Originally called The Ophelia Project, Girls Empowerment Network a 501(c)(3) was created in 1996 by twelve concerned mothers raising adolescent girls in Austin, Texas. Inspired by the book Reviving Ophelia by Dr. Mary Pipher, these mothers met to address an increasing trend among middle school aged girls – a systematic decline and sometimes permanent loss of self-esteem, the outcome of which can be devastating: epidemic levels of anorexia/bulimia, self-mutilation, depression, low academic achievement, teen pregnancy, and drug abuse.

Twenty-eight years later, we help girls* 3rd-12th grades discover they are powerful across Central Texas, Houston, and Dallas. We do this by teaching self-efficacy, which is a girl’s belief in her ability to succeed. Whether she is shooting for an A, overcoming a bully, becoming the first in her family to go to college, breaking up with an abusive partner, or just trying to take care of herself when she feels like no one else will – when a girl experiences our self-efficacy curriculum, she realizes she can do it and she becomes powerful.

State of GEN: Youth Reflections on Belonging

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