GEN's Voice

Issue 34
April 2004

In This Issue:

Here's what's going on in April:

"Why Won't My Children Listen to Me?"

Good communication is one of the daily challenges of maintaining a happy family. In this interactive session, parents and children will discuss roadblocks to effective parent-child communication and identify behaviors that invite and encourage open communication. All who attend will have fun learning how to send and receive messages. Kendella Baker is the Director of the Texas Association of School Boards Parent Learning Network.

For girls & parents.
Tuesday, April 6th, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., Dobie Middle School

"Ancient Tools for Modern Girls."

Come get a taste of how yoga can help your mind, body and spirit. Learn basic yoga moves and how to incorporate relaxation techniques into your daily life. Understand your body in a way completely different from what fashion magazines tell you, and find out how to let go of stress at home and at school. Yoga is fun! Wear comfortable clothing. It’s best to do yoga on an empty stomach; if you need to eat beforehand, please eat lightly. Anita Stoll, LMSW-ACP, is a certified hatha yoga instructor, and Kelly Inselmann, LMSW-ACP, is a certified kundalini yoga instructor.

For girls.
Wednesday, April 7th, 11:05 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Covington Middle School

"What is Your Relationship with Your Body?"

For many people, meeting society’s ideal body image has become more important than being healthy. Tina Anderson will discuss how learning to love your physical appearance can positively affect self-acceptance, self-esteem and physical health.

For girls.
Thursday, April 15th, 3:00 – 3:45 p.m., Kealing Middle School

Support GENaustin's oriGENal voice project - the program for teens, led by teens to keep girls smoke and tobacco free. The oriGENal voice teen advisory is hosting the first ever Smoke-Free Battle of the Bands at the Hard Rock Café downtown, Saturday, April 10 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The event features four well-known high school bands who will battle it out for prizes from Strait Music, Flipnotics, Top Hat Recording Studio and GENaustin. The event costs $5 - the proceeds benefit GENaustin.

GEN's "Engineering and High Tech Careers: From Dreams to Reality" speaker series event on March 4th received rave reviews and garnered an invitation from Burnet Middle School for a repeat performance next year. A total of 31 girls listened attentively to a panel of women who've "made it" in the high-tech and engineering fields, who offered advice and encouragement for pursing careers in math and science.

Panelist Katie Kizziar commented that being on the panel "was a blast!" She said she made her first connection to engineering at a similar event when she was an 8th grader, and saw the same enthusiasm from the girls at the panel.

"When we start to relate the ideas of technology and engineering to the dreams and desires that these girls have now - then you can see the connection being made. Those moments are when you know you’ve made an impact and possibly planted the engineering seed in their mind," said Kizziar.

"I really enjoyed the event and I appreciate all that everyone at GENaustin does to empower girls!"

Public service announcements for GENaustin are now showing on local TV stations! The PSAs, created and produced by dedicated GEN volunteers and will appear on KXAN, KVUE, KEYE and other local stations as spots in their programming are open. They focus on how people often try to put labels on girls, telling them who they are and what they should be. At GENaustin, we give girls the tools to decide for themselves!

They could air anytime, day or night, so keep your eyes peeled!

Attention GENaustin Board supporters and golf enthusiasts! Buy your tickets for the Kinko's Golf Classic of Austin, to be held at The Hills Country Club May 3-9, at www.austinfirsttee.org and indicate in the drop down menu if you want to support GENaustin and GENaustin will receive half the proceeds of your ticket. Enjoy golf clinics and watch seasoned players like Hale Irwin play the Hills' course. Tickets range from $10 a day to $150 for the whole week, with packages in between. Flyers are available for anyone who doesn't want to buy tickets online. Email [email protected] for more information.

To buy your tickets online, follow this link to the ticket sale site.

Have a car taking up space in your driveway that you'd like to put to use for a worthy cause? Consider donating your vehicle to GENaustin. Robert Carter recently donated his used Lexus LS400 to GEN, which was sold quickly for $5,500. GEN received a nice cash infusion, and Robert will benefit from a break at tax time.

As a way to de-stress and unwind after the dreaded TAKS tests, GENaustin invites Fulmore Middle School girls to a free yoga class with instruction from local get-in-shape mecca Castle Hill Fitness. The workshop will take place on April 26th in the school's small gym at 3:45.   Ommmmmm.

The coolest independent record store around, Waterloo Records, will have a GENaustin donation jar at the cash registers for the next 4 to 6 weeks. So, take a break from the traffic and stop by the store at 6th & Lamar and create change with your change!

GENaustin's programs are made possible through the generous support of 3M, Alice Kleberg Reynolds Meyer Foundation, the Austin Community Foundation, Austin Independent School District, Austin Wine Merchant, Austin Ventures, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, the Dell Foundation, the Favrot Foundation, Girl Next Door, the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, the Silverton Foundation, Milkshake Media, Meredith Private Foundation, Safeway, Shoes for Austin and the Webber Family Foundation.

Make an online donation to GENaustin through Network for Good by clicking on this Web link: guidestar

GENaustin has been selected to take part in Buffalo Exchange’s Tokens for Bags Program. The program allows customers to choose to receive a token instead of a bag when making their purchase and the token represents a cash donation to a particular charity. So the next time you’re shopping at Buffalo Exchange (2904 Guadalupe), be sure to forego the bag and help out GENaustin by placing your token in our box. Our box is in the middle!

Now you can support GENaustin and its important programs simply by shopping online. Just go to GENaustin, Get Involved, Shop and follow the links to more than 400 stores, including Barnes & Noble, Land's End, Ann Taylor, Linens-n-Things, Neiman Marcus, L.L. Bean, Dell, Amazon.com, JC Penney, Old Navy, Gap and many more!

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This site was last updated on 1/04/2005.

Copyright © GENaustin, Inc. 2001. All rights reserved. GEN, GENaustin, and GENaustin logos used and displayed herein are registered and unregistered trademarks of GENaustin, Inc. All other trademarks, service marks and logos used herein are the property of their respective owners. Email us at office@genaustin.org.