Tuesday, August 4, 2009

It's Our Party and You're Invited!

Join us for our 40th anniversary party at the 2009 Touchstone Awards
By Molly Beeson, AmeriCorps Summer VISTA Event Specialist

The 2009 Touchstone Awards and 40th Anniversary Celebration is almost here!
Join us this Thursday, August 6 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at The Westin Indianapolis to help us blow out the candles on our first 40 years in Central Indiana!

To learn more about the event, click here or select one of the buttons below.





Thank you to our leading event sponsors!

"40 and Festive" Sponsor

Lilly Endowment, Inc.

"40 and Fast-Paced" Sponsors

Christel DeHaan Family Foundation

Citizens Energy Group

Eugene & Marilyn Glick Family Foundation

KrogerLumina Foundation for Education

State Farm

The National Bank of Indianapolis


Tickets at the luncheon are still available! Contact Ashley Crockett-Lohr at 283-0086 ext. 1022 for more information. We hope to see you there!

Fostering Future Marketers and Scientists!

Female scientists, marketers help campers explore potential careers
By LaTasha Hudson, Volunteer Partnership Coordinator

Summer camp is a great opportunity for volunteer groups to make an impact with Girls Inc. participants. Hirons & Company and Women in Lilly Discovery are two examples of groups who worked with our summer camp to teach girls about interesting careers.


Hirons & Company

On July 7, volunteers from Hirons & Company, an advertising and public relations agency, hosted a Lunch Bunch program for our eight-week campers. Volunteers shared their experiences in advertising and public relations and helped the girls develop their own marketing plans and advertisements -- for cookies! The aspiring marketers:
  • identified a target audience;
  • developed a logo and tagline;
  • pitched their mock advertisement;
  • ate the cookies!


Women in Lilly Discovery (WILD)

Volunteers from Women in Lilly Discovery (WILD), an organization for female scientists at Eli Lilly & Company, partnered with the two-week Camp GEMS to mentor girls in construction. Camp GEMS is dedicated to immersing girls to math and science and is delivered in collaboration with the Life Science Education Center at Marian University. WILD volunteers engaged GEMS campers in a number of ways, including:
  • serving as project mentors and helping with the flower box construction;
  • leading Lunch Bunch programs which exposed girls to science and math careers;
  • beginning discussions on healthy living and botany topics.

Thank you to our volunteers from Hirons & Company and Women in Lilly Discovery for their help with our summer camps!


For more information on how your company or organization could partner with Girls Inc., please contact LaTasha Hudson, volunteer partnership coordinator, at (317) 224-5648.

Former Board Member Honored for "Heart to Serve"

Sheri Watts wins award at United Way Diversity Volunteer Recognition Breakfast
By Pat Wachtel, President & CEO

On July 18, United Way of Central Indiana honored Girls Inc. of Indianapolis board member Sheri Watts for her "Heart to Serve" at their annual Diversity Volunteer Recognition Breakfast.

Watts won the Lis Daily Outstanding Board Service Award, which is awarded to minority board members whose service has demonstrated their leadership experience, fundraising capacity, collaboration skills, and strategic vision. For more than 30 years, Sheri Watts has engaged with Girls Inc. of Indianapolis in a number of ways, including volunteer, donor, and board member.

Watts' time with Girls Inc. is marked by many significant accomplishments, including:
  • navigating Girls Inc. of Indianapolis' strategic shift to an outreach model.
  • advocating for local girls in the community through Girls Inc.'s speakers' bureau.
  • leading the restructuring of Girls Inc.'s annual Girls' Bill of Rights Day in 2009.


Thank you to Sheri Watts for her years of dedicated service to Girls Inc. of Indianapolis!

Summer Camp Rewind 2009!

See what our girls have been up to this summer at camp!
By Jessica Rhodes, AmeriCorps Summer VISTA Video Specialist

Eight weeks of summer camp have flown by, and it's been action-packed for our campers! From creating their own businesses and holding an Economic Literacy carnival to learning about women's history and holding a march about girls' rights, our campers have enjoyed a mixture of creative and fun activities.

Check out this video to see what's happened during these past seven weeks of camp!


Featured Supporter -- Women's Fund OPTIONS 8 Class

Campers get lesson in professional behaviors at Morris-Butler House tea
By Alison Schumacher, Vice President of Development


Do.. or is it Taboo?

One of the unique events our summer campers participated in, Do’s and Taboos, came courtesy of the OPTIONS 8 class of the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana and a member of our board, Peter Lacy. The OPTIONS 8 class funded a special day of activities for our campers, brainstormed by Peter Lacy, to help them understand – and be comfortable using – professional behaviors during interactions such as business meals and networking events.

While half of the group rotated through activities at Girls Inc. demonstrating the importance of being on time, determining appropriate clothing to wear to an interview, and practicing polite communication, the other half visited the Morris-Butler House for a special professional “etiquette tea” where they practiced these skills.

Several of the members of the OPTIONS 8 class were able to attend and participated in the tea alongside the girls; Tonia Lotz shared, “As a 38-year old, I learned more than I expected to from the etiquette lesson. I wish my 8 year old daughter could have participated. This is one more thing that every girl – and every person – needs to know. Social situations can be so awkward!” Shelley Raper agreed, saying, “I’m blown away by Girls Inc. programs. They provide such strong, powerful messages that girls won’t get anywhere else.”

Thank you to the O8 class of the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana and to Peter Lacy for making this day possible for Girls Inc. participants!

Volunteer Profile

Karen Hill


"At the end of the program several girls said they would never forget us and wanted to see if we could come back and volunteer!"
Read more...

Tell a Girl Tip

Tell a girl she's great at science and math.

If you take a moment to tell a girl all the remarkable things you see in her, not only will she believe you, she'll also start to believe in herself.

Just a Reminder...

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