Peer Educators Sew Hats for Children's Hospital
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A group of Peer Educators meet with Lindsay Heering at the Children's Hospital of Michigan.
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This winter, youth in AFG's Outreach and Education Services Peer Education program expressed to AFG staff that they wanted to do a volunteer service project for the Children's Hospital of Michigan. After considering a few different options, they decided to make fleece hats for the children at the hospital. With the help of one of our fantastic volunteers, the Peer Educators learned to sew the hats. They used a variety of colorful fleece, which provided joy and, most importantly, warmth during those frigid winter temperatures we experienced in Detroit this year.
The first meeting the Peer Educators (PE's) had was a preparation meeting, where they learned how to cut out the pieces of fleece based on the size of hat they were making. Next, they spent about 5 hours one afternoon, learning to sew and completing their hats. After they learned how to create the hats, the Peer Educators had to teach the whole process to one of their program coordinators. The purpose of this exercise was to help the PE's fully learn and retain their new skills.
Peer Educator, Tiana, spoke about why the project was important to her,"Making the hats for the children was very heart warming and it feels good to help other people, if I'm capable of doing it. I hope they all loved the hats." Click here to read more.
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Hats made by the Peer Educators!
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Prevention Department Travels to Costa Rica!
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This week, our Prevention Department took eight young women to Costa Rica for four days! Through private donations and support from the Born and Raised Detroit Foundation, the Prevention Department organized the trip with the goal of giving girls the opportunity to travel and experience a different culture.
The trip was open to middle and high school aged participants in the Prevention Department's Afterschool Program through a Grade Point Average (GPA) challenge. The girls with the two highest GPA's in the high school group and in the middle school group were selected to go. Additionally, two girls from each age group who had the largest improvement in GPA over one term were also selected to go on the trip.
Over the past several months staff members have worked hard to help the young women and their parents prepare for the trip. They have held bi-weekly meetings with the high school and middle school girls, where they covered a range of topics including: safety, necessary immunizations, facts about Costa Rica, information about the culture change, appropriate etiquette, and much more! Since this was the first time any of the participants have ridden an airplane, they also gave the girls information about the airport and traveling by plane. Although four of the young women going on the trip are bilingual in English and Spanish, the preparation meetings have also included some basic Spanish lessons so all of the youth will know some key phrases and words they can use while in Costa Rica. Click here to read more.
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Role Model Dinner Raises Crucial Funds
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On March 19th, Alternatives For Girls held our 25th annual Role Model Dinner at The Fillmore. The event raised an unprecedented $294,000 to support our critical work!
The Role Model Dinner, chaired this year by Myra Moreland, provided an opportunity for us to hear from many of the young women whose lives have been changed by AFG's programs. We heard stories of struggle and triumph, and many reflections on the theme of the night, Beautiful Potential.
Nearly 400 guests enjoyed an exciting live and silent auction as well as a moving program, which honored several extraordinary women. The event honored two role models, Ms. Amyre Makupson and Ms. Andra Rush. The event also honored a keynote speaker, Ms. Grace Lieblein, whose speech was certainly one of the highlights of the night!
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