5 YEARS EMPOWERING GIRLS
UPCOMING EVENTS
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2022 EVENTS
December 2022 Wonderfully Me Session
December Acts of Kindness
Wonderfully Me displayed acts of kindness this holiday season by partnering with Family Service of Chester County. The girls conducted their first holiday food drive. This food items collected would compliment a free ham for Christmas dinner to families of Exchange Club Family Service Center. After Allyson Holtz of Main Line Health’s Community Health and Outreach presented on “Emotional health well-being-It’s okay not to be okay". Those in attendance sorted and packed the boxes for the families.
They even had fun wrapping gifts that were distributed to families who receive services from Family Services. This would not have been a success without the families, friends, volunteers and supporters who donated to the food drive. We look forward to partnering with this organization in the future.
We appreciate Danielle and Johnna for providing lunch and sharing part of their Saturday to assist us to accomplish our goal of doing something good for others.
November 2022 Wonderfully Me Session
What Does My Name Mean?
Embracing who I am through my name
In the spirit of being thankful during the Thanksgiving holiday, the November session began with the “Wonder girls “sharing how they felt and what they were grateful for. As we resumed the session, the focus was on building a sense of community. The session's objectives were achieved creatively with a focus on their names.
They learned how the meaning of their names are an integral part of their identity. After each participant explored the meaning of their names and various character traits associated with it, they were excited and empowered to reintroduce themselves to the group. Upon completion of the empowerment session, each girl can feel more confident in affirming that they are on the journey to know who they are by embracing who they are.
September 2022 Wonderfully Me Session
The girls at Wonderfully Me Incorporated had an amazing self-esteem building time at an empowerment session at Kirk’s Martial Arts in West Chester PA. From palm strikes to judo throws, the girls were able to practice a lot. Learning the basics of self defense helped the girls to raise their confidence and learn that it is necessary for their voices to be heard and listened to. They also learned the importance of standing up to bullies, and learning that they can come in more than one way. October is Anti Bullying month and we are here to share the message that bullying has got to go!
Thank you to Kirk’s Martial Arts, and thank you to the girls for bringing positive energy and excitement. If we are ever caught in a not nice situation now, we know how to protect ourselves and stand up against bullying!
Kicking Off The 2022-2023 Empowerment Year:
Goal Setting
September kicked off our very first empowerment session for the year 2022-2023. The yearly theme is empowerment through self-awareness. Our first session focused on goal setting and accountability to prepare the girls for success. During the session the girls learned about identifying goals, developing goals, and accomplishing goals. As part of goal setting, they learned to recognize and establish the steps of S.M.A.R. T. to accomplish their goals.
S.M.A.R. T. Goals:
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Specific
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Measurable
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Attainable
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Relevant
The meeting concluded with a discussion about understanding that by having a plan and executing your plan, you are more likely to accomplish your goal!
April 2022 Wonderfully Me Session
Understanding Peer Pressure
Our April event focused on understanding peer pressure. To get the day started, the girls participated in a mindfulness deep breathing exercise and an ice breaker. The ice breaker gave them an idea of how peer pressure can influence how they feel when they are under the pressure of making a decision., especially when others are involved.
Then, the girls learned more about peer pressure. They talked about what peer pressure is, where it is seen, who experiences it and the many different types of peer pressure – including negative and positive and ways to overcome it. Throughout the presentation, the girls were asked questions about peer pressure to help get them engaged and to understand the importance of the topic. The girls ended with putting their skills to the test by role-playing peer pressure scenarios to help guide them as they may encounter peer pressure in their everyday lives.
March 2022 Wonderfully Me Session
Our March session was an exciting one. The girls were finally all back together in person and focused on learning about the female changing body and puberty. During the session, the girls heard from one of our very own Board members as she presented all the wonders of growing up and explained the changes that happen to a female’s body both physically and emotionally as they go through puberty and enter the adolescent stage.
To get started, the girls all participated in an ice breaker that showed how everyone enters puberty at various stages and ages in life and explained that it’s completely normal and it’s best to embrace the changes they will each experience as they grow into a woman. She also helped them understand why they may feel certain emotions and how best to control those emotions.
Following the presentation, the girls played an interactive activity followed by puberty BINGO – with prizes included!
At the end, the girls took home an emergency kit that provided them with resources should they go through some of these changes at school or in a public setting. This session was incredibly interactive and we encouraged the parents to stay as we all learned together the importance and beauty of turning into a woman.
The Importance of Body Positivity
Encouraging acceptance of self and others, regardless of body shape and size, is very important to building strong self-esteem and an overall healthy mindset, especially in young girls. Teaching girls from a young age to love themselves and all their imperfections as well as accept and be kind to others who may look differently than they do can have a long lasting effect on their well-being. Wonderfully Me encourages young girls to appreciate their beauty which is why the February session was all about the importance of body positivity.
The session began with a mindfulness activity where the girls learned the 5-4-3-2-1 model. This model helps with grounding yourself in a situation where one might feel overcome with doubtful emotions such as anxiety or fear to understand those emotions and focus on positive thoughts.
After our mindfulness session, the girls then reviewed the January session and talked a little bit more about representation. Following the recap, the girls were asked to share what they think makes their bodies similar as females, and what makes their bodies different. The girls were extremely engaged in this activity and enjoyed talking about their unique differences, what they love about themselves and maybe something that they would change, but overall they expressed what body positivity meant to them.
The end of the session concluded with an activity where the girls learned about the importance of what their bodies can do for them (e.g., use strong legs to play soccer) and not what it looks like. They debunked common myths and learned that it’s important to be kind to others and that it’s never acceptable to make someone feel bad based on their appearance. They learned that all girls are created differently and how you make people feel will always be remembered over how you look. The girls also reviewed images that were photoshopped of young women to understand how the media portrays females while reviewing the original photos to see the real beauty.
Throughout the session, girls were asked to say “you are wonderfully made and beautiful just the way you are '' as an affirmation after each time they shared a personal anecdote as a reminder that they are all beautiful just the way they are.