GEN's Voice

Issue 25
July 2003

In This Issue:

Last month, GENaustin moved locations. Our new (temporary) phone number is (512) 841-4906. Please use this number until further notice.

We recently surveyed our clubGEN middle school participants and high school facilitators to measure the success of the program. The results confirmed our suspicions – clubGEN is a popular and effective program. Below are the survey results. The percent listed represents the percentage of girls who responded either “Yes” or “Yes, Definitely” to these statements:

Middle School Participants:

clubGEN has given me better skills to deal with tough situations. 82 percent

Because of clubGEN, I feel more confident. 75 percent

clubGEN is a great program and I would recommend it to others. 96 percent

When I am in high school, I would like to be a clubGEN teen facilitator. 96 percent

clubGEN has helped me feel better about myself. 84 percent

clubGEN is a safe place where I can reach out for help if I need it. 86 percent

High School Facilitators:

clubGEN has helped me understand that I can be positive role model to others. 100 percent

clubGEN has assisted me in improving my leadership skills. 100 percent

clubGEN has given me better skills to deal with tough situations. 81 percent

Please help us continue this valuable program by sponsoring one of our clubs next year. To find out more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Anita Mennucci at (512) 841-4906 or [email protected].

The clubGEN facilitator and sponsor training is scheduled for Aug. 30 from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. The location will be announced soon.

The training is for the high school girls who are going to be facilitators (leaders of the clubs) next year and for the adult sponsors. There is one adult sponsor at each school as well as an adult community sponsor, someone from the community who does not work for the school. The community sponsor fills in for the school sponsor if the school sponsor needs to be absent. They are responsible for conducting a monitoring visit of their club to check in with the girls and evaluate the progress of the club. The community sponsor also acts as a liaison to GENaustin.

The facilitators and sponsors will be trained on the model/structure of clubGEN and on group facilitation skills. The training will also include a lot of experiential activities to give the facilitators and sponsors practice at running a clubGEN.

There are still community sponsor opportunities available. If you’re interested, please call Barb Steinberg at (512) 750-3928.

Lori Nickels is an active member of the clubGEN committee who continually goes above and beyond the call of duty. She is also a community sponsor for Chisholm Trail and Round Rock High School's clubGEN and has an amazing ability to form strong relationships with our clubGEN schools. She often takes on a project and completes it with little direction or assistance.

One of the first things people notice about Lori is that she always has a smile on her face. She is also very supportive and encouraging of GENaustin staff and volunteers and has a clear understanding of what girls are facing today. Lori is someone who people can count on to help out at the last minute. She attends every clubGEN event and always looks out for GENaustin's best interests. One of the many things Lori has done to help out has been to provide advice on fundraising and to make the board aware of fundraising workshops.

We are glad to have Lori as one of our volunteers, and we thank her tremendously for her continued support. We couldn't do what we do without volunteers like Lori.

GENaustin, in partnership with Fleishman Hillard, is bringing Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D., to Austin as part of the oriGENal voice program. Jean is a lecturer, writer and filmmaker internationally recognized for her pioneering work on alcohol and tobacco advertising and the image of women in advertising. She was named by The New York Times Magazine as one of the three most popular speakers on college campuses.

Ms. Kilbourne will present an illustrated lecture called "Deadly Persuasion," which examines the sale of addictive products such as alcohol, tobacco and diet products. It also exposes advertising's assault on self-image and the marketing of a mindset that often leads to unhealthy choices.

Ms. Kilbourne is known for her ability to present provocative topics in a way that unites rather than divides, that encourages dialogue and that empowers people to take action in their own and in society's interest. She is best known for her award-winning documentaries "Killing Us Softly: Advertising's Image of Women," "Slim Hopes: Advertising & the Obsession with Thinness" and "Pack of Lies: The Advertising of Tobacco."

Her book “Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel” (Simon & Schuster, 2000) won the Distinguished Publication Award from the Association for Women in Psychology. This year she received a special recognition award from the Academy for Eating Disorders. She is a Visiting Research Scholar at the Wellesley Centers for Women, has served on the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and has been an advisor to two surgeons general.

Ms. Kilbourne will be speaking in Austin on Sept. 17, so mark your calendars now and look for more details in future newsletters.

clubGEN is offering a special summer program this year. The clubGEN summer program is free and is open to girls in grades 8-12. clubGEN gives girls the opportunity to make new friends, talk about life and inspire each other to go for their dreams. Each club meeting is facilitated by a diverse group of college women who are trained and experienced peer educators. The club meets every other Tuesday from 3:30-5 p.m. at the GENaustin office, which is located at Fulmore Middle School (Portable A-7) on South Congress. Upcoming dates are July 1, 15 and 29 and Aug. 12. To sign up or to get more information, contact Miranda Oropeza at [email protected] or (512) 554-9956.

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. Customers can then put their token in one of several boxes that each represents a particular charity. At the end of each month, Buffalo Exchange totals up the tokens in each charity’s box and makes a donation to that charity based on the number of tokens. GENaustin will receive a donation each month from July through December.

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.

Theatre Action Project, in collaboration with SafePlace, recently launched The Changing Lives Youth Company. Teenage participants in this project use personal experience to perform an original, interactive theatre work about healthy relationships. Through their interactive performances, the company educates other youth, community members and policy-makers about issues around domestic and dating violence including gender stereotypes, unhealthy relationships, cultural influences, respect, safety, personal power and equitable relationships.

There are several opportunities for groups and individuals to see Changing Lives perform:

July 1, 2, 7 and 11.

Free morning performances are available for middle and high school groups of 15 to 35 youth. The show is approximately one hour long. Call Karen Sullivan or Aimee Zivin at (512) 442-8773 to schedule a performance.

July 13

There will be a free public performance at Hyde Park Theatre from 7-8 p.m. No reservations or tickets are required. Please come support these powerful young people in this important work. And bring friends! If you have questions, contact Karen Sullivan or Aimee Zivin at (512) 442-8773.

Camp Passionate for the Arts is a weeklong "peace" camp (sleepover) at the Austin Youth Hostel for kids 9-12. Marci Winters Allen and husband, J.P. Allen, will offer a curriculum focusing on acting, music, movement and life skills. The camp is Sunday, July 13-Sunday, July 20. Payment plans are available for all classes. Girls are encouraged to apply, and some scholarships are available. Enrollment is limited, so call soon to reserve your spot!

To find out more information or to enroll, contact J.P. at (512) 707-1097 or [email protected].

Stay cool this summer at Girlstart with the hottest camps around! Girlstart offers weeklong summer day camps that feature math, science, technology and (most of all) tons of fun. We will keep registration for each camp open only until it is full. So register today to reserve your space!  Register online at www.girlstartcamp.org or call (512) 916-4775.

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

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 http://www.genaustin.org/public/content/getinvolved/shop.asp 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!

Also, mention GENaustin when you shop at Giada, a unique boutique and gift shop just west of downtown, and 2% of your sale will go directly to GENaustin. GENaustin is excited to be a part of Giada's Community Investment Program. Giada is located at 704 W. 6th St., one block west of Katz' Deli. The phone number for Giada is (512) 457-8881.

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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.