Strong Moms, Strong Girls Still Going Strong
In the spring of 2006, the Junior League of Ann Arbor voted in support of a new signature project, “Strong Moms, Strong Girls: Creating a Community of Healthy Female Relationships.” This four-year collaboration with the University Center for the Child and the Family (UCCF), part of the University of Michigan, is an exciting program with multiple opportunities for Junior League members to make a difference in the community. As stated by UCCF, the focus of the project is to provide girls in grades 4-7 with the resources to challenge relational aggression, as well as helping mothers and community mentors with resources to help girls in this challenge. Relational aggression is a broad term but includes behaviors such as gossiping, spreading rumors, or threatening to reject or exclude someone (from Girlfighting, Lyn Mikel Brown).
As part of the project, UCCF has created an informative website, www.strongmomsstronggirls.org, which gives details not only about the program itself, but also about a variety of related links and resources. The program also includes four main components: mother/daughter workshops about relational aggression, which began February 3, 2007; school in-service training (began fall 2007); a network of mentors to further discussions relating to relational aggression called “Get It Together for Girls” (began fall 2009); and a training opportunity for community mentors called “Strong Mentors, Strong Girls” (occurring spring 2010).
The mother-daughter workshops are an exciting opportunity for mothers and daughters in 4th-7th grades to learn how to work together as allies to support each other and to combat relational aggression. The workshops are provided at a minimal cost of $10. Upcoming 2010 workshop dates include: 3/14, 4/17, 5/8, and 7/11.
Community presentations, titled “Parents Helping Daughters Figure Out Friendships,” are available at no cost for groups or organizations throughout the greater Washtenaw County area. Trained volunteers from the Junior League of Ann Arbor will deliver an engaging presentation designed by the UCCF will deliver a 45-minute presentation at your site. An informational packet created specifically for these presentations will be provided to each attendee. The packet contains various resources on how to recognize, circumvent and combat relational aggression as well as provide additional support to parents who are helping their child to deal with this issue.
“Strong Mentors, Strong Girls” and “Get It Together For Girls” both provide training and networking opportunities for community members that have regular positive interactions with girls in grades 4-7. “Strong Mentors, Strong Girls” will offer a daylong seminar equipping community mentors with the skills to help girls address relational aggression issues with relational aggression expert and author of Girlfighting Dr. Lyn Mikel Brown.
