Girl*-Powered Activities for Parents, Caregivers and Educators: Issue 2

With the COVID-19 quarantine currently extended through early May in California and many other places (and schools physically closed for the rest of the school year), we find ourselves continuing to adapt to the current moment. We know many of you are having to support children and youth in new ways, and are looking for fun and engaging activities for them.As soon as shelter-in-place orders went into effect in the Bay Area last month, Alliance for Girls* started compiling and sharing community resources to support girls* and gender-expansive youth, their families, educators, and girls' organizations. With a membership of 100+ organizations and professionals who collectively support 300,000 girls and gender-expansive youth annually, Alliance for Girls' community is teeming with amazing gender-responsive programs and curricula, many of which are being made available for free virtually. We're excited to highlight some of them in this next installment of girl*-powered activities!

The Art of Yoga Project focuses on early intervention to help marginalized and justice-involved girls prepare for a positive future. They are leaders in the treatment and rehabilitation of justice-involved girls, which includes sending specially trained yoga teachers, creative arts and writing educators into facilities to deliver trauma-informed, mindfulness-based curriculum. They have made trauma-informed yoga classes available to all on YouTube.

Scientific Adventures for Girls provides afterschool STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) programs to TK-5th grade children with a special focus on girls and underserved youth to increase positive attitudes toward STEM, increase hands-on learning opportunities and encourage lifelong learning of STEM subjects. They have a great list of STEM projects that can be done at home, and are sending weekly newsletters with a full week of STEM curricula for children.

Girls Leading Girls focuses on women coaching girls ages 5-18 in soccer and leadership by building a system of training, motivation, team governance, and game strategy that fits girls’ needs – and differences. Their free offerings includes weekly dribbling skills challenges on Instagram and a downloadable virtual home soccer and agility workout. Check out all of their virtual programming  here.

IMPACT Bay Area teaches effective boundary setting, personal safety, and physical self-defense skills through classes that are tailored to meet the needs of people of different ages, genders, and identities. They're offering free online classes to empower the community during the pandemic, with skills like Grounding and Adrenaline Management During Pandemic and Teen Intro to Boundaries.  Sign up for an upcoming class.

(In case you missed it, check out our first issue of girl-powered curricula.)If these activities bring joy and learning to your youth, please consider donating to Alliance for Girls and the above organizations, as well as other organizations and professionals that support girls and gender-expansive youth listed here. Your support will directly help us respond to the ever-changing reality, and strengthen our ability to provide critical services for youth most impacted by the crisis short term and long term.In community,Alliance for GirlsP.S. Help us identify the needs of girls and gender-expansive youth and center their voices and experiences in COVID-19 responses by sharing this 5-minute, mobile-friendly survey with girls and gender-expansive youth up to age 24 living in California.P.P.S. If you're a service provider or represent a girls' organization/program, let us know how COVID-19 is impacting you financially and programmatically. This will directly inform our advocacy to ensure the girl-serving sector is not left out of funding and policymaking conversations.*"Girls" refers to gender expansive youth (cis girls, trans girls, non-binary youth, gender non-conforming youth, gender queer youth and any girl-identified youth).

#RaiseYourVoice4Girls