Bay Area Girls Club
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Mission Statement
The mission of Bay Area Girls Club is to uplift girls ages 5-18 to be game-changers for the future through programming that develops life skills, encourages curiosity and discourse, and fosters community.
About This Cause
As a nonprofit organization, we have been serving girls ages 5-18 in West Contra Costa County for the past 48 years as a safe place for them to be themselves and realize their greatest potential. We were founded by a group of concerned Richmond women who endeavored to create a safe and positive “home-away-from-home” for girls. Through selling spaghetti dinners and bake sales in the early 1970s, they established what was then known and loved throughout the community as Richmond Girls Club. With support from private and corporate donors, the facility (which was then a beauty salon) realized a number of capital improvements to become the multi-service center that it is today. In 2012, Mrs. Stevanna Herron, one of the organization’s founding members, turned 100 years old. She was given a proclamation letter from the City of Richmond to express gratitude for her forward thinking vision to purchase the building in the 1970s. In 1985, our organization’s name changed from Richmond Girls Club to become Girls Inc. of West Contra Costa County when we became an affiliate of the national Girls Inc. nonprofit organization. Since our organization's founding in 1975, we have served over 6,000 girls ages 5-18 in West Contra Costa County. We have provided in-school, after-school and summer camp programming which has encouraged a positive, pro-girl environment. Our programs have included academic enrichment and intervention, mentoring, tutoring, literacy (reading, writing, listening and speaking), STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math), music, recreation, mental health, social/emotional health, physical health, nutrition, leadership development, family/community involvement, advocacy, college preparation, career readiness, financial/economic literacy and young entrepreneurship. Our nonprofit organization has filled a critical niche in the West Contra Costa County community for decades by presenting disadvantaged and historically underserved girls of color with a worthy alternative to the life of poverty and crime statistics suggest is predestined for them. Bay Area Girls Club have unique challenges compared to the rest of the Bay Area and the rest of the state. Living in such a highly condensed urban area puts our girls at higher risk of dropping out of school, becoming teenage mothers, dabbling in activities such as gangs and drugs, being depressed, being bullied or committing suicide/criminal behavior. Historically, the demographics of the girls we have served have been 70% African American, 25% Latino, 2% White, 1% Asian, and 2% Other / Multi-Ethnic Minority. The majority of program participants have lived in households with incomes at or below 30%-50% of the Area Median Income. Nearly 90% of program participants have come from single-parent households. The unique challenges facing our demographic include being underprivileged and underrepresented, poverty, difficult living situations, an educational achievement gap, and a lack of preparedness for a future beyond high school. The impact that our programs have had on the girls we have served has been life-changing. Many of them have never had experiences where they were in a girls-only, caring, nurturing environment learning to be a better friend, sister, and community member while exploring their hobbies and interests at the same time. The effects of an environment such as ours on school-aged girls in our demographic have included: an increase in self-esteem; increased academic knowledge and interest; increased college and career aspirations; healthier relationships with peers and adults; increased confidence and control over one’s own health; and increased involvement in meaningful projects such as advocacy campaigns and volunteerism. The effect of having positive, nurturing mentors also has been life-changing and has influenced our girls to give back to their communities. Due to the pandemic beginning in early 2020, our organization had to shut down our in-school, after-school and summer programs, which resulted in our losing our affiliation status with Girls Inc national headquarters. Over the past several months, we have been engaged in the process of re-branding and rebuilding as Bay Area Girls Club. We have filed our name change with the state of California (which was approved) and the federal Internal Revenue Service agency (which we anticipate hearing back from shortly). We have established a new Board of Directors consisting of 10 members, of which Tiffany Harris (past Executive Director of Girls Inc. of West Contra Costa County from 2014-2020 as well as past Program Manager from 2011-2014) has been elected to serve as President of the Board and Interim Executive Director. It is noteworthy to share that Tiffany has served in every role imaginable for our nonprofit organization, as she was a past participant of Richmond Girls Club when she was a little girl and then volunteered for the organization as an adult when it was called Girls Inc. of West Contra Costa County~ shortly thereafter, she was hired as a Program Manager and ultimately promoted to Executive Director. Because of you, girls throughout the East Bay are smarter and bolder! Your financial partnership creates educational and social opportunities for girls and opens the door to unlimited possibilities. Through our MISS Project, GETT to WORK, and College Bound Girls program, our participants learn about finances, career planning, leadership, sports, and more! Bay Area Girls Club is a story of pride and promise, and the story continues. We are thankful you’ve chosen to partner with us, and we promise that together, we will continue to make a profound difference in the lives of Bay Area Girls.