Our Approach
It is our belief that education and mentoring are the most effective solutions to this community problem which we address on three fronts. In the Life Skills development workshops, participants learn how to manage finances, become attractive candidates to companies and schools, prepare for emergencies, and obtain citizenship documents through instructor led workshops, field trips, and guest speakers. Through the Social Skills development workshops, participants learn positive methods of dealing with bullying, self-esteem, relationships, and a complicated home environment; all of which can hinder academic performance. Finally, our Academic Enrichment programs supplement participant’s education, provide post-secondary education and career planning, and improve current scholastic performance.
Grounded in this belief, our organization’s various programs are designed to support our goals of:
- Providing mentoring and support services to our teen girls
- Improving self-esteem
- Improving academic success through hands-on interactions with technology
- Reducing the likelihood of delinquency, truancy, and other high-risk behaviors in our girls
- Encouraging teen girls to pursue higher education and stable career paths
Our Focus Area
Educational Support and Dropout Prevention Services
A lack of educational support for at-risk teens has been an undeniable issue that continues to grow each year. Often times we see that schools do not have the resources to offer quality learning, parents lack the ability to effectively communicate the importance of education to their child, and students are often distracted by their classroom surroundings, all resulting in the child’s inability to excel academically. This can cause a student to feel unmotivated and disconnected from their studies, which often leads to failing grades, expulsion, and higher drop-out rates.
Through our educational support programs, we combat these issues and design solutions that specifically target the needs of each individual teen girl. We created an atmosphere devoted to academic excellence that allows us to work with girls so they can receive the attention needed to process the information they receive and implement learned skills in their daily studies. These solutions are the core focus of our programs. We provide an advanced experience that allows girls to explore academic and career options, while setting goals to help them get closer to achieving their future ambitions.
College and Career Readiness
With the growing complexity of the world and the increasing demands of the 21st-century workforce, there is little question that all students should graduate from high school fully prepared for college and careers. The path to college and career readiness is complex. Providing students with the support they need at every critical stage can make all the difference for success.
While the vast majority of teens today aspire to go on to college, few know what it takes to optimize their potential and reach their goals. Our College and Career Readiness programs are a blended learning solution for girls that helps them develop critical non-cognitive skills and college knowledge, and instills confidence so that they’ll persevere to reach their long-term college and career goals..
Our programs cover a broad range of topics designed to guide students at each grade level through the steps they need to take to be ready for transitioning from middle school to high school, or planning for life after high school. Students will learn about critical topics related to self-discovery, developing success skills, building a network, exploring career options, and planning for college - academically, socially, emotionally and financially.
Life-skills Training
Life skills training enable teen girls to become responsible, self-sufficient leaders with a deeper knowledge and understanding of how to work through everyday challenges. As they enter the program, teen girls are immersed into the importance of developing the skills needed to be proficient in their everyday lives. Through our trainings we stress the importance of progressive development for girls, personal and professional growth, and life experience knowledge. Our interpersonal programs include art, dance and music enrichment, daily living skills enhancement, safety skills enhancement, life experience classes and assistance with self-advocacy.
Teen girls are also given the opportunity to engage in vocational experiences, including cooking, in-house maintenance, training and proper etiquette. We then encourage them to implement these new skills in their everyday lives, instilling the ideals learned through the program.
Social/ Behavioral Support
Many young people are faced with their greatest challenges during the awkward stages of their teen years. In constant social situations every day, they are forced to deal with peer pressure, fears, struggles, and many uncertainties about life. A teen’s ability to integrate social and life skills is crucial when considering the need to improve academic performance, increase social interactions, and develop effective networking skills.
Through our interpersonal skills training we provide interactive communications activities that allow teen girls to become confident in their social abilities. During this ongoing process they develop effective public speaking skills, enhance written and spoken communication, and maintain ongoing social relationships with each other.
Social Responsibility and Community Service
Charitable work and community service are a crucial part of the My Girlfriend’s House organization. In fact, it’s our heart and soul. Helping at-risk teen girls by creating a community of individuals that support and care for them has been our mission since inception. Our Girl Talk Mentoring, Purse Strings, and d-Store programs are all large parts of our continued efforts to improve the lives of impoverished teenage girls. However, no matter how many we help, there are always others in need. My Girlfriend’s House makes a concerted effort to instill in the teen girls we work with that there is always someone in greater need. To that end, community service for others in greater need is a requirement our programs.
On a monthly basis, our girls are engaged in a variety of give-back community service projects and earn upwards of 60 community service hours per year.