After years of success in New Jersey and a short pilot in Philadelphia, GrassROOTS Community Foundation is ready to expand our girls leadership training model. We are seeking your support to develop more black girl changemakers.

 

Support black girl leadership in New Jersey and Philly by donating today!!

 

SuperCamp: The Leadership Training Experience 
For 8 years, we have trained 50+ black girls at SuperCamp, the summer intensive leadership training program where our SuperGirls learn the foundation of becoming changemakers.

 

 

SuperCamp started with 5 NJ girls, each 5 years old, and today we have expanded to serving elementary and middle school girls in NJ and Philadelphia who now participate in a year round leadership development initiative.

 

In 2018, we are ready to expand and refine SuperCamp Philly.

 

 

During the summer training program, girls learn:
* Public speaking
* Body confidence
* Healthy eating and physical activity
* African & African American history
* Literacy in math and science
*Training in the social determinants of health
* Business development
* Arts
* Community service

 

 

SuperGirls Society
Once girls successfully complete SuperCamp, together with their familes, they begin the full year training as a member of SuperGirls Society (SGS). SGS is all about sisterhood and service. Over the course of the year, girls and their families meet twice a month.

 

During this time, we train girls and their families on ways to stay physically and emotionally healthy. Girls receive training from top business professionals, academics and policymakers.

 

We teach girls how to:
* Initiate ideas and develop plans
* Lead meetings
* Galvanize their peers
* Build coalitions
* Strategize options for dealing with common social issues such as bullying and racist encounters

 

While our elementary school aged girls are getting acclimated and finding their voices with the help of their caregivers, our middle school girls are refining their leadership skills.  Middle school girls develop and execute a social action project: an initiative that addresses a social issue and one that allows them to showcase their talents and passions for creating social change.

 

 

Evidence of our trianing can most profoundly be seen in Marley Dias . Marley Dias’ #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign was developed as her SGS social action project. In her book published by Scholastic, she outlines the training she received.

 

 

Marley is not alone. She is a part of a cohort of SuperGirls who have also used their skills and talents to give back to the community. SuperGirls have redesigned rooms at the YMCA for homeless children (#Room4Change), helped girls gain confidence in math (#MathWizGames), provided winter clothing for youth in need (#FullCourtDress), and educated families on the importance of healthy living (#Food4Life).

 

Why Invest?
If not you, who will help our girls? The girls we serve are from working and middle class families. They are at risk for not fulfilling their fullest human potential. They often do not come to the attention of large scale funders because while they have some resources, they need more.

 

SGS and SuperCamp are exactly the more our girls need to lead.  If they can learn now to understand their history, become confident, discover their individual power, connect with their community and become leaders, they will grow up with this in mind.

 

 

This is our work. We are committed to making sure these black girls know their truest power. These girls are today’s and tomorrow’s leaders. We ask that you invest now. Their success is our success.

 

Investing in SGS assures that other black girls can also develop the confidence they need to make an impact on the world. #InvestInGirls

GrassROOTS Community Foundation thanks each of our SuperCamp grantors for choosing to #InvestInGirls:

• RWJ Barnabas 
• GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare 
• Food Fit Philly – Get Healthy Philly Grant