APTOS — If a plan by a newly formed group is successful, nearly three-dozen middle school girls from Pajaro Valley Unified School District will enter high school and college with bolstered self-confidence, self awareness and academic prowess.
The group, Girls in the Pajaro Valley Initiative, was created thanks to a fund managed by the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County (CFSCC).
That fund – called Fund for Women and Girls – was started in November with a $1.5 million gift from an anonymous donor.
Additional donations and matching gifts have brought CFSCC close to its year-end goal of $2.5 million for the permanent endowment.
The Girls in the Pajaro Valley Initiative – the inaugural project for the fund – is aimed at “girls in the middle,” or those who may not be at the top of their class, but in whom teachers see potential, said CFSCC Program Director Christina Cuevas.
“They are going to be the next leaders in Santa Cruz County,” Cuevas said.
The project – which will include 35 middle school girls – will focus on academics, and on helping them to build a framework for their vision of their future.
At the same time, project leaders recognize middle school as a tumultuous time for young people, and as a point during which girls begin to doubt their abilities to follow their dreams.
According to Cuevas, as many as 70 percent of sixth-grade girls say they hope to become a scientist or mathematician. By the time they reach eighth grade, however, that drops to eight percent.
“Many of the roadblocks to success happen early,” she said. “Gender norms, lack of support, self-esteem struggles collectively pinch away at a girl’s potential.”
The Girls in the Pajaro Valley Initiative is an amalgamation of organizations led by the UC Santa Cruz Educational Partnership.
The group is made up of YWCA Watsonville, Santa Cruz County Department of Parks, Open Spaces and Cultural Services, Your Future is Our Business, Santa Cruz Community Ventures, Growing Up Wild and the Migration and Adaption in the Americas Foundation.
The initiative includes a full-time staffer who will coordinate services and activities and serve as a mentor and counselor. The girls will receive guidance on issues such as drug use, identifying healthy relationships and other things that affect adolescent girls, said YWCA Executive Director Letitia Mendoza.
“When we discuss these issues, it gets them thinking,” Mendoza said. “That helps them understand how their decisions will affect them.”
Project leaders hope to inspire the girls to seek non-traditional careers such as in the scientific, medical or legal fields.
“We know that the social norms on women and girls need to change,” Cuevas said. “This starts them early, so when they get to high school they will already be on that career path.”
Girls in the project will also get weekly after school activities, including help with school work, college and career counseling and field trips, help with financial planning and saving tips, plus outdoor summer activities.
“This project will allow girls to explore different opportunities and learn that their future should not be limited by social or cultural differences,” Mendoza said.
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To make a tax-deductible donation online, visit www.cfscc.org/FundWomenGirls
