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Building Positive Communities Of
Girls Helping Girls
A Place For Girls Who Value
Self-Respect & Respect For Others
What is GRG?
Girls' Respect Groups is a unique after-school program for preteen girls, led by specially-trained high school girls. It's a community of Girls Helping Girls , a place where teenage girls can share their life experiences and lend a helping hand to younger girls during the difficult middle school years. Working together, both sets of young women make choices rooted in self-confidence & self-respect. Girls' Respect Groups is a wonderful way to build strength and compassion in our communities while anchoring young women in respect for themselves and others.
Girls' Respect Groups puts middle school girls directly in touch with kind-hearted, empathic teen girls, the people they most look up to, want to listen to, & want to emulate. GRG creates a safe place where girls of all ages can work together to stop the vicious cycle of girls bullying girls.
Best of all, GRG is by & for real teens. The GRG program has benefited from the contributions of amazing teen girls who have helped develop GRG lesson plans and co-authored our book about the GRG program, Girls' Respect Groups: An Innovative Program To Empower Young Women & Build Self-Esteem! ( Camberley Press, 2009 ). It's a perfect example of how teens, given half a chance, can do outstanding things. As one of our teen leaders said, " It's a chance for teens to turn heads for the right reasons!"
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Why Girls' Respect Groups?
Middle school is a tough time for girls' friendships. Sometimes, best girlfriends, the people who should respect you, don't. Girls' bullying & exclusion get steadily worse through elementary school. By the time she enters middle school, a girl's self-esteem can be ruined.
The importance of strong connections in girls' relationships is precisely why it's so hurtful to girls to be excluded from relationships, & why Girls' Respect Groups work so hard to change that. The Dalai Lama talks about the need for warm-heartedness towards one another. A simple concept with profound results. Lead with a warm heart & the rest will follow. Respect helps us rediscover the warm-heartedness that is in all of us.
We can make a big difference. Underlying all bullying behavior is a lack of both self-respect & respect for others. By catching girls early & teaching them respectful ways to support one another, we can help girls navigate safely through the perilous middle school years. When girls know & respect one another as individuals & as human beings, there is much less intentional bullying. Further, if girls (& boys) can remain grounded in self-respect, they'll feel more secure & more likely to treat others with respect - less bullying! Kids grounded in respect for others will also be less likely to be bystanders to bullying. GRG gives girls the confidence & the safety they need to speak up & stand their ground!
Girls' Respect Groups are a beautiful opportunity for high school girls to reach a helping hand back to middle school girls - in support, encouragement, empathy, & mostly, with experience & perspective. It's a chance for the high school young women to re-evaluate their own relationship with respect, too. We learn best by teaching, & it's great for our teens to reinforce what they already know about respect.
A small community of GRG girls can have a huge influence. Like ripples in a pond, GRG graduates walk the walk of respect and spread respectful behavior, with far-reaching effects in their schools, homes, and communities. Teaching & encouraging respect early makes a big difference. Join us in planting the seeds for change, by connecting with other preteens, teens, & adults who are working hard to encourage & support young women!
To Start A GRG High School Leadership Training Program:
You Will Need:
Resources:
High School Teen Leaders
Our Leaders are the most important ingredient in GRG. They make the material come alive! GRG Leaders provide a very human example of respect to the 6th Grade girls in front of them. Today's world is full of bullying, criticism, negative media images, & disrespect. GRG Leaders show how to have fun & be cool, while being respectful of your friends & encouraging the best in each of us. It's a great way to bring out confidence & self-esteem!
The Girls' Respect Groups book will show you how to find & train these great young women for our high school leadership program. The ideal starting age for GRG Leaders is Grade 10. Grade 9 girls (& boys) have a lot on their plates, & aren't yet settled into themselves as teens. Selecting & training GRG Leaders in Grade 10 gives girls the longest time to remain Leaders. They will mature into fabulous Leaders by Grade 11, & even when they get super busy in Grade 12, with college & university applications & work, they can still participate on a reduced basis.
To Start A GRG Middle School Training Program:
Middle School Participants
Start your GRG in 6th Grade! It's usually the beginning of middle school & kids often change schools then. It's best if all the girls in GRG are from the same school, but not all from the same set of close friends. A real benefit of GRG is that the problems & issues you discuss are real - you're living those issues in your daily lives & friendships. Having the opportunity & a safe place to discuss & work through these problems will improve your friendships & boost your self-respect & problem solving skills, inside & outside of GRG. You'll notice a difference in all your friendships!
Maximum group size is 16. You want to keep the group small enough so everyone gets time to talk. If more than 16 girls are interested, add another group!
What You Will Need:
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Looking For A Great Volunteer Opportunity?
GRG wants you!! The heart & soul of Girls' Respect Groups are our wonderful teen leaders. Your kind heart, life experience, & leadership skills can make a big difference to middle school girls. Sharing your experience with these preteens (What I wish I'd known in 6th grade), you can really help them through those tough years of middle school frenemies. Preteen girls want so much to learn from you & be like you & you have so much valuable experience to share. You can do this job better than anyone else! How often do teens get offered a job because they're the most qualified?
We're looking for leadership-minded young women to run our Girls' Respect Groups. Teen leadership brings something really special & unique to Girls' Respect Groups. Teen leaders have a deep understanding & empathy because they've just lived through what the middle school girls are going through right now. It's an exciting & inspiring opportunity for high school leaders to have an anchoring, supportive influence on middle school girls. For modeling & teaching girl power, self-respect, & equal treatment, it makes sense to have girls teaching girls.
Middle school girls are very open to the experience of having teen girls as their leaders, more so than with an adult leader. GRGs connect these two groups of young women in a comfortable, supportive environment, backed by Adult Advisors. If you are considering becoming a GRG Leader, talk to your teacher, parent, or other adult advisor who can help you get started!
Have You Ever Asked Yourself:
If you answered YES to any of these questions, you'll want to participate in a Girls' Respect Group. GRGs put middle school girls directly in contact with kind-hearted, encouraging high school young women. Who understands better what middle school girls are going through? Get the straight scoop from high school girls who have lived it!
As A GRG Participant You'll Have The Chance To:
Start a Girls' Respect Group at your school today! Talk to your teacher, parent, or other adult advisor who can help you to get started!
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