www.girlstart.org
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www.girlstart.org |
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| IN THIS ISSUE |
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| NOTE FROM RACHEL |
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Have you ever seen those cartoon illustrations of the changing of a year? The old year is depicted as a grey haired old man bent over, spent out. The new year is a fresh faced, pink cheeked baby. Those drawings always seem a little silly and over simplified, but really, how true they are. A year passing is in some ways like an older person whose story has been written. All of those days have been lived, all of the wisdom and experiences have been had. And that New Year is truly so like a baby whose knowledge and journeys are still yet to come; a life waiting to be lived. The wonderful part is that this time each year we get the chance to see both the seasoned old man and the baby so full of potential. We get to look back on a year full of trials and triumphs, celebrate the wisdom gained, and close a chapter of our lives. At the same time though, we get to be a child again and start anew at chasing our dreams. We get 365 pages on which to write a new chapter. So when this little baby, the year 2006, has become an old man, what will those days have added to your story? Allow me to suggest a chapter for your New Year story: Expanding Your Horizons. Get involved with Girlstart this year and you'll do just that for yourself and the girls that you love with the thrill of seeing their new year filled with excitement and inspiration. For girls, we have THREE registrations opening this month for Summer Camp, Expanding Your Horizons, and Saturday Camp. For you, we've got wonderful volunteer opportunities, chances for you to give in ways that make a real difference to real girls, and stories of hope and inspiration to spur you on. Have a wonderful New Year! 
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| GIRLSTART EVENTS AND NEWS |
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Don't Miss Out on Registrations in January!Register early for Girlstart Summer Camp 2006 starting on January 2 and receive a discount on camp price! Summer camp themes for 2006 include Making the Video, Dream Spaces, You're the Boss, and Hermione's Adventures at Girlstart for girls in the 4th through 8th grades! Register before February 3 and receive a $50 discount. Registration for the Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) conference on March 25 opens on January 9! EYH workshops are offered in six distinct tracks including “Girl, MD” and “Tech Me Out," presenting girls in the 6th through 8th grades unique opportunities to learn about the careers that await them in math, science and technology! Spring Saturday Camp registration opens on January 16! These free camps are open to girls in the 1st through 8th grades. Parents can spend time with younger girls in our Junior Camps; and older girls come to explore technology and science topics including ooey gooey science, a physics circus, and Valentine e-cards! Saturday Camps fill up fast so register soon! Find out how your company can become a sponsor for these programs by contacting Milissa Tivnan at 916-4775. Visit Girlstart at Local Conferences! 10th Annual Parent Leaders Networking Conference January 4 The 10th Annual Parent Leaders Networking Conference held at the Delco Activity Center (Hwy 183 and Manor) is a community-wide collaborative effort hosted by FamilyConnections, Our Voices and the Austin Independent School District. Joint Mathematics Meetings January 14 The Joint Mathematics Meetings at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio are held for the purpose of advancing mathematical achievement, encouraging research, and to provide the communication necessary to progress in the field. Texas Association of Partners in Education January 24 - 26 The Texas Association of Partners in Education's Conference at the Hyatt Hotel is a unique opportunity to bring together business, community and school practitioners, advocates, newcomers and scholars who are interested in developing, implementing and coordinating effective partnerships with schools. Austin Family Camp Fair January 28 The 8th Annual Austin Family Camp Fair is held at the Palmer Event Center and assists parents in choosing the right spring & summer camps for their children (ages 3-18) under one roof! |
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| VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT |
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Expanding Your Horizons is a day-long event at the University of Texas at Austin on Saturday, March 25, 2006 created to show more than 200 middle school girls what it might be like to be a woman in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) career. We are looking for women in STEM fields to lead a hands-on workshop at our event! Detailed information including a Presenter FAQ and tips are available at www.eyhaustin.org. We also have opportunities for general volunteers at the event! Girlstart is also looking for Club Girlstart assistants for a one hour commitment for eleven weeks during the spring semester. Visit our volunteer opportunities to sign up! 
Girlstart was lucky the day that Greenlights for Nonprofit Success introduced them to Dr. Juli Fellows! Juli has volunteered her incredible expertise to Girlstart with board development, staff development, and communication training. Juli has 20 years experience in helping organizations become more effective. She specializes in customized organizational services, including meeting facilitation, conflict resolution, strategic planning and interpersonal skills training. Since 1993 Juli has assisted more than 140 organizations, ranging in size from five employees to tens of thousands of employees. |
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| DONOR HIGHLIGHTS |
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Girlstart appreciates the thoughtful donations from our supporters in December! Artist Margaret Burns celebrated her 30th birthday by inviting her friends to make donations to Girlstart. We would also like to thank the team of students from Austin Community College who hosted the Girls on a Roll Bowl-A-Thon in support of Girlstart. Lindsey Miller, Kristi Treadwell, Sheila Massenburg and Christy McDonald worked together to raise money for Girlstart in this fundraising event. Thanks to these incredible women who took the time to support Girlstart in unique ways! Girlstart is made possible by a grant through the National Science Foundation. Girlstart's after-school programs are funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation and Intel. The Girlstart Digital Detectives program is supported by the Texas Education Agency. Saturday camps are funded by AMD and the Sooch Foundation; and our Baty Elementary after school program is sponsored by AMD. The Girlstart Technology Center is underwritten by Janet Harman, Jeff and Gail Kodosky, Nav Sooch, KLE Foundation, Betsy Blair and Jim Van Winkle, AMD, Austin Community Foundation, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, and National Instruments. Girlstart's 2005 Summer Camps were made possible by generous grants from Dell, Seawell Elam Foundation, Applied Materials and the Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation. Scholarships for campers were made possible by the Silverton Foundation, Freescale, Wells Fargo, the Strake Foundation, the Chaparral Women's Club, employees of Motion Computing, the LCRA Employees' United Charities, and numerous individual donors. Underwriting for 2006 Summer Camps is provided by Dell and the Sooch Foundation. The Sooch Foundation is also generously sponsoring a research study on Girlstart alumnae. We are pleased to have the support of Cisco Systems, Applied Materials, Intel, UPS and numerous individuals in presenting Girlstart’s first Expanding Your Horizons event. Girlstart would also like to thank the Webber Family Foundation and ExxonMobil for their support. For their generous donation of goods and services, we would like to thank Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C., Fox 7, IBM and Cupidz Clozet. Girlstart gives girls the tools they need to be leaders of their generation. Help a girl change the world. Give to Girlstart now! |