GEN's Voice

Issue 23
May 2003

In This Issue:

Jane Nethercut, from day one, has gone above and beyond in helping establish GENaustin and grow its clubGEN program. Her expertise in youth empowerment, teen mentoring initiatives, and program expansion has proven invaluable in GENaustin’s efforts to refine, revise, and create a sound and replicable program. Jane has offered excellent suggestions for the program, talked with many members of our community to promote clubGEN, and has met with several schools to expand the program.

Jane has been with us since October 2002, and she is tireless in her volunteer efforts and offers to help without even being asked. Her attitude and personality make it an absolute delight to work with her. We, at GENaustin, feel privileged and grateful to have Jane as a member of the GENaustin team!

Celia Israel, a GENaustin board member, and Sarah Wheat, a former GENaustin board member, are receiving accolades for their involvement in the Democratic community. Sarah and Celia will be recognized at the Capital Area Democratic Women (CADW) annual fundraiser, A Celebration of Champions. The event will be held on Wednesday, May 14th at Umlauf Sculpture Gardens from 6:00-8:00 pm. Tickets are $35 for non-members, $25 for members. Sponsorships are available at the $100, $250, $500 and $1,000 levels. Contact 469-7665 or [email protected] for additional details.

During the month of May, GENaustin's Speaker Series committee will be planning our upcoming 2003/2004 school year calendar of speaking events. For the upcoming year, we are looking for corporations with large employee bases in the Austin area (+500) that would like to provide GENaustin speaking events to their employees during the lunch hour or following the workday. These events would provide your company’s employees with wellness topics, focused on parenting during the Middle School years. In exchange, GENaustin will be seeking corporate sponsorship from participating companies. If you think your company is a good candidate or might be interested, please call Margaret Garcia, at 512-369-1820 or the GENaustin Office at [email protected].

A crowd of nearly 300 students, teachers, and parents joined GENaustin April 10th at the Red Lion Hotel to hear Rosalind Wiseman, author of “Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and Other Realities of Adolescence". All heard a great message about those difficult years beginning in middle school and how powerful friendships can be to girls at that age. Ms. Wiseman provided an honest assessment of parent/child relationships as well as enlightenment on how important peer relationships are.

Thanks to the help of sponsors at the corporate and individual level GENaustin raised over $12,000. Not only was the event a success in terms of the fundraising that all non-profits must engage in, it was a success in terms of introducing hundreds of community members to what GENaustin does throughout the year. An overwhelming majority of the crowd were individuals who were not already involved in a GENaustin program.

Board chair, Donna Van Fleet, provided everyone with an overview of our programs and purpose. John Fitzpatrick, AISD Board Member introduced Ms. Wiseman to the audience.

The countdown to Ladyfest Texas has begun. Ladyfest Texas is a non-profit, community-based arts festival in Austin, Texas. Their mission is to provide a forum in which all members of the community can celebrate, showcase, and encourage the artistic, organizational, and political talents of women. This participatory festival will feature performances by bands, spoken word artists, authors, visual artists, and filmmakers, as well as workshops and panel discussions. While the primary organizers of Ladyfest Texas are women, everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend and volunteer at this community festival.

Ladyfest Texas will take place May 22 - 25 at various music venues and art spaces in Austin. The venues will be in the centrally located areas of downtown Austin and the University of Texas. All will be accessible via Capital Metro bus. Community members of all ages and genders and walks of life are welcome and encouraged to attend.

www.ladyfesttx.org

There are also going to be other May Ladyfest events, before the festival begins. They include:

Fri, May 3 - Benefit at the venerable Sacred Cup Coffee House (1809 Manor Rd.). Sunbury, The Kimonos (Houston), and more TBA. All ages.

Sat, May 10 - What may be the final benefit before the festival – this one is at The Ritz Lounge. Performers TBA.

Sat, May 17 - Block Party in the North Loop neighborhood! You can expect live music from The Culottes, a good old fashioned cake walk, Ladyfest wristbands for sale, and fun in the sun.

Rude Mechanicals (aka Rude Mechs), one of Austin’s most respected and critically acclaimed theatre companies, is again offering its Grrl Action summer program in autobiographical writing and performance. The program is for girls ages 13 to 16 and takes place from 9:00 am to 12 noon from June 9th through 29th. During the program, the girls will generate material from their personal experiences, develop performance skills, and craft their work into a final public performance. Grrl Action gives girls the space and skills to gain a public voice while they build confidence, interact with professional female artists and performers, and make new friends from diverse economic, racial, social and cultural backgrounds.

Tuition for the three week program is $200. Tuition will cover all program expenses including supplies, snacks, and any props/costumes need for the final performance. Scholarships are available for up to 10 spots. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of need, not merit, and will be offered on a first come, first served basis.

Applications for this year's Grrl Action are now being accepted. The focus of the program is on developing and performing personal stories, not on existing writing or performance "talent," so girls with varied skills and experience are welcome. Applications are available online on the Rude Mechs website at www.rudemechs.com. You can also request one by calling 512-476-RUDE (7833). Admission to the program will be made on a rolling basis, so girls are encouraged to apply early.

For more information about Grrl Action, please contact the Program Coordinator, Karen Sullivan, at 512-476-RUDE (7833) or by email at [email protected].

Here’s an opportunity help students with their entrepreneurial class at St. Edward's University just by taking a short 10 question survey. The survey is for parents and is about educational software. Please use the link below to access the survey:

survey link (survey now closed)

The University of Texas Women in Chemistry is having an open house to introduce girls and young women to the field of chemistry. The event, titled “Chemical Reaction – It’s a Girl Thing,” will be Saturday, May 17th from 2:00 to 5:00 pm. The event will start with an introduction to chemistry and the five divisions and proceed to lab tours within each division. The tours will wrap up with informal talk over pizza in the graduate student lounge. The emphasis will be on why these professional women like chemistry and what types of careers available. Interested parents and girls should meet at the stairs going into Welch Hall at 24th and Speedway.

To register, contact K. Richelle Bass at 453-7391 x140 or email at [email protected].

Come hear wonderful chamber music performed by some of Austin's finest classical musicians and help celebrate the purchase of the new site for the Girls School of Austin.

Becktell-Blackerby Violin Shop is hosting a chamber music concert to benefit the Girl's School of Austin MAY 4th at Tarrytown Methodist Church (2601 Exposition Blvd) at 3:00pm. Admission is $10.00 per person/$20.00 per family.

After the concert there will be a reception just down the street at the Girls School of Austin's new school building (the corner of Windsor and McCall, two blocks west of MOPAC). Come learn about Austin's only independent, non-profit, college preparatory all girls school.

For more information about the concert and the Girls School visit: girlsschoolofaustin.org

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

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! 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 West Sixth Street, a block west of Katz' Deli, 457-8881.

Inspired by the book Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls, GENaustin, a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization, was formed in 1996.

GENaustin is a non-profit organization based in Austin, TX, and was founded in 1996. GENaustin is made up of volunteers committed to helping girls grow into healthy, confident women who feel valued for what's inside, and not outside, themselves. Our mission is to help adolescent girls develop and maintain healthy self-esteem through the education of the girls, their parents, their teachers and others who touch their lives.

For more information, please visit our Web site at www.genaustin.org. Our mailing address is P.O. Box 3122, Austin TX, 78764. You may call us at (512) 414-0472 or email us at [email protected].

To receive our newsletter via email each month, send an email to newsletter@genaustin.org. Please include your full name and the email address where you like the newsletter to be sent.

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.