A practical response to a need in our community

Do you work with girls? Are you a teacher, youth worker, youth pastor or mentor?

Then this resource will give you a step by step plan to help young women develop self-worth, a positive identity and sense of purpose.

This program is a gender-specific, research-based program for girls. It has been delivered by schools, organisations and churches for more than 5 years and is improving the lives of girls 12 – 18 years old.

Girls With A Purpose is program that that was designed to help girls talk about real life issues that are affecting them, topics include communication, goal planning, relationships, sexual health, violence and abuse, beauty, help-seeking and self-esteem.

The program is a flexible step by step guide allowing facilitators to use the content in their own school or community setting. Using a strengths approach, the program aims to facilitate healthy discussions and experiential learning.

If you are a program facilitator and need session plans, game and activity ideas, then purchase Girls With A Purpose!

• 11 session plans
• 90 games and activities
• 39 handouts
• Certificate of Attendance
• Evaluation forms

The Facilitator’s Guide includes a CD Rom with all the handouts, certificate and evaluation forms so that you can print them out as many times as you like on your own printer. Or you can purchase sets of handouts from us at a very low cost.

Successful singer and former Australian Idol contestant, Cosima Devito, supports Girls With A Purpose and wants to see schools all over Australia offer the program.

“If a program like this existed when I was young I would have definitely enrolled. The course helps to develop self worth, build friendships and purpose in young women”

The Girls With A Purpose program is strengths-based, it engages girls with fun games and small group discussion topics.

Our evaluations show that the program increases the confidence and life skills of the girls that complete the program. Improved decision making, increased friendship and group work skills, efficacy and confidence are all outcomes that are being reported by participants.

Seventeen-year old Tara Youngberry agrees it’s a tough gig for teenagers today, especially girls, Tara signed up for the Girls With A Purpose program and loved it.

“Most girls today think that if you don’t fit or don’t want to fit in, then you’re uncool. Girls With A Purpose shows you that uncool is when you’re not being yourself. One of my friends just changed so much, she felt better about herself and learnt to accept herself and others.”

Youth workers also endorse the program and are witnessing its positive impact in the lives of the girls they work with. Kim Scott, a former Youth Support Coordinator in Biloela, Queensland says,

“Facilitating ‘Girls with a Purpose’ has been a great and rewarding experience.  I believe this program should be offered to all girls from 12 to 16 years. It is very empowering to believe that your dreams can come true, and that we all have a purpose and destiny in life.”

Clinical Psychologist Dr Rhiannon Penny says

“With self-esteem problems at the core of so many issues that adolescents experience today, Girls With A Purpose is invaluable in assisting young women to successfully navigate through their critical teenage years. This is a powerful program that equips girls with the tools to identify their worth, build emotional resilience, and live their life with purpose.”

Parenting expert Michael Grose says

“Adolescent girls need all the help they can get navigating through this potentially exciting, but often difficult life stage. The Girls with a Purpose Program addresses many of the issues that teenage girls face including negotiating relationships, developing self-confidence and staying safe. This is done in a secure, small group learning environment. I wish this program was around when my two girls were teenagers. I definitely would have steered them in the direction of this program.”

Frances Colahan a School Based Youth Health Nurse said

“Girls With A Purpose is a wonderful resource for all school support teams. I highly recommend Girls With a Purpose to all Nurses, Youth Workers, Chaplains, Guidance Officers and Year Co-ordinators.”

The program can be used successfully if you are working in the areas of: education and life skills, health, sexual health, juvenile justice, peer leadership, and substance abuse prevention etc.

It has been used by facilitators working with girls transitioning to high school or college, girls in clubs and youth groups, girls at risk of teenage pregnancy or school dropout, those with a disability and girls from an indigenous or culturally diverse background.

If you would like to look at a sample session plan, you can download Chapter 5 – Session Plan and Handouts to review.

Session 5 is titled “I deserve to be safe and in control” The aim of the session is to help girls learn to make safe choices. The session discusses personal safety, especially in regard to partying and relationships.

What do girls say about Girls With A Purpose?

Here are some of the comments we have received:

“It was fun, good information and an awesome experience. I’m more confident and it’s helped me to be a stronger person.”
“My confidence has changed. I feel better about myself.”
“I have better leadership skills and I’m more caring now.”
“I’m a nicer person now and I have new friends that treat me better.”
“I have learnt how to be my own person.”
“I’m not so depressed anymore and I am very grateful about this program- it has saved me.”
“I have had the best experience.”

If you would like to see an evaluation report of the program, here are two reports written by Lifehouse Project who run the program in Gold Coast high schools.

Download a program evaluation that was completed in 2009 – Our Journey Together.

Download a program evaluation completed in 2011 – GWAP Evaluation Report

If you want to evaluate your program, you can us the evaluation forms that accompany the Facilitator’s Guide.

Zark Surveys

We also recommend Zark Surveys (www.zarksurveys.com) as a useful tool to identify girls who would benefit from being on a Girls With A Purpose program. They also have two evaluation surveys to help you identify the outcomes of your program.
visit zark surveys

The program is designed to be run weekly for 2-4 hours. However each facilitator can decide how long each session is dependent on their group and the time they have available.

Each week the facilitator assists the girls participate in the session activities and games, discussing the theme of the week and talking about how the theme relates to the girls and their peer group. We recommend that as the facilitator you conduct a small feedback activity at the end of each session and then a larger formal evaluation process at the end of the program.

Do you have any questions? Contact us with your question.

	The Facilitator’s manual is a step by step guide to help you run the Girls With A Purpose Program. Girls With A Purpose promotes the developmental assets that help young people to be healthy, caring and responsible. Using a strengths approach, the program aims to facilitate healthy discussions and experiential learning.
	There are eleven session plans including, “I am a person of worth”; “I belong here”; and “I was created a masterpiece”.The topics covered in the sessions include, communication, relationships, sexual health, teamwork, goal planning, help-seeking and self-esteem. Session eleven is called The Princess Party. It is the opportunity to celebrate with the girls who complete the program.
	Each session plan outlines the activities, games and resources for each session. There are twenty-six recommended games that are fun to play and help the participants achieve and learn.
	There are twenty-five handouts for participants to collect. The handouts are provided on the CD Rom so that facilitators can print them out as and when needed. Pre-printed Handouts are available to order – Packs of 10.
	The Certificate Of Attendance is available on the CD Rom so that facilitators can easily print it and present to participants who complete the program.