"You can't be what you can't see." - Marian Wright Edelman
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Many youth today, especially at-risk teenage girls, are lacking role models. They are overwhelmed with the struggles of coming from broken homes where drugs and poverty are prevalent, survival is a constant concern, and options seem limited or non-existent. Programs across the US, including right here in our hometown of Nevada City, are uniting these girls with mentors to build confidence, teach social change skills, provide authentic and positive relationships, and reshaping their and our future for the better.
On this program, join host Elisa Parker with special guests, Whitney Smith founder of Girls for a Change, Jennifer Siebold Newsom, First Lady of San Francisco, and Jennifer Litton-Singer Executive Director of The Friendship Club, who are empowering at-risk girls to become change makers and community activists through mentoring and community engagement. Listen to the stories of young women who with the help of these programs and mentoring are turning their lives around to become citizen activists and role models for other girls in their own communities.
Whitney Smith, Founder and CEO of Girls for a Change, is a national organization that empowers thousands of teen girls to create and lead social change. GFC provides girls with professional female role models, leadership training and the inspiration to work together in teams to solve persistent societal problems in their communities. GFC provides the tools, resources, partnerships and support girls need to gain the voice, ability, and problem-solving capacity to realize their full potential.
Jennifer Siebold Newsom, First Lady of San Francisco and director/producer of Miss Representation a film about the lack of positive female roles in the media, recently hosted the Girls Summit during the Professional BusinessWomen of California Conference in San Francisco.
Siebold-Newsom believes "If you can see it, you can be it."
Jennifer Litton-Singer, Founder and Executive Director of the Friendship Club. Founded in 1995, The Friendship Club is a prevention program designed to reach at-risk girls before they engage in unhealthy behaviors. They teach life skills, personal responsibility and the value of hard work through a year-around program of educational activities, emotional support and community involvement. The Friendship Club serves one hundred girls in sixth through twelfth grades from all areas of western Nevada County. Over two hundred community members volunteer to help The Friendship Club accomplish its mission.
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