July 22, 2007 ONLINE EDITION

Stronger. Smarter. Bolder.

Great characteristics for anybody, but specifically, that describes the work done at one Sioux City agency.

A recent study by the Iowa Afterschool Alliance reports that 67 percent of sixth graders and 84 percent of eighth graders in Iowa spend at least one to five hours a day unsupervised.

Other research points to the effectiveness of afterschool and summer programs to retain gains kids make in early childhood, keep them safe and help them bridge into adulthood.

The mission of Girls Inc. focuses on the special needs of girls by providing a positive and stimulating environment and helping girls realize the opportunities in life and develop their capacity to become self-sufficient members of the community.

Girls Inc. was established in 1986 as the Girls Club of Sioux City and opened in June at the former First Assembly of God Church, 723 Myrtle St. In 1991 the agency became affiliated nationwide with Girls Inc. of America, a national nonprofit youth organization that has roots dating to 1864.

"Throughout the years, Girls Inc. sounds a consistent theme," said Mandie Engel-Cartie, executive director. "Every girl is to be valued and honored."

Movin' and shakin'

Hands extended; hands on hips; crisscross feet; disco hands with poms. The girls were shakin' and kickin' like Rockettes to appropriately "We're All In This Together."

"Our dance team just started up June 11 and features girls of all ages, shapes and sizes," Engel-Cartie said. "Our new program director, Dena Menendez, has spearheaded this effort and is tying dance and tumbling with improved body image, healthy movement and self-esteem."

Jordan Jackson, 10, raced across the gym and did a round-off during the routine. She confessed to no previous dance or gymnastic training.

"Miss Dena just asked if I could do any tumbling and I said I could do this," Jordan explained. "This has been lots of fun for me."

"My vision when I was hired on (in May) was to combine dancing and gymnastics and cheerleading into a dance team," Menendez said. "And I wanted it to be available to every girl who was interested with no auditions and no stigmas attached. As long as they showed up and tried their hardest, they were part of the dance team."

Among the parents watching the girls' routine this day was Jordan's mom, Melissa Shores.

"She loves it!" Shores insisted. "I just wanted to get her into some summer activities that would last through the summer until the school year started. This has been great."

"It's about the cutest thing you've ever seen when they perform, but the serious side is that we so often deal with girls with a poor body image," Engel-Cartie said. "They believe they can't do sports or PE, yet there they are in dance -- out there movin' and groovin'!"

Communication skills

Menendez' focus isn't just changing the girls' beliefs that dance is only for Barbie doll figures. She also works on communication skills, particularly conflict resolution.

"I think they were shell-shocked at first when one would tell me one story and another girl would tell me another story and I would bring the two together to compare stories," she said. "Then, I would never let them leave me until we all agreed on what had actually happened."

By illustrating to the girls the concept of two-sides-to-every story, Menendez said she has noticed the girls have begun working things out for themselves instead of bringing staff into situations.

"They are like sponges in the way they soak everything in," she noted. "I've told them they don't have to like everyone, but they have to be polite to everyone."

Girls Inc. serves young women ages 6 to 18 with a variety of regular programs, such as science, life skills, health, judo, Taekwondo, and numerous others.

"The Chicken Coop is our new teen program," Engel-Cartie said. "This is an area where girls can share concerns, dreams and aspirations with staff. These girls have created their own name, logo, ground rules, and support system."

The concept ties in with a new report produced by Harris Interactive and the national Girls Inc. that is called "The Supergirl Dilemma:  Girls Grapple With the Mounting Pressure of Expectations" Engel-Cartie added.

"I like to call the place 'Coffee Talk,'" said Menendez, referring to the Saturday Night Live sketch performed by Mike Myers. "Here we talk about anything and everything from pink nail polish to boys to home life."

Taking its cue from the slogan, "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas," Menendez said the same goes for the Chicken Coop.

"The girls know that no matter what is said, it stays here," she stressed. "I know that makes them feel free to ask or discuss anything."

The area was originally an Eagle Scout project by a young man who took the former storage space and fixed it up with furniture and carpeting. Menendez came up with the idea of including guided discussions every day just before lunch, but much appeared to be unstructured as Shelbie Doolin, 12, sang songs out loud that came into her head and Emma Lunnig, 12, with a box full of colored pencils, doodled.

"I like it because it's a place I can hang out away from the little kids," Lunnig said in a hushed voice. "It gives me a chance to talk to my girlfriends."

Girlfriends auxiliary

Speaking of girlfriends, Girls Inc. just initiated a reinvented auxiliary called Girlfriends.

"It's a group of young professional women who have put together a variety of special projects, activities and events for the girls," said Engel-Cartie.

In the spring Girlfriends hosted a fashion show in which they raised money and then took 20 girls shopping and those girls modeled the clothes they purchased.

"The educational side of that was that the girls learned about fashion on a budget and got some mentoring time," Engel-Cartie said. "One committee is a special mentoring committee where the women are partnered with a girl for both group activities and one-on-one."

Heather Rubel, 33, is the vice-president of the re-tooled auxiliary and Mandie Norby, 24, is a Girlfriends board member.

"Our main focus is to give the girls a positive, better image of themselves for the future," Rubel said.

"As well as to empower them," Norby added.

"No matter what they encounter, we want to show them they can do anything," noted Rubel who works for the Sioux City Community School District in purchasing.

"We hope what we do with the girls will shape future leaders," pointed out Norby, who works in marketing at St. Luke' Regional Medical Center.

Cynthia Anthony, 32, took her lunch break from the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce to hang out with Jenny Limon, 10.

"I was new to the area and didn't know anybody except my husband when I was approached about Girlfriends," she said. "I know there's a waiting list for seven to eight more matches, so we certainly could use more help.

"It was really fun to go to mall!" Jenny interjected, with a huge smile on her face.

"It's meant a lot to Jenny because she's mildly mentally retarded, so she just loves it when Cynthia calls," said Alicia Macias, mother to Jenny and six other children and a full-time student at Northeast Community College. Her daughter Maria Macias, 16, also has a Girlfriend.

"I can't spend a whole lot of one-on-one time with the kids, so the Girlfriend program is very important for my girls," Alicia added.

Academics too

A report entitled "A Random Assignment Study of Building Educated Leaders for Life" by the nonpartisan Urban Institute stated a growing body of evidence indicates the test scores of low-income children drop significantly relative to their higher-income counterparts during the summer months. The study went on to say the findings provide support for investments in out-of-school time programming for low-income children during the summer.

This summer Girls Inc. has a certified reading teacher who works as an Academic Intensive Care instructor.

"AIC classes are small groups of three to five girls who need special assistance in maintaining grade level over the summer," Engel-Cartie said. "The girls work on all subject areas, but focus on reading skills."

Last year AIC teacher Amy Haneklaus was part of the preschool program at Riverside Elementary. When school starts next month, she will work in the Title I Reading Recovery program. Haneklaus started the AIC classes out by performing an assessment of the girls' reading levels and getting input from parents.

"Each girl now has a specially designed plan to boost their comprehension in the areas they need most," Engel-Cartie said. "We have a full-fledged tutoring center in operation throughout the school year and we knew we could highlight those programs along with AIC."

Holding a white board, Haneklaus took four girls through a review of "The Very Busy Day," which featured the activities of Big Mouse and Little Mouse. As she wrote their answers, the girls would read what she was writing out loud.

"I'm not only asking them questions, I'm asking them to remember," Haneklaus said of the exercise. Then she instructed the girls to write down characters, the introduction, the body and the conclusion of the story on a paper to again strengthen comprehension.

Since the organization opened its doors more than two decades ago, Girls Inc. has gone from 479 to 534 members. Numbers haven't changed much because the building can only accommodate so many in the space, Engel-Cartie said. Space challenges are clearly illustrated in the Cosy Corner.

Located in the lower level of the building, the room was more than "cozy," as the site for some 40 girls who were studiously drawing their names on construction paper and breaking into song on occasion.

Other areas of the building are used for other group activities, everything from working with the girls on the girls in academic enrichment activities to self-reliance and life skills to curriculum on health and sexuality.

"Everyday is something new," said 9-year-old Megan Derochie who has been a frequent Girls Inc. attendee for the past two summers. "There's always something interesting and it gets me out of the house."

Want to join?
Any girl between the ages of 6 and 18 is eligible to participate in Girls Inc. programs.
Dues and fees are on a sliding scale and range from $5 per week to $20 per week. Scholarships are available.
Transportation is provided from 17 schools in the area to the agency during the school year.
For more details, call Girls Inc. at 252-1088 or visit its Web site www.girlsincofsiouxcity.org.