Partner Spotlight: Girls Inc.

December 21, 2015

By Kim Turner, Communications Coordinator

Thanks to surveillance work done by Lucy the Elf, a group of 13 girls at the Girls Inc. after-school program are sure to be on Santa’s good list this year!

The girls, ages 6-12, gather at Girls Inc. in the Claymont Community Center every Monday-Friday until 6:00 p.m. Busses from local schools, including Claymont Elementary, Maple Lane Elementary, P.S. DuPont Middle School and Mt. Pleasant Elementary School, drop the girls off for after-school enrichment and a snack!

Snacks for the program are provided by our After-School Nutrition Program (officially known as the Child and Adult Care Food Program…isn’t After-School Nutrition Program easier to say?!).

I had the chance to see the after-school program in action last Wednesday!

The girls took their seats at cafeteria-style tables and enjoyed cubed cheese, a whole-wheat bread stick, marinara sauce, an apple and milk, all prepared and packed by our dedicated team of volunteers and delivered by a Food Bank of Delaware driver.

According to Lead Instructor Mackenzie Rumford, the girls look forward to their snack each day. Some favorite menu items include pizza bagels, sandwiches, soy butter and jelly and apple juice. “The Food Bank has been sending a lot of apple juice lately, and the girls are loving it,” she said.

While they quietly ate the day’s snack (and posed for pictures!), Miss Kiara, Site Coordinator, read a letter left by the classroom’s Elf on the Shelf, Lucy (also known as Lu Lu!). Lucy wanted the girls to know that she would let Santa know that they have all been behaving in their after-school program!

The Girls Inc. after-school program is very structured with programming focused on equipping girls to navigate gender, economic and social barriers and grow into healthy, educated and independent adults! The Girls Inc. programs are designed to inspire all girls to be strong, smart and bold.

The girls certainly encompass all three of these traits! During my visit, they surprised me with a special handmade banner welcoming me to the program! I felt so honored! In addition to showing off their banner, the girls decorated folders, worked as a group to program a robot through a maze, practiced self-defense moves and more!

Fridays at Girls Inc. are reserved for fun activities like decorating Christmas ornaments, and Mondays are spent working on community service activities. Recently, the girls wrote Christmas cards for the senior center at the Claymont Community Center. And last spring, two girls representing Girls Inc. won the poster contest sponsored by Brae’s Brown Bags as part of our Coming Together conference held at the Chase Center!

Thank you again to the girls and the entire Girls Inc. team for making a difference in our community! The Food Bank of Delaware is proud to partner with you!

Do you host an after-school program? Interested in receiving free meals through the After-School Nutrition Program, if so, click here to learn more!