest presented by THINK Neurology for Kids!! Birdies for Charity is a fundraising program designed to give participants the opportunity to generate donations for their organization through the Houston Open. AND the beautiful thing is 100% of your donations come directly to us! The Houston Open will award the top 15 organizations with the highest total of donations and four randomly drawn organizations with an additional bonus prize.
Follow us on social media for updates.
Visit our website for more information.