Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest

Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest’s mission is to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold, with the long-term vision of having powerful girls in an equitable society.

Over the next few years, our goal is to grow our program capacity so that more girls in the Pacific Northwest can benefit from the life-changing “Girls Inc. Experience.” With recent multi-year, large investments from the Cowlitz Tribal Foundation, M.J. Murdock Trust, and Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation, we are especially growing in the SW Washington and Seattle/Puget Sound regions. Each year, our goal is to serve a minimum of 1,000 unduplicated girls across Oregon and Washington.

We are also intentionally increasing the number of girls we serve whose diverse identities, life circumstances, and backgrounds are historically underrepresented in STEM, leadership, and other career fields. This includes students who are: girls of color, immigrants, refugees, first generation, English language learners, LGBTQ+, neurodiverse, disabled, in foster care, experiencing mental health conditions or trauma, and other marginalized identities and life circumstances.

Additionally, we are continually improving our curriculum and activities based on youth, teacher, and family feedback, and through ongoing use of the Youth Program Quality Assessment Tool. The YPQA is a gold-standard assessment tool, used by the youth development sector nationwide, for evaluating the quality of afterschool programs.

A recent multi-year study by the American Institutes for Research shows that Girls Inc. programs help youth excel in over 20 key indicators of healthy youth development. The research team found, “Girls participating in Girls Inc. were more likely to engage in activities and express beliefs that lead to physical and mental well-being, academic achievement, and the development of leadership skills… [They] had consistently higher math test scores…[and] Girls Inc. girls reported more positive attitudes and behaviors than the comparison group.” Compared to their peers, our youth are also more likely to graduate from high school, pursue post-secondary education, and become first-generation college students.

View the full report attached to our GuideStar profile or at girlsincpnw.org/stronger-smarter-bolder.

The Girls Inc. Experience consists of six essential elements. Together, they provide a comprehensive approach to youth development programming that is grounded in a belief in girls' inherent rights and abilities.

(1) Pro-Girl Environments
(2) Mentoring Relationships
(3) Intentional Programming
(4) Research-based Curricula
(5) Interactive Activities
(6) Sustained Exposure Over Time

These six essential elements are embedded in our core programs: Girls Groups, Eureka!, Leadership Council, and GIRLS thINC Outside the Box. Our programs are guided by the Girls Inc. Girls’ Bill of Rights, which states that all girls have the right to…

(1) Be themselves and to resist gender stereotypes
(2) Express themselves with originality and enthusiasm
(3) Take risks, to strive freely, and to take pride in success
(4) Accept and appreciate their bodies
(5) Have confidence in themselves and be safe in the world
(6) Prepare for interesting work and economic independence

All of the above is encapsulated in our motto: “Strong, Smart, and Bold.” This is a fun way to say healthy, educated, and independent. It is also a confidence-building affirmation that our girls, volunteers, and staff love to use to celebrate themselves and uplift one another. It is also a statement of belief that our girls are inherently powerful, and have amazing potential despite the many obstacles they face in life. With the Girls Inc. Experience, girls can harness their innate power and learn, grow, and become “Strong, Smart, and Bold” throughout their childhood and adult lives.

Furthermore, the CDC confers that afterschool programs play an essential role in healthy youth development. However, in Oregon, for every child enrolled in an afterschool program, approximately three more children are waitlisted or otherwise unable to access programs. In Washington, the ratio is 1:5. Children from low-income families and families of color have an especially hard time accessing programs, primarily due to cost and transportation burdens.

Meanwhile, demand for afterschool programs is only increasing. In the wake of the pandemic, families are increasingly recognizing the role of afterschool programs in their children’s health and well-being, academic performance, and social development.

To bridge this service gap, Girls Inc. prioritizes enrollment for low-income girls and youth of color, and our programming is free-of-charge. Girls Groups, our most wide-spread program, take place afterschool in Title I public schools, which reduces transportation burdens on families. Our teen programs take place virtually and in-person, and we connect teens with free bus passes. Our programs are led by a diverse team of staff and volunteers, who facilitate curriculum and activities with a trauma-informed and gender-specific lens. We maintain an average staff-to-youth ratio of 1:15.

Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest is a locally-governed, financially-independent affiliate of Girls Inc., the nation's leading voice for girls. Girls Inc. provides program research and development, staff training, and advocacy support to 70+ affiliate organizations across the United States and Canada. Girls Inc. originated in 1864, and is guided by a belief in the inherent potential of each girl.

Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest has been serving Portland since 1998, Southwest Washington since 2017, Seattle since 2018, and statewide in Oregon and Washington since 2020. Over the past 25 years, we have maintained a strong community of supporters from Pacific Northwest individuals, families, public schools, colleges and universities, STEAM industries, small businesses, local governments, and community partners. Our supporters appreciate Girls Inc.’s track record, transparency, collaboration, and dedication to the community.

Girls Inc. PNW’s mentorship programs also thrive with volunteer support. Volunteers mentor youth through one-time, seasonal, or ongoing program sessions. Most of our volunteers are women who come to share their knowledge, skills, life stories, and careers in STEM, arts, sports, leadership, and other fields.

Our programs take an “outreach approach” by taking our programs to schools and community settings where girls are already situated. Our "pipeline" model supports girls as they progress from elementary school through high school, so they get the sustained “Girls Inc. Experience” throughout their crucial youth development years.

Girls Inc. PNW staff are trained to provide the best programming experiences possible. Staff are trained in: Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), Youth Program Quality Assessment (YPQA), Trauma Informed Practice in Afterschool, Creating Brave Spaces that Center Gender and Racial Equity, Methods to Foster Positive Family Relationships, and more. Staff are also trained in first aid, mandatory reporting, and other standard safety procedures.

Furthermore, according to Oregon Afterschool & Summer for Kids Network, every $1 invested into high-quality youth development programs leads to a $4.60 return on investment for the community. This is because programs like Girls Inc.’s help increase graduation rates while decreasing grade repetition, drug and alcohol addiction, crime rates, and obesity-related healthcare costs.

In 2023, we are celebrating 25 years of inspiring girls to be strong, smart, and bold! Over the past 25 years, we have provided youth empowerment programming in after-school and summer settings to thousands of youth who have gone on to college, careers, and prosperous lives. Our impact is evident, our history is extraordinary, and we have much to share and celebrate!

Recent milestones include:

APRIL 2020: All Girls Inc. programs pivoted to virtual formats when the pandemic started. We also began providing free laptops, Internet hotspots, activity kits, basic needs supplies, and academic tutoring to Girls Inc. youth across the Pacific Northwest. Many families and youth said our programming was a “lifeline” for them during the pandemic – while also missing and looking forward to resuming in-person programming. Programming remained primarily virtual through December 2021.

MARCH 2021: Cyreena Boston Ashby became Chief Executive Officer after serving as Interim Executive Director since summer 2020. While our mission has always been “to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold,” this was taken to a more meaningful, equity-focused level when Cyreena permanently joined Girls Inc. Under her leadership, our organization renewed its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is making significant progress in our DEI policies, strategies, and staff and board representation.

WINTER 2022: Youn Han was promoted to Chief Programs Officer after serving as our Eureka! Program Manager for two years. With her leadership, Girls Inc. programs began transitioning to a hybrid format. Girls Groups returned in-person in local schools, and other Girls Inc. programs now use a mixture of in-person and online programming.

SPRING 2022: We struck new investment partnerships with M.J. Murdock Trust, Highline Public Schools District, and the City of Burien to expand our Girls Groups program in the Seattle area. Our Board of Directors also unanimously appointed Gwendolyn Turner as our first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer. Gwen brings over 20 years of expertise in leading and changing culture through DEI. In collaboration with the Board President and Officers, and the CEO, Gwen is creating a DEI Roadmap that supports board membership development, training, and recruitment.

SUMMER 2022: We launched a new branch of our teen STEM program, “Eureka!”, in Vancouver, Washington. Meanwhile, our Portland “Eureka!” branch resumed in-person summer camps and internships for 8th-12th grade teens. We also launched GIRLS thINC Outside the Box (GTOB), an activity kit and book delivery program. GTOB now reaches early learners across Oregon and Washington states, with new boxes shipped out each season.

In 2023 and beyond, we will continue refining and acting upon our strategic expansion plans, in line with our mission to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. We hope you will join us during this pivotal time for supporting girls in the Pacific Northwest!