For Girls
SWSG girls are strong, engaged elementary school students at schools and community centers around our cities.
Who
SWSG girls, also called mentees, are strong, engaged elementary school students at schools and community centers around our cities. SWSG’s free after-school program is open to anyone in grades 3-5 who identifies as a female! Mentees in our program learn and grow by participating in energetic, hands-on activities designed to foster meaningful relationships with their mentors and build a strong foundation for the future. Curriculum elements span active games, creative projects, guided discussion, and opportunities for reflection.
How
Each week during the school year, mentees in SWSG attend a 90-minute mentoring session where they connect with other girls from their school and a group of college women mentors. Mentors from local colleges and universities lead these sessions using a robust, role-model based curriculum anchored in the stories of strong women from history and today.
Every year, girls attend at least one Campus Discovery Tour with their mentors, a field trip hosted by our chapters at their colleges. Often, it’s their first time being on a college campus and learning about their academic options for the future. These experiences connect girls to all college has to offer, from academic opportunities to extra-curricular groups to dining halls!
Mentees have additional field trip opportunities throughout the year, including trips to local institutions and our annual Jump into Spring celebration of mentorship. They also complete an annual service project with their mentors, such as school-wide anti-bullying campaigns or supply drives for a children’s hospital. In doing so, girls learn they can make a positive difference in their community, no matter their age!
Six C's of Positive Youth Development
SWSG uses the Six C’s, a nationally recognized youth development framework, to structure our mentoring curriculum for girls and college women mentors. Through the lens of the Six C’s, we foster healthy outcomes among young people and promote positive self-identity and leadership capability. Participants in SWSG gain skills in:
Confidence: Strong girls realize their inner strengths to dream and do.
Competence: Strong girls know how to get things done.
Character: Strong girls embrace their individuality.
Contribution: Strong girls know how to make a positive difference.
Caring: Strong girls show kindness and care for others.
Connection: Strong girls value community.
Why Mentorship?
In teaching girls about strong women role models and connecting them to a supportive community of women, we build and reinforce their capacity to achieve their dreams. Our program targets an often-forgotten population of girl, those in late elementary school, reaching them at a critical point in adolescence when ideas about success and ambition are increasingly influenced by negative social pressures.
SWSG’s after-school mentoring program is a pivotal force in counteracting the ongoing and concerning trend of declining confidence among girls. As per the 2023 ROX Girls’ Index report, in 2017, 86% of 5th grade girls described themselves as confident. In 2023, the statistic is 68%. To take a preventative stance against such declines, we give girls the tools to make a positive influence, now and as adult women, on their communities, the workforce, the economy, and politics. By focusing on girls in pre-adolescence, we reach girls at a key age to encourage their ambitions.
Why Join SWSG?
- Build supportive, growth-fostering relationships with committed College Mentors and peers
- Practice skills like teamwork, leadership, and critical thinking through energetic and creative activities
- Learn about colleges and career paths
- Meet, learn from, and have fun with amazing female role models demonstrating strength, resilience, and success
How to Join
Find a program site near you in Boston or Pittsburgh! Contact your local site to learn about enrolling your girl.
Find a Location