Virginia, our fantastic new Girls Club facilitator in Baltimore, offers her reflections on starting a Girls Club for the first time!

This week I led my first GirlsClub meeting at City Neighbors Charter School in Baltimore City. It was a wonderful experience, and I'm thankful to have the chance to do it. I may bring new books to share with the girls, but I can already see they will be teaching me things, too.
Together we talked about ways to share or grow peace. Their ideas were touching and encouraging, for example: Be there for your friends, Help a family member when something difficult is happening - make sure they don't need anything, Listen to your friends and show them understanding. We read Todd Parr's The Peace Book, and some girls were surprised by a few of the ways he suggested spreading peace: Everyone having a home, Enough pizza for everyone in the world. The girls had not connected those basic needs with peace but did want everyone to have them.
Then we discussed The Seven Strengths which we will explore more fully in the weeks to come: Belonging, Curiosity, Sisterhood, Kindness, Confidence, Courage and Hope. I was delighted by the connections they already have with these concepts and can't wait to see how they will develop through our time together.
Finally we made our own journals to hold our responses and ideas. The girls were very enthusiastic and wanted to write in their beautiful creations right away. But we were out of time. So much to look forward to next week!