Gen X Philanthropy

Many may think that the Generation-Xers are just beginning to understand philanthropy.  According to a recent article in US News, for many young professionals, giving to charity isn't just about writing checks.  Instead, the focus is on volunteering, socializing, and networking -- while also contributing to good causes.

"Many Generation X-ers are more interested in social advocacy and engagement philanthropy," says Dwight Burlingame, associate executive director at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. That means they are more likely to want to work directly with organizations instead of just donating money, he explains.

Interestingly, the Center notes that giving rates rise with education levels: 90% of persons with graduate degrees contribute to charity, while only 58% of persons with high school educations or less do.  And the average annual gift for a college graduate is $2,633, it reports.

But some young people want to do more - they want to get involved.  For example, Lindsay Hyde.  During her freshman year at Harvard, she wanted to become a mentor to younger girls in the area, but when she looked into potential opportunities, she couldn't find any groups willing to work with undergraduates.  So she organized her own team of volunteers and found two elementary schools interested in working with them.  When Hyde graduated from college in 2000, she officially launched a nonprofit which now works with over 400 girls a year in Boston, Pittsburgh, and Miami.

Strong Women, Strong Girls uses lessons learned from strong women throughout history to encourage girls and young women to become strong women themselves.  The curriculum focuses both on elementary age and college age young women, recognizing that both ages really need many of the same experiences and education.  Three basic tenets form the curriculum:

RELATIONSHIPS:  Research which shows that girls and young women need supportive relationships in order to thrive.  For elementary girls, the relationships form with college women, with peers, and with program leaders.  The young women in college form relationships with the younger girls and with peers, but also with participating college advisors and one adult mentor, who is paired with the college student each year.

SKILLS:  Younger girls need help developing social and emotional skills, while the young women develop leadership and professional skills including resume writing and interviewing.

ROLE MODELS:  A role model helps girls develop aspirations for the future - both through the experience with college students and through reading a weekly biography of a women in history.  College students learn from professional women and field experts, who can assist in their preparation for a career.

Strong Women, Strong Girls has developed a range of resources for individuals and organizations interested in working with girls and young women.  It also has tracked its success, based on participant surveys and academic achievement.

This program is similar to Chrysalis After-School programs because it intentionally brings in college age women who develop mentoring relationships with the girls.  This year, Chrysalis will begin a formal high school mentoring program, designed to teach the high school girls ("graduates" of Chrysalis After-School) how to develop relationships with younger girls, how to be a role model, and how to instruct about specific skills important to their healthy development.

We look forward to reporting on the success of this program at the end of the academic year.  And we're delighted to have your support and leadership in continuing the work of building future women leaders through Chrysalis After-School.  We’re in 30 schools this year, half elementary, half middle schools – in Des Moines, Indianola, Bondurant, Saydel, Southeast Polk, and Urbandale.  Between 500 and 600 girls and approximately 65 facilitators take part in weekly meetings, with specific curricula created by Chrysalis for the following:

GIRLSTRONG!                  Health and wellness

ON THE MONEY             Financial literacy

BRAINCAKE                      Science, technology, engineering, and math

DRAKE PHARMACY     Safe use of prescription and over-the-counter medicines

ProjectSTOP                     Violence prevention

Thank you for all you give to Chrysalis.

Abduction

The last paragraph in the book HALF THE SKY by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn reads:

The tide of history is turning women from beasts of burden and sexual playthings into full-fledged human beings.  The economic advantages of empowering women are so vast as to persuade nations to move in that direction.  Before long, we will consider sex slavery, honor killings, and acid attacks as unfathomable as foot-binding.  The question is how long that transformation will take and how many girls will be kidnapped into brothels before it is complete - and whether each of us will be part of that historical movement or a bystander.

This coming week, tune in to PBS for a 2-part series based on the book.  Being broadcast this week, the series presents women and girls living under some of the most horrible circumstances imaginable -- and fighting to change them.   The series was filmed in 10 countries: Cambodia, Kenya, India, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Liberia and the United States.

HALF THE SKY is the book that first profiled the Chrysalis INSPIRED 2012 Event speaker, Dr. Tererai Trent.  In her keynote address, Dr. Trent pointed out some of the shocking statistics occuring today across the world - girls and women subjected to honor killings or genital mutilation, girls sold for slavery and prostitution, women raped and beaten, women and babies dying in childbirth - females considered less worthy than the males they served or the animals they raised.  Hundreds of thousands simply disappearing from their families, never again to be seen. 

______

Although we not believe that these issues occur in the United States, we need only remember the case of Jaycee Dugard to recall that girls our country, and all over the world, are missing.  Boys, too, particularly in Europe and America, disappear without a trace.  The numbers can only be estimates; The National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Throwaway Children created a report attempting to count.  It estimates that 800,000 children under age 18 to missing each year in the United States - that's roughly 2,000 each day.

The report notes that of this number, an estimated 200,000 are taken by family members, 58,000 by non-family members, and up to 300 are simply kidnapped by a stranger.  Another 3-4,000 are abducted, sexually assaulted, and released.  Only 90% of the 800,000 children are found, leaving 8-10,000 who are never found.  The most dangerous age for girls' abductions is said to be around 11 years old - and experts report that the abductor typically contacts a victim within half mile of her home.  Walking to school, at a bus stop, or in the shopping mall are common sites. 

Perhaps most alarming, the internet can be one of the first sites an abductor or predator will use to identify potential victims.  95% of US teens, ages 12-17, are online, and nearly 60% of 12-year-olds have cell phones, which are even more difficult for adults to monitor.  Cyberbullying, revealing too much personal information, exposure to inappropriate websites and materials, and online predators are tremendous risks to children and youth. 

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has created "NetSmartz," a program for parents, educators, and law enforcement to use in working with children using the internet.  The program notes that to keep children safe online, it's important to know a few vulnerabilities that may make children more susceptible to online predators:

Curiosity - Children are naturally curious - about risky behaviors, forbidden substances, and sex.  Predators can guide this curiosity, gradually luring children into sexual activity.  Adolescents are at high risk, as they go online with questions about sexuality or with the intent to find friends and companions.  Predators take advantage of this vulnerability.

Need for Attention - Even children who receive lots of attention from their families can crave it from others, especially those who they perceive as more mature.  Predators offer children affection and flattery in order to coerce them.

Rebellion - Often children become rebellious when they become adolescents, and predators can use this to an advantage.  Children who may be victimized when disobeying family or parent rules will be afraid to admit it.

Respect for Adults - Because children are taught to respect and obey adults, they may be less likely to disobey a direction given by an adult - even if it is a stranger, or even if it makes them uncomfortable.

In response to these issues, The Center launched the CyberTipline in 1998 in partnership with the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, US Postal Service, Secret Service, Department of Justice, and international, state, and local law enforcement.  The line provides a means of reporting incidents of child sexual exploitation of any kind, and is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  If you would like more information, check the website: cybertipline.com, or call 1-800-843-5678.

As part of our mandatory training for Chrysalis After-School program leaders, we'll share more comprehensive education related to internet safety, cyberbulling, and appropriate use of the web.  In this way, we hope over 600 girls in this year's program will be aware and safe from this danger.

Early Onset Puberty Raises Concerns

Just when we thought that adolescent girls had enough challenges (social norms, media images, emotional and physical changes), new research points to a larger and broader issue: early onset of puberty.

Armpit and pubic hair, pimples, starting menstruation, and breast budding are known physical signs of puberty in girls.  In 1800, these changes began in girls at around age 17.  In 1960, the changes were beginning around age 14.  Now, most commonly, puberty in girls begins at age 11.

Kathy Nesteby, Coordinator for the Iowa Task Force for Young Women with the Iowa Department of Human Rights, recently authored a newsletter on this very issue.  She notes the additional challenges this factor presents:

Girls who develop breasts and other physical characteristics of maturation at an early age are more likely to date at a younger age as well. Cognitive and emotional development trails behind physical development in all adolescents, but is more pronounced for those with early on-set puberty. As a result, this young woman has less capacity to resist pressure from an older boyfriend to become involved in delinquent or other risky behaviors than she would if she were older. Likewise, she may lack the sophistication to resist the influence of peers who perceive her to be older.

Her relationship with her parents and community are also significant. Puberty often signals an increase in conflict with parents, as girls begin to assert their independence. A girl displaying the physical signs of maturation, may experience an increase in expectations about her maturity in general, for which she does not yet have the capacity. Additionally, if her parents use harsh and inconsistent discipline, she is even more at-risk for developing behavioral problems.

Nesteby notes that a recent article in The New York Times (March 30, 2012) cites research done by medical professionals in seeking answers for this anomaly:

In the late 1980s, Marcia Herman-Giddens, then a physician’s associate in the pediatric department of the Duke University Medical Center, started noticing that an awful lot of 8- and 9-year-olds in her clinic had sprouted pubic hair and breasts. She started collecting data, eventually leading a study with the American Academy of Pediatrics that sampled 17,000 girls, finding that among white girls, the average age of breast budding was 9.96. Among black girls, it was 8.87.

When Herman-Giddens published these numbers, in 1997 in Pediatrics, she set off a social and endocrinological firestorm. “I had no idea it would be so huge,” Herman-Giddens told me recently. “The Lolita syndrome” — the prurient fascination with the sexuality of young girls — “created a lot of emotional interest. As a feminist, I wish it didn’t.” Along with medical professionals, mothers, worried about their daughters, flocked to Herman-Giddens’s slide shows, gasping as she flashed images of possible culprits: obesity, processed foods, plastics.

…Was the age of puberty really dropping?  Parents said yes.  Leading pediatric endocrinologists said no. The stalemate lasted …years.  Then in August 2010, well-respected researchers at three big institutions — Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Kaiser Permanente of Northern California and Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York — published another study in Pediatrics, finding that by age 7, 10% of white girls, 23% of black girls, 15% of Hispanic girls and 2% of Asian girls had started developing breasts.

Why is this happening?  Physicians don’t yet understand the reasons, but do suspect several contributing factors.  Being overweight (heavier girls have higher levels of hormones including estrogen, which causes the body to mature quicker).  In addition, animal studies show that exposure to environmental chemicals that mimic estrogen – including those used in agriculture and livestock production – can alter puberty timing.  And the chemical BPA (now found in hard plastics and common products such as dental sealants and cash-register receipts) that mimics estrogen is now found in the bodies of 93% of Americans.  Other causes can include family stress, maternal depression, and divorce.

What can we do about this issue?  Nesteby advises:

Assuring that girls are getting plenty of exercise, eating a healthy diet and not being overexposed to hormone disrupting chemicals are a good place to start…Offering adequate and timely support is crucial as well.  For adult women, who may not have begun to mature until much later, it may be a matter of not assuming the 9 year old you are interacting with has years to go before puberty hits.  She may need your guidance now!  Adults must also refrain from any inadvertent tendency to treat girls as more mature than they might actually be based solely on their appearance.

All the more important are our efforts to reach girls early through Chrysalis After-School programs.  Helping girls understand their own bodies and minds, and supporting their physical and mental health is key – our new GIRLSTRONG! programming around healthy lifestyles is a major effort throughout all 29 Chrysalis After-School locations.  And having this information helps us address emerging concerns for all girls and women.

Thank you for your leadership in this work.

To review The New York Times article:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/magazine/puberty-before-age-10-a-new-normal.html?_r=1

Chrysalis Partners to Screen Miss Representation

On April 17, 2012, Chrysalis, in partnership with Drake University's Student Activists for Gender Equality and Department of Culture and Society hosted the public for a special screening of the documentary film Miss Representation. As part of Chrysalis' community education efforts, we would like to share the information we provided at the screening with all of you.

MISS REPRESENTATION

Presented by Chrysalis in partnership with Drake University Department of Culture and Society and SAGE (Student Activists for Gender Equality)

April 17, 2012

An average teen spends more than 10 hours daily consuming media – more than sleeping or attending school.  Messages they receive from media teach them how to view themselves and others, particularly what it means to be a woman or a man.

Mainstream media (instruments used to communicate information, including television, magazines, books, movies, music, and the Internet) bombards children and adults with constant messages that women should be beautiful and sexy; men should be powerful and often violent.  These messages can have damaging effects on self-esteem, health, and relationships, limiting children’s ideas about what is possible for them in the world.

In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that young women and men receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality – not her intelligence or capacity as a leader.

In its continuing role to educate the public, Chrysalis presents MISS REPRESENTATION, the acclaimed documentary released in 2011 by writer, director, and producer Jennifer Siebel Newsom.  It uncovers a glaring reality facing each of us, every day – how mainstream media contributes to the under-representation of women in influential positions in America.

HERE’S WHAT WE RECOMMEND YOU DO --

1.        Boycott magazines, movies, or television shows that objectify and degrade women.

2.       Participate in a female candidate’s political campaign.

3.       Watch media with children and discuss how girls or women are portrayed and the impact this has.

4.      Avoid complimenting a woman or girl on looks (pretty, thin, sexy, “hot”) and compliment how smart, skilled, or clever she is, or what a great leader she is.

Here are a few other ideas adapted from about-face.org.  About-Face equips women and girls with tools to understand and resist harmful media messages that affect self-esteem and body image.

TEN THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO

1. Stop talking about your weight (especially in front of young girls).

Young girls listen to the way women talk about themselves, and about each other, to learn the language of womanhood.  Young women can only learn to love or even accept their bodies if they see women who love and accept their own.  Every criticism we use – about ourselves or about other women - leaves an impression on the people around us, encouraging the quest for perfection.  Differentiate between weight and health, and start talking about health.

2. Make a list of women you admire.

Think about the most important attributes a woman you admire has – is appearance one of them?  What would you like a young woman to most admire in you?  In herself?

3. Question the motives of the fashion industry.

Remember - the main objective of the fashion, cosmetic, diet, fitness, and plastic surgery industries is to make money, not to make you the best person you can possibly be. 

4. Stop weighing yourself.

The emphasis to be thin is ever-present in our society, but this focus is completely arbitrary.  Spend a day, week, or month without getting on the scale – and when you do, don’t let the number be a measure of your self-esteem.

5. Concentrate on things you do well.

It is true that if you are feeling good about your life, you are much less critical of how you look.  You aren’t changing, but your perception is!  If you’ve had a bad day and don’t want to be distressed, stay away from the mirror.

6. Get physical for fun.

Your body needs fuel and function – that’s real food and exercise!  Take walks, dance in your living room, garden, golf… try to get moving for your heart, not to decrease the size of your waist.  You may lose weight and you may not, but your body will be stronger, and your stress will be lower.

7. Value your dollars.

How much do you spend on fashion, hair, and cosmetics?  How much on specific eating regimens?  The money you spend should reflect the person you are, not the person society wants you to be.

8. Voice your opinion.

Every size and type of business is interested in your input.  Letters, e-mails, and phone calls really make a difference.  If you disagree with the way a company treats women, or if you believe a company shows a lack of respect for girls and women in any way, write a letter explaining why, and stop purchasing the product.

9. Be a role model.

Every culture and generation has its own rules and expectations for women, and there are always women who have taken risks to grow, learn, and succeed.  Wouldn’t you like to break a mold or two?  And remember – girls and women are watching you.

10. Break the barriers.

Author Sara Tisdale wrote, “We must all choose between battles: One battle is against the cultural ideal, and the other is against ourselves.”  Stop defining yourself by what popular culture dictates.  Develop your own style and uniqueness – by accepting yourself and demonstrating it, you help break the barriers.

Chrysalis After-School Program Update: Wonder Girlz

An excerpt from Children and Family Urban Ministries Newsletter highlighting the Chrysalis After-School Program: Wonder Girlz

CATCHING UP WITH THE

WONDER GIRLZ

Since last we checked in with the Wonder Girlz (the girlz that "put the wonder in wonderful" according to Wonder Girl Naria) they were just getting started on their program year. My how the year has taken off! November was "Me" Month. The girlz wrote poems about themselves, determined what kind of friends they were and hoped to attract, worked on friendship skills, and made gifts for themselves. In December the focus shifted to what they can contribute to the lives of others and cultivating the spirit of giving. Value-added guest Miriam Dunlap not only shared her own experiences of contributing to the larger community, but helped the girlz make lovely beaded bookmarks to give as gifts.   The girlz took another session in December to choose and wrap gifts for children who spend time in childcare at the YMCA. The girlz were so busy doing for others they skipped having a holiday party-deciding to do their partying in January.

But January was more about learning and thinking and serving than partying! The Wonder Girlz watched a film about Chinese girls who created a language that to date is the only language known to ever exist exclusively for girls! They spent the afternoon of Martin

Luther King Jr. Day participating in a city-wide service experience (along with the Backyard Boyz) and discovered the activities not only helped someone else but made them feel pretty good as well. The learning and thinking continued with science activities related to everyday life-helping the girlz to realize that science is everywhere!

In their free time (what free time?!) the Wonder Girlz are designing their own hoodies, anticipating some field experiences related to job quests, planning an evening retreat, and a day trip to Wildwood Ranch.

If you would like to get involved with the Wonder Girlz, volunteers are needed for transportation and donations are needed-small gifts and movie tickets for prizes, healthy and tasty snacks for the retreat. Please contact Dawn Narcisse at dawntnarcisse@aol.com or 515.771.0897

  

Chrysalis Programs Highlighted in Iowa Afterschool Alliance Publications

Chrysalis is honored to be highlighted in two of the Iowa Afterschool Alliance Policy Publications this Winter!

• Chrysalis After-School Science Girls was featured as a Science-Technology-Engineering-and Math Innovation
• The Whyld Girls (a Chrysalis After-School program) was featured as an innovative Summer Literacy Leader

Photos from Drake Event Celebrating the Anniversary of Title IV and Women's Basketball Game

Media Advisory: Girls Sports Day

         DRAKE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS  |  MEDIA ADVISORY

CONTACTS

Paul Kirk, Drake Athletic Communications

(515) 271-3014 | paul.kirk@drake.edu

Heather Weems, Associate Athletic Director/Senior Women’s Administrator

(515) 271-2809 | heather.weems@drake.edu

**MEDIA ADVISORY**

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Drake Athletics Hosts 2012 Girls Sports Day Friday

Attention Media: The Drake Athletic Department invites you to join in its celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day and shine a light on the positive effects of introducing sport to young women in our community.

WHO:        Student-athletes from Drake’s women’s sports teams and the Chrysalis After-School Program

WHAT:      Drake Athletics and the Bulldogs’ women’s sports student-athletes host young women from Chrysalis After-School at the 2012 Girls Sports Day. This inaugural event celebrates both the 40^th Anniversary of Title IX and the 26^th Annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

WHEN:      Friday, January 27, 2012 at 5 p.m.

                 5 p.m.—Welcome and Registration

                 5:10 p.m.—Bulldog Chalk Talk with Drake Women’s Basketball Coach Amy Stephens

                 5:25 p.m.—Rotations begin, by group, for Fitness Walk, Wellness Activity and Zumba (dancing)

                 6:10 p.m.—Closing Presentation

                 6:20 p.m.—Dinner

                 7:05 p.m.—Women’s basketball tipoff vs. Bradley

WHERE:    Bell Center and Knapp Center at Drake University

WHY:        Studies show that physical activity and sport are positive influences on the health and well-being of individuals and society. Girls Sports Day is intended to introduce 5^th–8^th grade girls to fun fitness activities and the benefits derived, as well as encourage them to learn about and consider the multiple aspects of personal wellness.

ABOUT CHRYSALIS:

We believe that the best investment Chrysalis can make for the future is to invest in girls. That's why we invest 2/3 of our annual grant-making budget in a program we developed in 1998: Chrysalis After-School.

Each year, hundreds of girls at dozens of community sites are part of Chrysalis After-School. From elementary through middle school, girls meet at school and community sites each week to learn life skills, career opportunities, healthy behaviors, and the importance of education. They meet role models who influence the way they think about their future. They develop the confidence and resilience they need to become independent, contributing women.

Chrysalis After-School ensures girls' physical, educational, and social well-being. When we invest in girls, we invest in their families, their community, and our future.

When learn about our Chrysalis After-School programs and partners, or when you read about the results of our investment, you'll believe it, too.

Last week we were invited to attend "Ensuring World Class Readers," a policy and research forum held in Des Moines that provided evidence that whether a child reads at proficiency by the end of third grade can be a "make or break" indicator of future educational and life success.  At the beginning of 4th grade, says the research, children stop learning to read and begin reading to learn.

In fact, the National Research Council notes that "academic success, as defined by high school graduation, can be predicted with reasonable accuracy by knowing someone's reading skill at the end of third grade.  A person who is not at least a modestly skilled reader by that time is unlikely to graduate from high school."

The forum included keynote addresses from such speakers as Ralph Smith, Vice President of the Annie E. Casey Foundation; Heather Weiss of the Harvard Family Research Project; Nell Duke or Michigan State University; and several Iowa education and policy leaders.

Mr. Smith provided some interesting statistics including the fact that 80% of low income children in this country cannot read proficiently by grade 3.  In addition, he noted that roughly 75% of Americans ages 17-24 cannot join the US military, most often because they are poorly educated.  And for the first time in history, the pool of qualified high school graduates is neither large enough not skilled enough to supply the country's workforce, leadership, national security, and higher education needs.

Three key areas must be addressed first, Smith noted, in order to improve a child's potential in school:

1.    IMPROVE READINESS - too many children come to school "unprepared" to learn -- they are hungry, tired, or stressed by family disfuction and cannot catch up.

2.    ATTENDANCE - many children, particularly those from low-income families, are considered "chronically absent," missing 10% or more of the school year.  For many, it begins in kindergarten - 10% of all kindergarten and first-graders nationwide are chronically absent, and for some districts, as many as 25%.

3.    SUMMER LEARNING - research shows that low-income children fall behind during the summer as much as by 2 months of reading achievement, producing an achievement gap that grows over the years.  One study indicated that by the end of 5th grade, low-income students read at a level three grades behind that of middle income students.

By now you're aware of the Governor's blueprint for educational excellence in Iowa - One Unshakable Vision: World Class Schools for Iowa, released in October.  Among the recommendations in the blueprint is ensuring basic literacy by the end of third grade (to read the entire blueprint: http://publications.iowa.gov/11528/1/EducationBlueprint.pdf).

  

In addition to numerous changes including teacher training, strengthening academic focus, and tightening up assessments, Iowa's plan calls for greater involvement of parents and community in the success of students including "increasing parent and community engagement in every school in Iowa."   A huge piece of this role is shared by after-school programs such as Chrysalis After-School.

Our programs not only support innovation, creativity, and problem-solving, but they also connect after-school learning with the goals of Iowa Core Standards' 21st Century skills:

(1) employability skills
(2) financial literacy
(3) health literacy
(4) technology literacy
(5) civic literacy

We've expanded our program leader training, engaged a number of community partners, provided field trips and experiential learning, and worked with programs to include service learning and community engagement for the hundreds of girls involved in our programs.  You can be proud that Chrysalis After-School is a model for effective after-school programming that supports academic success and improves girls' potential - to graduate, to continue learning, and to become productive and independent citizens in the future.

We're working to ensure girls do not become a statistic.  Thank you for your leadership in our work.

Chrysalis After-School in the News

The Whyld Girls program, funded in part by chrysalis was highlighted in the news last week.

http://www.whotv.com/videobeta/e5afd0f1-0d52-4623-9293-30ac3371703f/News/Whyld-Girls

Check it out and consider joining the cause as a Life Coach.

Drake University Women's Basketball Team Partners with Chrysalis

Chrysalis was honored to bring the Wonder Girlz After-School Program participants to the Knapp Center on Friday. The Drake University Women's Basketball Team hosted our four Wonder Girlz and staff for a visit. The Women discussed health, wellness, and personal safety and the Wonder Girlz taught the team a new cheer! We welcome this exciting partnership and look forward to visits with more Chrysalis After-School programs!