GENaustin
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GENaustin’s Mission Statement:
GENaustin’s mission is to foster healthy self-esteem in girls by engaging them to explore and define their personal values and to build skills that empower them with confidence and courage to make wise choices. This type of confidence manifests itself in so many important ways, affecting how girls choose friends, who they date, and what choices they make in their education and eventually their careers. GENaustin suggests options during a time in girls’ lives when they begin to feel more of the burdens, rather than the advantages of femininity.
Major Activities and Services:
clubGEN is a research-based, peer mentoring after school program for middle school girls. High school facilitators are employed and trained to implement curriculum proven to prevent middle school girls from high risk behaviors that lead to juvenile delinquency and teen pregnancy by encouraging the development of critical thinking skills and academic achievement. The curriculum is one of the only girl-specific research-based curricula in existence. Adult volunteers, drawn from each participating school and the community, serve vital roles as coaches and mentors, helping empower and challenge girls in a unique and high-impact experience.
Girl Talk, GENaustin’s speaker series educates over 1,000 girls, parents, teachers, and other interested adults annually through presentations and panel discussions on school campuses. The series brings local experts to talk to girls and their communities about relevant topics such as self esteem, parent-daughter communication, dating, careers, bullying and body image. The series also strives to increase community awareness of the needs of adolescent girls, and to introduce girls to leading female role models.
Volunteer Information:
clubGEN Mentor
Location: Various Middle Schools in the Austin Independent School District
The primary function of this role is safety and on-site supervision of clubGEN participants and facilitators. clubGEN is a weekly, after-school, peer mentoring program that trains high school girls (facilitators) to be peer mentors for middle school girls (participants), engaging them in activities throughout the school year that promote self-esteem, resilience, confidence, and leadership. Additionally, mentors will coach, empower, and support the high school facilitators as they develop valuable teamwork and leadership skills and will be an added support to the peer-led model. Mentors will be influential to the high school girls as they learn to assess their individual values, relationships, and goals in relation to building a strong team of empowered young women.
Entrance Requirements
-Ability to volunteer 1.5 hours hours between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on at least one week day Monday through Thursday.
-Access to email for regular updates about programs, time changes, and curriculum activities.
-Reliable transportation.
-Ability to pass a background check.
-Commitment to the goals and philosophies of GENaustin.
-Sub-mentor positions also needed. This mentor would be on an “on call” list and would fill in for regularly scheduled mentors who are unable to make it to club. The same application and training process applies.
If you are interested, please fill out our volunteer form on our website under the Get Involved section.
Contact Information:
Amanda Teske
office@genaustin.org
512-841-4093
512-841-7465 (Fax)
Mailing address:
PO Box 3122
Austin, TX 78764
For More Information about GENaustin, visit their website at http://www.genaustin.org/.
