September 25, 2019
We are excited to announce that we just received the Boys & Girls Clubs in Tennessee Health & Life Skills Program Award for our SMART Girls program! We are so proud of our Program Outcomes Director Carrika for leading an awesome SMART Girls program and our first annual SMART Girls Conference this year! Thank you to everyone who helped us make this program such a success for our girls! It was a team effort, and we truly couldn’t have done it without the support we received from the community.
SMART Girls is a small-group health, fitness, prevention/education and self-esteem enhancement program designed to meet the developmental needs of girls in three age groups. Through dynamic sessions, highly participatory activities, field trips and mentoring opportunities with adult women, Club girls explore their own and societal attitudes and values as they build skills for eating right, staying physically fit, getting good health care and developing positive relationships with peers and adults. Our Wayne Street Unit facilitated the SMART Girls program weekly on Tuesdays from 5-6pm during the 2019 Spring semester (January – May), led by Program Outcomes Director Carrika Tellington and Youth Development Coordinator Rosetta Pillow. They were assisted by community partners Carla Walker (Maury County Health Department) and Sheila Marczak (Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist).
The 2019 SMART Girls Conference was focused on our three priority outcome areas of academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles, but we also took into consideration what the girls were discussing and dealing with during our SMART Girls lessons every Tuesday. The Club brought in positive leaders from the community to speak to and empower our young girls. Together the SMART Girls participants and staff came up with the theme of “Girl P.O.W.E.R.” which stands for “Preparing for the future, Overcoming obstacles, Working together, Empowering others, and Reaching Potential.”
Click here to read more about our health and life skills programs.