Girls Inc. of Metro Denver

Did you hear? 🥳 We were just honored as a Denver Business Journal 2024 Partners in Philanthropy awardee! We’re incredibly grateful to be recognized and to work alongside our amazing partners and ensure girls grow up strong, smart, and bold. Congratulations to the other incredible organizations recognized! https://lnkd.in/gHhcu9d2

WE'RE HIRING Join our incredible team of changemakers and advocates as our new Mental Health Counselor or Part-Time Afterschool Educator. You'll be surrounded by a supportive and uplifting community that is passionate about making our vision of powerful girls in an equitable society a reality! Click to learn more and share this post with your network: https://lnkd.in/gYjR_fx4

The sentiment we always hear from individuals throughout our community when they engage with our girls in programming is, "I wish there was something like this when I was a kid." This shined through in the conversations between our Bold Female Entrepreneurs and Bold Business participants. While our girls came eager to gain business knowledge and our business owners were ready to share their expertise, the collaboration blossomed into something far greater. Our girls asked thought-provoking questions that bridged the gap between business and personal journeys. They learned how Cori Streetman and Sarah Hogan drive community impact through storytelling at Barefoot PR, and even practiced it themselves. At CBS News Colorado, Kristine Strain, and Jen Ross captured the importance of finding work that you're passionate about and no matter how old you are, it's never to late to pivot and try something new. Simone D. Ross, captured the significance of Bold Business when she said, “The data is clear, women-owned businesses are a powerful economic engine generating more than $2.7 trillion to our nation’s GDP, and Colorado leads the nation in the number of businesses owned by women. Even more critical is the opportunity for girls to see diverse business leaders because representation can inspire belief in their own potential." While they gained many tactical skills to implement in both business and life, what was even more special was the relationships they built with diverse women leaders across our city. As echoed throughout the past two weeks, it is relationships and community that are the foundation of success. It has been inspiring watching them evolve into confident young adults this summer, but this is just the beginning of their journey. Keep an eye on these incredible girls--they are our current and future leaders, ready to change the world. #BoldBusiness

Last year, the CDC reported that girls are facing unprecedented levels of mental health challenges, including depression, anxiety, and loneliness, which impact their education and self-worth. At Girls Inc. of Metro Denver, mental and behavioral health is integrated into our programming for girls ages 6 to 22. Since the release of the CDC report, we have critically evaluated our programs. After reflecting, discussing, and listening to our girls and staff, we knew we had to do more. We are excited to announce that we have received funding from The Colorado Trust through the Community Resilience Initiatives (CRI) Diverse Approaches to Behavioral Health. This transformative gift will enable us to: 🌱 Improve and expand our Whole Girl Mental and Behavioral Health Programming. ✍ Enhance training and professional development for our program staff. 💞 Integrate mental and behavioral health services across all programs and age groups. 🧠 Hire a full-time mental health provider. Girls Inc. of Metro Denver remains dedicated to addressing critical issues facing girls and their ability to achieve a successful future while centering girls' voices in the development and design of its programming. Our commitment to inclusive, equity-focused, and trauma-informed approaches has made us trusted partners, mentors, and service providers in our community. We are deeply grateful to The Colorado Trust for investing in our mission and ensuring all girls have equal opportunities to lead healthy, strong, and productive lives. When our girls thrive, our community thrives. We are thrilled to announce that we are now accepting applications for a Mental Health Counselor. Check out the role description: https://bit.ly/3Y5b9Ef If you or someone you know is interested, please apply at girlsincdenver.org.

Field Trip Friday! This week was full of sunshine, perseverance, and rocky mountain fun! 😉 Our participants had an incredible experienced learning how Anna Costello figured out how to Ship Sunshine 🌞 directly to people's door. They learned the ins and outs of starting a business from scratch and how to be BOLD to pursue something even if you don't always know how it will turn out. Next, they visited Bodies By Perseverance 💪 built by Jennifer M Samuel, the first Filipino former Denver Broncos Football Club Cheerleader and former NFL player, Courtney Samuel. Jennifer, also an entrepreneurship professor at the University of Colorado Denver, shared insights on how identifying STRONG personal values can help guide our participants business's value proposition. The week wrapped up with a hands-on workshop ✍ from the Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute. They led our participants through creating a SMART marketing action plan, identifying their customer persona, and more, allowing them to implement lessons learned from their experiences this week. One participant summed it up perfectly: "This has been amazing. If it's this great now, I can't imagine how much better it will get for future participants." What a great first week of our Inaugural Bold Business Boot camp! #BoldBusiness

🎉 Exciting News! 🎉 This week, we launched our inaugural Bold Business Bootcamp, a 10-day immersive program for the next generation of female innovators. Kayla Garcia, President & CEO, shared: "We are incredibly excited to launch Bold Business in partnership with both small and large businesses dedicated to the growth of entrepreneurs. This program provides a unique opportunity for young women to develop essential entrepreneurial skills and build meaningful connections within Denver's business community. We believe that by equipping girls with these tools, we are not only building future business leaders but also promoting financial independence and resilience." The inaugural Bold Business Bootcamp businesses include: ⭐ Barefoot PR ⭐ CBS News Colorado ⭐ Colorado Women's Chamber of Commerce ⭐ Dope Mom Life ⭐ Downtown Denver Partnership ⭐ Jen Ross Productions ⭐ JD Finish Line ⭐ Perseverance ⭐ Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute ⭐ Ship Sunshine Yesterday, they got a behind-the-scenes look at Dianne Myles' being interviewed for her business Dope Mom Life and loved her candidness about overcoming struggles and persisting through to be the person she is now. Today, they explored Skyline Park with Downtown Denver Partnership and had an inspiring conversation with Kate B., Olivia Omega and Meghan Villard, who shared great entrepreneurial advice. Olivia said, "Understand how you are different. Learn to talk about what makes you different.--Figure out who you are at your core and brand yourself around your values." We are so excited to continue sharing their journey throughout the next two weeks as they learn directly from female entrepreneurs and Denver's businesses. Special thanks to Comcast, Kenneth King Foundation, U.S. Bank, and Verizon for making this pilot program possible. Join us in supporting the future of #femaleentrepreneurship in #Denver! Read the full Bold Business Press Release to learn more: https://lnkd.in/gsvB-HhX

We're back on for Field Trip Friday! 😄 What better place to learn about geology and fossils than Table Mountain, Dinosaur Ridge and Red Rocks? Oxy provided our girls with an immersive experience around Morrison, exploring rock formations and dinosaur fossils while hearing directly from Oxy's geologists -Callie Brehm, Olivia Turner, and Erin Ramaker. The women at Oxy even created an engaging workbook for the girls to follow along and take home. A big thank you to Allie Davidson, Lindsey Istre, Kimberly Mendoza-Cooke, and the entire Oxy team for organizing this incredible trip. We are so grateful that Oxy continues to be a year-round STEM and Eureka! Partner, providing our girls with opportunities like these and many more to explore different fields and careers in STEM. Thank you, Oxy, for inspiring our girls to be strong, smart, and bold!

Our Leadership Out Loud (LOL) girls took on Washington, DC! 🌟 Thanks to our official summer travel partner, United Airlines, our girls explored the rich history of DC and connected with various civic leaders. Here's a recap of their trip: ⚖ A day on Capitol Hill: They met with Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper and various other advocacy professionals, including Hannah Geisman (Legislative Correspondent to Senator John Hickenlooper), Mackenzie Fallt, MA (Senior Assistant to Representative Jason Crow), and Donni Turner (Aide to Senator Michael Bennett). ⚾ Washington Nationals Baseball Game: They have the opportunity to experience a live game. 🏛 National Monuments: No trip to DC is complete without visiting it's iconic landmarks. 🎓 Howard University Tour: A full circle moment led by Girls Inc. alum Ganete Alemseged. Our girls not only explored college opportunities but were inspired by someone who has walked in their shoes. United makes it possible for our girls to take flight to new destinations to explore careers, colleges, and service learning. A special thank you to Justin Petrochko and all those who made this trip come to life. We have one more big trip this summer. Any guesses on where our girls are headed next? ✈️ #LeadershipOutLoud

Are you looking for a new podcast episode? Check out Girls Education International where our Senior Director of Strategy & Impact, Melina Bixler, dives into how Girls Inc. of Metro Denver intentionally creates a pro-girl space. Tune in to learn more and find out how you can support and advocate for pro-girl spaces in your community. #progirlspace

Congratulations to our Eureka STEM program participants for another successful Eureka-thon event! Girls were tasked with applying the STEM concepts they've learned to build communities that incorporate renewable energy and to address issues laid out in the United Nation Sustainable Development goals. They then presented their solutions to attendees which included families, staff, and Girls Inc. corporate partners. As part of the event, girls selected and moderated panelists for a community conversation to discuss the challenges facing women in STEM, career hacks and advice, the importance of supporting girls in STEM, and much more. Shout out to our panelists from Oxy, Ping Identity, and our President & CEO, Kayla Garcia! A special thank you to CBS News Colorado for providing every STEMinist with a lab coat and PNC for helping to set up. We are grateful for your partnership and support! To learn more about Eureka or how to become a corporate partner, visit girlsincdenver.org.