Girls Inc. nonprofit teaching young women to be healthy, educated, and independent

Be strong, smart, and bold. That's the motto of Girls Inc., a nonprofit that is teaching girls skills to help them reach their full potential.

Among a number of other programs, high school and middle school girls learn about finance, and making big decisions – like, should they rely on public transportation, or buy a car? They're taught the answer depends on what they want to do with their life.

It's all part of a financial literacy and wellness exercise at Girls Inc. on Chicago's South Side. The girls are given a certain amount of fixed income to learn about finances.

"They are going to be learning about budgeting finances impacts your mental health, as well as your lifestyle," said Girls Inc. CEO Dr. Yani Mason. "When you're struggling financially, you're not able to be the best version of yourself."

Helping girls be their best is what Girls Inc. is all about. The moto is "Be strong, smart and bold."

"We want girls to be healthy, educated and independent," Mason said. "Whether that is leadership, whether that's public speaking, advocacy, mental health and wellness. … You name it, we do it for girls to help them live up to their fullest potential."

Girls Inc. has been around for more than 160 years. Today, there are more than 75 affiliates across the U.S. and Canada.

Girls Inc. of Chicago opened in 2017 with 65 girls. Now, Mason said, "We see about 1,100 girls each year through school programs as well as our community-based programs."

Girls Inc. also teams up with several non-profit partners, including The Nourishment Projects, whose executive director, Soma Roy, believes curiosity makes us all better on every level.

"Learning is an intellectual, sensual, and spiritual experience. It is not about gathering knowledge," Roy said. "The whole point of education is to develop a caring human being."

Roy has created the curricula for this finance program as well as many others, including this one for networking and etiquette.

They all incorporate mental well-being and curiosity.

Girls in the program visited the historic Fountain of Time in the Washington Park neighborhood.

Every day, people drive by it without really paying much attention, but the fountain and the statue of Father Time were part of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893.

Before the visit, the girls spent days researching the statue and the fountain.

"There's different beauties and different gems hidden in Chicago," said 7th grader Doriel Blair.

Blair said seeing the fountain and statue up close makes her feel good about her native South Side.

"I feel more proud of who I am and where I come from," she said.

Depaul University student Shartrell Bush said she finds serenity there.

"It makes me think about all the people who came here before me," she said. "Definitely sitting here, it made me think like, not everything is like something's wrong. … It makes me feel at peace."

Like the Fountain of Time, the girls often are overlooked, and that can be painful, but Girls Inc. is there to help.

"We really work to destigmatize mental health issues so girls know it's okay to not be okay, and it's also okay to ask for help when you need it," Mason said.

Most of all, the girls know it's okay to feel love from people all around them.

To learn more about Girls Inc. and all of its many programs, visit girlsincofchicago.org. For more information about The Nourishment Projects, check out thenourishmentprojectsnfp.com.

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