Helping Needy Girls Become Self-Confident

The giggling started almost instantly, filling the cozy room at Costa Mesa High School.

Nearly a dozen teenage girls had fictional labels pasted to their foreheads: “Girl With Frizzy Hair,” “Girl With Crooked Teeth,” “Girl With Bad Body Odor.”

They were told to hurl insults at one another, and did--from “Hey, Bozo” to “You stink; get away from me.”

The object was to teach these seventh- and eighth-graders how labeling people can be painful and degrading. The giggles quickly disappeared, overtaken by a serious conversation about how girls see themselves and how women are often objectified in the media and by others.

The after-class rap session was sponsored by Girls Inc. of Orange County, a nonprofit organization that helps needy girls in Costa Mesa, Tustin, Santa Ana and Garden Grove. The group teaches them to embrace independence, helps build self-confidence and offers programs to foster intellectual and emotional development.

“There’s so much out there for boys; we felt this was really needed,” said Girls Inc. program director Lucy Santana. “We talk about all of the teen issues, from postponing sexual activity to body image.”

The organization was established in 1954 as the Girls Club of the Harbor Area, and is affiliated with a 300-chapter national organization headquartered in New York that is aimed at helping girls ages 5 to 18.

Girls Inc. offers programs at its Costa Mesa headquarters and at schools in the area. Topics include math and science, entrepreneurship, sports fundamentals, personal safety and child-abuse prevention. The organization also sponsors a four-week summer program that focuses on academics, sports and career preparation.

The group offers a variety of aged-based programs that stress pregnancy prevention, and it has a campaign designed to help girls develop a positive image of their bodies and reinforce the benefits of good nutrition.

The Los Angeles Times is highlighting local programs and organizations that serve needy youths and families in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. Last year, the newspaper established the Holiday Campaign to help raise money for worthy programs in Southern California. The program is a part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund, which includes the newspaper’s long-running Summer Camp Program.

The McCormick Tribune Foundation will match the first $500,000 in donations at 50 cents on the dollar, and The Times will absorb all of the administrative costs.

THE TIMES HOLIDAY CAMPAIGN

Tax-deductible gifts: Donations (checks or money orders) should be sent to L.A. Times Holiday Campaign, File No. 56491, Los Angeles, CA 90074-6491. Please do not send cash. Credit card donations can be made at: https://www.latimes.com/holidaycampaign. Contributions of $25 or more will be acknowledged in The Times unless a donor requests otherwise. For more information about the Holiday Campaign call (800) 528-4637 (LA TIMES), ext. 75480.