GEN's Voice

Issue 6

December 2001

December 1st marks the launch of our new interactive website, http://www.genaustin.org! Our redesigned website won a city-wide contest hosted by Knowbility.org. Knowbility is a non-profit organization that promotes creating barrier-free access to children and adults with disabilities. The contest paired non-profits with high technology companies from all over the Austin area. GENaustin was fortunate to be paired up with a talented group from Prodigy who shared our drive and enthusiasm.

Our redesigned site incorporates our new look and logo and is a valuable resource of information for girls and their families. We are extremely excited about the new site -- in addition to an easily navigable architecture with tons of information, the site features a dynamic calendar search capability that allows you to search for GENaustin events by criteria such as event title, date, location, topic, and speaker. We have also incorporated a dynamic volunteer form that saves information about prospective volunteers directly into our volunteer database. Additionally, we made a special effort to make sure the site would be accessible and usable for everyone, even those who need to use assistive technologies like screen-readers. In fact, we meet 100% of the W3C guidelines for accessible web content.

Special thanks to the following individuals who made this launch a reality: Kat Jones and Brandt Parker of Milkshake Media; Caroline Mattei, David Cleaves, Stefan Smagula, Inga Overstreet, and Cecily Johnson of Prodigy; and Ileana Abounader and Pei-San Brown of GENaustin.

We're very excited about GENaustin's new Girls Groups. Because of overwhelming interest in Girls Groups, we will more than double the amount of programs we have to a total of ten groups around central Texas next year!

We have been perfecting a new curriculum that will incorporate creative and therapeutic activities designed to increase media awareness, self-esteem, leadership skills, and healthy relationship skills. Because we want to truly serve girls uniquely at each school, the girls are given a "menu" of topics in which to choose so that the curriculum will be relevant to their special needs.

Another enhancement this year is the inclusion of some dynamic teen facilitators who work alongside adult facilitators and a Big Sis/Little Sis component that utilizes the talents of trained high school girls and spreads GENaustin's reach to older teens. Each group has 8 to 15 middle school girls as members and meets weekly throughout the school year.

"I am excited to be working on this project," said Jenny Bair, Girls Groups chair. "We believe that our school communities, families, and girls as individuals will be affected and empowered to be more self-confident, open-minded, and free thinkers by the interaction and learning that will take place within each unique group of middle schoolers. We know that children learn and model from peers about six years older than themselves. So, we believe that engaging the peer education structure will increase the goals and desire to be a part of the groups by the younger girls."

We would like to thank Margaret Keys for a generous donation that helped GENaustin jump-start this program this year. Also, very special thanks to the Dell Foundation for a generous grant that will enable us to expand next year and fund a part-time program director, facilitator stipends, and additional educational supplies. Special thanks to Jenny Bair and Kim Soechting for their leadership, and Miranda Orepezo, a senior at Bowie High School for her vision and tenacity. For more information about this program, contact Jenny Bair at [email protected].

The Meredith's have made a substantial impact on the Central Texas community with their philanthropic endeavors, and GENaustin is very pleased to have their participation in the Honorary Board.

Thomas J. Meredith is a private investor, civic leader, and philanthropist. He is currently CEO of MFI Capital, the Meredith family's private investment arm, as well as chair and president of the Meredith Private Foundation. Prior to this, he served as CFO for Dell Computer, where he was instrumental in Dell's growth from approximately $2B to $25.3B in revenue, then served as managing director of Dell Ventures and Dell senior vice president of business development and strategy. He is a founding investor and chair of the Austin Idea Network, which focuses on Austin quality of life issues. He received his master of law degree in taxation from Georgetown University, his Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University, and his bachelors degree in political science from St. Francis University, Loretto, Pa.

Lynn M. Meredith is a community leader and philanthropist whose work has received The Austin Project Commitment to Families & Children Award; the Distinguished Alumna in Humanities Award from St. Francis University, Loretto, PA; Woman of Distinction recognition from the Long Star Girl Scout Council; and the Ma Ferguson Award for Distinguished Community Service from Women in Business International. In addition to serving as secretary and treasurer for the Meredith Family Foundation, she holds a number of positions in community organizations, including secretary of the Board of Trustees of St. Stephen's Episcopal School, and director on the board of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. She holds a BS degree in elementary education from St. Francis University, Loretto, PA, and a master of education degree in educational communications and technology from University of Pittsburgh.

In addition to their generous support of GENaustin, the Merediths are involved in several other significant Austin charitable activities such as the Long Performing Arts Center, Austin Museum of Art, Austin Children's Museum, and Huston-Tillotson College. The Merediths are the parents of four children.

"Love and Sex on the Big Screen" by Robyn Ross.
POSTPONED - NEW DATE
January 29, 11:15 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
How are men, women, and relationships portrayed in movies and television? Even movies aimed at very young viewers send strong messages about the relationships between women and men. Using clips from videos, we'll uncover gender-role stereotypes and common ideas about love and sex conveyed by the entertainment media. We'll talk about how these movies and TV shows might influence our lives and our decisions about relationships and sexuality. Please bring a brown bag lunch. St. Stephens School, 2900 Bunny Run (take Westlake Drive west from 360, left on Bunny Run)

"Girls as Friends, Girls as Foes"
by Carolyn Brooks, West Ridge Middle School counselor, and Cindy Austin, former Eanes counselor.
"Girl fighting" is often a hallmark of middle, and some of the most painful times in girls' lives. Young teen girls may express their aggression through hurtful words, gossip, and other forms of relational violence that can damage girls emotionally. Two experienced school counselors will discuss why this happens and will help girls and adults explore coping strategies and solutions. Please bring a brown bag lunch. Friday, December 7, Noon - 1:30 p.m., Paredes Middle School, 10100 S. Mary Moore Searight Drive (south of Slaughter near Manchaca)

Need a great gift idea for that special girl in your life? GENaustin now has t-shirts and tank tops available for youth in sizes 2-4, 6-8, 10-12, and 14-16. And because we know you'll want to show your support too, we have them in adult sizes as well - S, M, L, and XL. The shirts feature our great new logo. Prices are $15 for adult sizes and $10 for youth sizes. Call us at (512) 851-8100 or email us at [email protected] to place your to order.

We'd like to thank the Macaroni Grill on Great Hills for supplying the food for our Mother/Daughter Retreat. Their generosity is greatly appreciated.

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.