Strong Women, Strong Girls joins BCTW!

We are so excited to introduce Strong Women, Strong Girls as our first BCTW partner! We hope that you'll be inspired by their work and support them by joining their efforts in Boston and Pittsburgh, or by finding similar models in your own community! Learn more about the Bringing Change to Women Initiative.

Calling All Crows was introduced to Strong Women, Strong Girls when Program Associate Sarah Kacevich introduced herself as a possible speaker for our Music & Lecture Series. At that MLS we learned about all the great work that SWSG is doing to mentor and support young girls, as well as what a natural fit they are for a partnership. We are excited to introduce them as a featured non-profit in this year’s Bringing Change to Women campaign!

Did you know that a girl’s self esteem peaks in the 4th grade, when she is only 9 years old and does not return to the same level until age 35?  Around the world, girls hold immense potential, yet are also a vulnerable population that faces unique barriers, including issues ranging from pay inequality to concerns about safety and sexual violence. Strong Women, Strong Girls exists to help tap that potential and support and empower young women through adolescence and into adulthood with direct mentorship. Today's world needs strong women leaders to address complex social issues--SWSG will help girls become those leaders.

via Strong Women, Strong GirlsTheir model engages women at three stages: as young girls, as college mentors, and finally, as professionals. These volunteers are empowered with immense responsibility, resulting in leadership development for the volunteers, and increased staff capacity. Through this model, they continue to empowering girls beyond the mentee stage, and support them on their pathway to becoming strong female leaders as adults.

Last year SWSG Boston celebrated going 10 years. That chapter has served more than 9,000 girls in 60-plus communities and has worked with more than 3,000 college mentors.“SWSG girls often say that the program is a place for them to be themselves, find friends and mentors who are their true allies and learn about heroes they can look up to. It broadens their vision of their lives’ possibilities and helps them learn skills to stand up for themselves and others when facing challenges like bullying or shyness. College and professional women gain life-long relationships, become part of a positive female community where they can find support and gain critical leadership skills,” said Kacevich in a recent article on Monster.com.

On top of all that wonderful work, Kacevich also talks about the power of music to help support and empower young women,

“Music is a vehicle for youth and adults from all walks of life to share their stories. It has the power to transform hardship into joy, spread the message about a cause, and promote cross-cultural understanding. Music is one way to help youth think critically about what's happening in their world. The SWSG curriculum frequently features strong female musicians who our girls can look up to."

We encourage you to look for opportunities to support their work, whether by volunteering as a mentor in Boston or Pittsburgh, participating in an upcoming event, or finding a version of this great program in your own community. Reach out to us if you have questions or are interested in getting involved with SWSG or the BCTW campaign!