Strong Women, Strong Girls 2016

UPDATE: We reached our crowdfunding goal in less than a week, but there is still time to donate! Your support will help cover additional costs for the educational field trip and other Strong Women, Strong Girls programming. Thank you to all who have already generously donated!

What is Strong Women, Strong Girls?

Strong Women, Strong Girls (SWSG) is a nationally recognized mentoring organization that offers programming in Pittsburgh and Boston. With college women as mentors, the program strives to support positive mentoring relationships between college women and pre-adolescent girls in underserved local communities to help raise ambition and combat the dangers of low self-esteem. SWSG provides a safe, nurturing afterschool program for girls in grades 3-5, giving them the opportunity to learn from positive role models—role models in which they may not have in their personal lives.

Strong Women, Strong Girls at Duquesne University

As mentors of the Duquesne University Chapter of SWSG, we aim to cultivate the self-confidence and aspiration of 300+ elementary-aged girls within the Pittsburgh community. During weekly sessions, the girls read the biography of a female role model—one that is recognizable at the historical, national, or local level—and then apply one of the role model’s specific, positive attributes to a structured activity. We also incorporate semester-long service projects within our programming, hoping to foster a sense of community awareness among the girls.

Click here to watch a video of this program in action.

Why Crowdfunding? To Give Our Mentees an Educational Field Trip to Duquesne University on Saturday, April 23!

Each year, we plan and execute an educational field trip to Duquesne’s campus, which the girls look forward to from the beginning of programming. This year, we will bring our girls to Duquesne’s campus on Saturday, April 23 to show them what a college campus is like and also expose them to what higher education has to offer. As the number of girls in SWSG grows, the amount of needed materials—and therefore funding—subsequently grows.

Your donation can help cover the costs of the field trip and provide our mentees with:

• Lunch and snacks
• Transportation to-and-from Duquesne University
• Supplies, such as picture frames that will be decorated for the girls to have as keepsakes
• A memorable experience of meeting Pittsburgh Pirates Pierogie Jalapeño Hannah

Additional donations raised beyond our goal will help to benefit other Duquesne University Strong Women, Strong Girls programming.

What it Means to Be A Strong Women, Strong Girls Mentor

SWSG is unique from other service organizations because it allows us, as mentors, to not only serve our community, but become fully immersed and integrated within it. When one becomes a mentor in SWSG, she exceeds the definitional boundaries of a volunteer—she becomes a leader, she becomes an ambassador, and she becomes a role model. She is forever changing the life of a girl, one who has never felt a sense of empowerment. There is an activity in the semester that requires the girls to share the name of a strong woman in their own lives. When we see a mentor’s name written on the line, we know that our mission has been advanced.

Please Support Us by Donating and Spreading the Word Today!

Please consider joining us in our mission to empower our young mentees, and change their lives forever. Make a donation today and help to spread the word about this campaign by sharing on social media. Make sure to include the hashtag #DUQSWSG! Don't forget to follow us on Facebook.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND SUPPORT!