Our team has been reflecting on where we have grown and would like to thank you for your support in 2022.
“I am awed by our team,” said Jen Faust, GIGSB CEO of her first full year with the organization. “I sincerely thank you all for welcoming me to Santa Barbara and Girls Inc. ”
The physical move to relocate our downtown gymnasium and operations took place this year after more than 60 years at the Ortega Street property. We celebrated the joy and long-lasting friendships found there by so many girls over the decades. Over 2,400 books from our downtown library were donated to families, neighborhood schools and to community non-profits.
While we said goodbye to our Ortega location, new sites were beginning. As we expand our school outreach, Girls Inc. added a new program at La Colina Junior High in Fall 2022. This site complements the many other locations where we serve teens from Santa Barbara to Lompoc. Not only are we meeting girls where they are in the schools, but we also launched a mentorship program that connects high school teens to career professionals.
Going forward, we plan to emphasize extra support to serve middle school-age youth as well as expanding program access to better reach our families who have less socio-economic means. Our 2022-2024 Strategic Direction outlines these and other efforts to strengthen our work as the pre-eminent girls’ leadership organization.
This year, we also increased our focus on policy and advocacy. We marked the 50th anniversary of Title IX legislation that Girls Inc. helped to pass. Our youth wrote personal letters to the Supreme Court justices, and our CEO spoke to press to share real-time perspective on how the Dobbs decision impacts our youth in Santa Barbara.
Our incredibly dedicated coaches, facilitators and staff remain serving at the highest level of quality. The board-staff partnerships have also grown stronger in 2022.
We are so excited for all that 2023 has in store for us – enthusiasm and anticipation are building around new opportunities. If you want to help, we invite you to:
- Grant a wish from our Wish Book
- Share the 2022 Wish Book with other champions for girls
- And most of all: get ready to inspire girls to be Strong-Smart-Bold!
We look forward to an epic 2023 celebrating our 65th anniversary!
Date Stamp: December 2022