PROJECT NEED:
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Check out our interview about female health, hygiene, and curriculum with individuals from our school community! |
Link To Our Project Planner:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13cRwx0e0wzd3qi8PSSErmk8i4Xe9bygeb8hXNpSX7Eo/edit?usp=sharing
Process, Including Events:
Team Planning
As per tradition, we started our project planning by recruiting members during our school's club rush and began our weekly meetings at lunch on Wednesdays that then transitioned to every Friday. We saw many new faces within the first few weeks of meeting. Coming from all grade levels and backgrounds, it was our goal to create a safe and comfortable environment for students to share their thoughts, concerns, and ideas about different discussion topics. As we pay homage to our first club meeting we began the brainstorming on a white board, and ideas ranged from providing a community fridge with the leftover lunches to self defense and implicit bias training. We however narrowed down to our understanding and lack of knowledge on female health and hygiene disparity. As we reached out to prospective partners and mentors we were able to get opinions from physicians, activists, and community members. Through weekly meetings we hear new opinions and ideas and even had collaborations with individuals outside of our club to help with project implementation and planning. We were able to reach out to another school, create informational flyers, have school wide events, and create a space for students to access hygiene products at no cost(Wellness Corner)! Our membership has increased this past year and we have been able to have discussions that promote productivity in terms of activity planning, approval paperwork, and community activities. As the year continues each member has shown their own voice and makes an impact on their community as they represent themselves and advocate for justice!
Round table discussion meeting
This meeting is sort of a tradition for our Girls Build team! It went over how Women's Hygiene is not acknowledged enough. We collaborated on ideas as to how it would be possible for Women to have access to products. First, we did an icebreaker to know more about one another. The atmosphere of this meeting was used in order to allow members to express themselves and find the spark they are passionate about. After, we wrote down as many ideas as we could in one minute to contribute to the safety, health, and well-being of Women on an index card. Seeing the group work together and give ideas was enlightening and felt productive!
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Discussions with PLP GirlsGen team
A few of our club members visited another Girls Build team in the AV; We had an interactive meeting where we discussed the goals of our project and asked for their insights as a younger demographic to mold our project to serve multiple age groups: Given that we are sister schools, founded by the same Rocio Rivera, this conversation was very close to home. We did our best to hear them out about their experiences as girls and learned about many of our similarities; we also received feedback through a survey. And we touched base on catcalling, body image, and the female experience with a collaborative activity where groups could share out.
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Painting & discussion meeting
Our GirlsBuild club had a discussion on harassment supported by a joint and inspiring painting activity. In this discussion there were officers and members who shared their experiences; these contributions opened up the floor for a conversation on how to deal with these situations and how we can best support each other in an effective and empowering way. We used our hand prints and words to portray our feelings on this topic.
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Women's Safety on Campus BraceletsGSH officers and members held a school-wide event for bracelet-making to emphasize our support to everyone, and in special regard to girls. Being young girls on a college campus opens the door to unsafe situations and environments that lead to harassment and insecurity. We wanted to highlight and show solidarity and unity by making bracelets. This delivered an enriching activity for awareness on this topic.
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Community Service: Food distribution
During the holidays, we volunteered at a food distribution in Lancaster that was hosted by the LA department of health services/Public health. Some members helped guide people to the distribution site while others unboxed the dozens of veggies and put together bags full of various vegetables. It was a very fulfilling event being able to participate in helping so many people!
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Community Service: Ohana Center
Ohana Center is a non-profit organization located in the Antelope Valley that provides families and communities the tools needed for family and home life. We volunteered at their Fall Wellness Jubilee where there were multiple workshops that provided therapeutic art to many in the community while there were many different booths from many different organizations. Ohana center remains to be a good partner with GSH!
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Self-love stand
GSH members promoted the importance of self-love and confidence by running a stand for our school. Students were encouraged to write a note about one thing they loved about themselves and received a piece of candy in return. We recognize that everyone faces struggles and that it is good to reward ourselves from time to time. There seems to be a constant pressure, as SOAR students, to be perfect; when anything less is delivered we are bombarded, so we wanted to highlight the importance of self-expression and love outside of the academics that we are around the majority of our time at SOAR. This provided a space of reassurance and uplifting energy.
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Civic Engagement:
We are building a movement of civically engaged students through Girls Build in order for other young women to take pride in their own health and safety as well as educating those that are not familiar with the cause. We plan on reaching out to other GirlsBuild teams in our area to gain more insight on how this problem affects our community. When it comes to advocating for the implementation of sexual education in other schools, we will reach out to other schools within our district to find common ground. The care packets we intend on creating are focused on the sole purpose of spreading support for our entire community as students will be encouraged to share them with those in need in our community.