Girlstart June Newsletter - Volume 9, Issue 6

Girlstart June Newsletter - Volume 9, Issue 6
www.girlstart.org

IN THIS ISSUE

Note from Rachel
Girlstart Events and News
Volunteer Spotlight
A Parent's Story
Donor Highlights

NOTE FROM RACHEL

Did you hear that?

That sound you might have heard coming from the general direction of Girlstart headquarters was the collective squeals of girls from all over Austin. School is out, and a summer to remember is underway! Hooray! There is no time of the year quite as thrilling, freeing and golden as the start of summer, especially if you're looking forward to a summer spent at Girlstart!

So what's in store for our campers this year? Well, true to form, we've got a lineup of adventures that would thrill the most discerning girl wonder.

On June 5th, summer kicks off to a rocking start with our make Making the Video camp. Later in June girls will go wild with paint and power tools, as they dream up their own Dream Spaces. July brings Girlstart's "You're the Boss" camp, where girls will get a hands on, "dig in and get dirty" look at the real career lives of real women. Finally, when things heat up at the end of July and into August, we'll be warming up the cauldrons with our toil and trouble, boil and bubble Hermione's Adventures camp. Who knows what kind of fun we'll conjure up!

It's an action packed adventure that will be over all too soon. Don't miss out! Throw your shades in your beach bag, lather on the sunscreen, and bask in the glow of Girlstart's favorite time of year!

GIRLSTART EVENTS AND NEWS

Summer Camp 2006!
Girlstart Summer Camp 2006 has begun! Girlstart campers are creating their own music videos using digital video cameras and editing software in Making the Video. Campers are drafting their own floorplans and creating 3D models of room decor in Dream Spaces!

Summer Camp sponsors include Dell, the City of Austin, the Silverton Foundation, the Sooch Foundation, Freescale, and numerous individual donors.

Digital Detectives at Region 12

Digital Detectives continues in June with a regional training in Waco! Digital Detective trainings are coordinated by the Regional Collaborative Project Directors in selected cities for Science Teacher Mentors in their areas. For more information about Digital Detectives, contact the director for your area!

Digital Detectives is sponsored by the Texas Education Agency.

Girlstart Alumnae Club

Join the Girlstart Alumnae Club! The Girlstart Alumnae Club is for girls who are currently in high school and who have participated in any Girlstart after school club or attended a Girlstart Summer or Saturday Camp. We are getting together to catch up on old times, volunteer with Girlstart and gain leadership experience! Don’t miss out, Alums! Contact Dita Niyogi at dita@girlstart.org to get involved.

The Girlstart Alumnae Club is sponsored by the Sooch Foundation.

Texas Girls' State Fair
September 29 - October 22, 2006

This year the Women’s Museum in conjunction with the great State Fair of Texas is introducing Texas Girls’ State Fair. The purpose of Texas Girls' State Fair is to honor, recognize and showcase the achievements and interests of Texas adolescent girls. During the Texas Girls' State Fair, the 70,000 square foot building will be transformed into a lively, colorful, and exuberant venue for music, dance, gymnastics, fashion, sports, video, academic achievements, and a wide range of exhibits that show what girls are doing, thinking about, and achieving today. Want to attend? The deadline to apply is August 15, 2006.

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

Girlstart has a mailing night on June 22 where we need your help to prepare for our next mail-out! Are you an expert in Access? E-mail us if you'd like to share your talents by training our staff!

We are lucky to have Megan Havard join us last semester and during our upcoming summer camps as an office volunteer at Girlstart. Megan is a senior Spanish major at the University of Texas. She moved to Austin when she evacuated New Orleans to transfer from Tulane to UT after Hurricane Katrina.

Megan brings a delightful mix of dedication, compassion and hard work to Girlstart. She has been a vital part of our spring programs and continues to support us for summer programs. Megan has worked closely with our Saturday Camp program and is a great office volunteer. Thank you Megan for all that you have done for Girlstart!

A PARENT'S STORY

Girlstart offers summer camp scholarships to campers who would not be able to afford to attend camp. When asked how a scholarship would benefit her daughter, a parent repied:

"I want to make sure my daughter is the first person in our family to finish high school and go to college. I want [her] to have big dreams and realize that there are a lot of things she can do if she gets an education... We moved from Mexico so my children could have more opportunities and have a better life. We are very proud of her."

Thanks to donations from its supporters, Girlstart is proud to award 50 scholarships to Girlstart Summer Camp.

DONOR HIGHLIGHTS

Girlstart is thrilled to recognize the Intel Foundation for their generous support of our Aiming for Algebra Clubs and Saturday programs. We have had another successful year of in-school programs where, thanks in great part to Intel’s generosity, girls explored hands-on math, science, and technology as they worked toward success in Algebra 1 in the 8th grade. Thank you, Intel, for your continued support!

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 Connected Communities, the Sooch Foundation, and the City of Austin's GTOPs program. The Sooch Foundation is also generously sponsoring a research study on Girlstart alumnae.

We are pleased to have support from Cisco, UPS, Applied Materials, Intel, Maxwell, Locke & Ritter, Silicon Labs, H-E-B, Texas Gas Service, the RGK Foundation, SigmaTel, Wells Fargo, and individual contributions 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!