|
S.I.S.T.E.R.S.
Programs
(Self-Image,
Strength, Tenacity, Empathy, Responsibility, and
Success)
|
 S.I.S.T.E.R.S.
is an after-school empowerment program offering
comprehensive outreach, education, and mentoring for
pre-adolescent and adolescent girls in upper elementary, middle,
and high schools in the Washington metropolitan area.
The
award-winning S.I.S.T.E.R.S. program includes Lil'
S.I.S.T.E.R.S. for elementary school girls in grades 4 and
5, and H.E.R.M.A.N.A.S. for first-generation and
recent-immigrant Hispanic females, led in a culturally
sensitive and supportive atmosphere by a bilingual female
leader.
The S.I.S.T.E.R.S. programs
provide prevention education for
at-risk behaviors, skill-building and leadership workshops,
practical decision-making experience, as well as volunteer
and community service opportunities. These aspects of S.I.S.T.E.R.S. serve to
empower young women to strengthen their self-image, positive
peer support, and constructive coping skills. Our goal is to
empower the participating young women to thrive by providing
them with prevention education and adult and peer support in
a safe, and nurturing atmosphere.
The S.I.S.T.E.R.S. programs
are highly structured, weekly, after-school meetings held in
the schools, facilitated by a mental health professional
from the Family Support Center, in collaboration with a
school-appointed liaison. The program runs for 32 weeks of
the year, from mid-September through mid-May.
The components of the
S.I.S.T.E.R.S. programs include:
- Prevention and Empowerment
Education focusing on: healthy relationships, life
skills, sexuality, health and fitness, values,
assertiveness, goal-setting, formal self-defense
training, and alcohol and drug
prevention
- School Programs to Develop
a Group Identity
- Socialization and
Recreation
- Peer Mentoring, Support,
and Leadership Opportunities
- Financial Literacy
Education
- Book Club Discussions
- College and Career
Information
- Volunteer Activities
- Community Service
All schools make an effort to
promote ethnically, socially, academically, and economically
diverse programs. Girls can sign up to join the group or
guidance counselors may refer at-risk girls to join the
program. The S.I.S.T.E.R.S. program can also be
strategically tailored to meet the individual needs of each
school or group setting.
If you are interested in
learning more about the S.I.S.T.E.R.S. programs or would
like to be involved, please contact dirvin@fscone.org.
|
Corporate
Alliance Program
The Family Support Center invites Washington, D.C. area
businesses to become allies with young women by sponsoring a
S.I.S.T.E.R.S., Lil' S.I.S.T.E.R.S., or H.E.R.M.A.N.A.S.
program. Opportunities include: direct financial sponsorship
of a school group, becoming a guest speaker for one of our
POWER LUNCH sessions, sponsoring a school's Book Club or
T-shirts for the year, a Pizza Party or end-of-the-year Ice
Cream Party, assistance with the sponsorship of the
S.I.S.T.E.R.S. Celebration in May, or volunteering to be a
co-leader for a year.Benefits
to your organization's alliance with the S.I.S.T.E.R.S.
programs include: the opportunity to advance its diversity
objectives by helping to create opportunities for women's
economic advancement, opportunities for employee involvement
in group presentations and community service cooperatives,
opportunities for vocational counseling and internships,
participation in S.I.S.T.E.R.S. activities and special
outings, student mentoring and Book Club discussion.
To learn more about the
S.I.S.T.E.R.S. Corporate Alliance Program please contact dirvin@fscone.org.
|
