Girls Incorporated of Chattanooga

On Friday, October 30, Kermisha Tate of Boyd Buchanan School and an active Girls Inc. of Chattanooga participant was chosen to receive the prestigious Pearl of Promise award from the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce.
According to the Chamber’s website “The Pearl of Promise [is] presented to a senior female in high school who demonstrates a strong scholastic aptitude in science and math. The recipient must possess a defined career goal, be a positive influence among peers, and have strong leadership skills.” Kermisha won a $2500 scholarship and a lap top computer. Check her out in the video below (courtesy of Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce on Youtube.com).

Girls Inc. of Chattanooga is very proud of Kermisha and celebrates her latest accomplishment toward achieving her academic and career goals.

Girls Inc. of Chattanooga is now accepting nominations for the 2010 UnBought & UnBossed Awards. The awards honor local women who, through their career achievements or community leadership, have had a significant impact in improving the lives of girls and women. 

A breakfast will be held on April 20, 2010 at The Chattanoogan to celebrate 10 honorees and their successes in helping to create a better community for women and girls.

The UnBought and UnBossed Awards Breakfast is an annual event hosted by Girls Inc. of Chattanooga to honor women in the community who, through their accomplishments, are role models for girls. The honorees are selected by Girls Inc. teen girls who also present the awards at the event. Proceeds from UnBought & UnBossed support Girls Inc. of Chattanooga’s programs to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.

Nomination forms are available at www.unboughtandunbossed.net and will be accepted until January 22, 2010.

On Saturday, November 14, 140 parents, their teens and agency health care representatives attended Girls Inc.’s Town Hall Meeting – Parents to Teens and Everything in Between.  Attendees were inspired by presentations by the teens and Dr. Michael Warren, Medical Director, Governor’s Office of Children’s Care Coordination.

Following the presentations, the group broke into separate breakout sessions of parents, girls, boys and agency representatives to talk about the importance of parent and teen communication to reducing infant mortality. The sessions were held to encourage communication between parents and teens about reproductive health, risky behaviors, choices and personal safety.

Girls Inc. of Chattanooga would like to thank everyone who helped make this event a success. We are proud of our IMPACT teens for all of their hard work and are grateful to the Governor’s Office of Children’s Care Coordination for funding IMPACT for two years.  Please stay tuned for a new funding announcement for the program and what’s next for the IMPACT students.

To read more about the town hall, see the article in the Times Free Press http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/15/parents-teens-urged-to-talk/.

Girls Incorporated of Chattanooga was retained by the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy to deliver five weeks of classes to the 6th and 9th grade students on topics including relationships, anatomy and risky behavior. Our teen Leadership Team kicked off the first of five weeks of classes with information, skits and peer-led discussions about unhealthy relationships. The girls learned about the causes of cliques, girl on girl aggression and gang violence and strategies to make smart choices. The Girls Incorporated of Chattanooga Infant Mortality Public Awareness Campaign for Tennessee (I.M.P. A.C.T) teens will teach the second class about healthy relationships.