Thursday 12th May, 2016 - 8:00am
In May, before programming comes to an end for the school year, both of our Girls Inc. sites experience the thoughtful practice of choosing a Girl of the Year and a Most Improved member. At the annual event we call “Girls’ Night Out,” each site gathers all of its members and their families for a pot luck supper and award presentations. Schenectady’s event was held Tuesday, May 10 and Albany’s took place Wednesday, May 11.
Schenectady
In our Fall session, 8-year-old Anaya had a very hard time participating, opening up, and listening to instructions. She was very shy and preferred to keep to herself. She was someone who needed to be spoken with frequently by the Program Director, who learned from those talks that Anaya was in counseling for several problems she never wished to discuss. In the Spring session, Anaya had a total turn-around! She became outgoing, much more participatory, a great helper and very obviously, a much more confident young lady. Anaya is Schenectady’s 2016 Most Improved member.
Albany
Rhylee, 7, joined Albany’s after-school session last fall. Developmental challenges prevent her from fully expressing herself and communicating and thus, she was very vocal and demanding, and had trouble with both change and structure. Staff worked with her on communicating and now Rhylee is a better listener, is respectful of others’ space, and she engages in activities. Rhylee is on her way to becoming a Strong, Smart, and Bold young lady, and received our Albany site’s 2016 Most Improved award.