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03/29/2016 04:30 PMBeing a young girl has never been easy, but in the digital age, it is getting harder and harder by the minute. In public and online, girls are faced with a storm of societal pressure and local community leaders want to help.
Shoreline Girls United (SGU) is hosting its third annual middle school girls’ conference Saturday, April 30. The conference will focus on promoting messages of empowerment and self-confidence, according to conference coordinator Jill Paglino.
“It’s a pretty difficult time to be a middle school-aged girl in America,” she said. “Girls appreciate the opportunity to talk about critical issues which matter to them in a safe, nonjudgmental, single-gender setting. They do not often have this opportunity in a public school or online.”
Paglino was inspired to create this event by a group called the Hardy Girls, Healthy Women in Waterville, Maine. She then decided to bring the event to Guilford.
“I arranged to bring Hardy Girls to Guilford by partnering with Guilford Youth & Family Services and receiving funds through Guilford DAY, Guilford Fund for Education, and the Guilford Foundation,” she said. “MADE in Madison has also financially supported us in 2015 and 2016.”
SGU is the only conference in Connecticut that is run by girls. High school students from Guilford, Madison, North Branford, Clinton, and Killingworth will run programs throughout the conference.
“This matters because a high school girl’s take on social media or dating, for example, is going to be much more immediate and relevant to a middle schooler than my take as a 42 year-old mom,” said Paglino. “However, the adults help with the structuring of the workshops and ensure that all content is appropriate for a middle school audience.”
Paglino said it is also important for young girls to see other women in leadership positions.
“We want middle school girls to see older girls in creative, leadership positions, and to know that if they get involved with Shoreline Girls United now, they can work toward becoming a presenter in high school,” she said.
Presentations throughout the day will focus on confidence, friendships, social media, and dating, among other fun activities, according to Paglino.
“During the five-hour event, girls will take part in yoga, theater games, zumba, [and] two original workshops, plus have a catered lunch and see a concert by an all-girl School of Rock band,” she said.
The event is open to all 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade girls from shoreline towns. There are 60 available spaces and 20 have already filled up according to Paglino.
“The registration process begins when a parent calls Guilford Youth & Family Services at 203-453-8047,” she said. “They will be mailed a registration brochure and permission/release form, which they complete and return with a registration fee of $20.”
The fee covers the day’s events and also allows parents to attend a hour-long parents-only workshop by a media literacy expect from SCSU. Paglino said she would like to see everyone registered by April 25.
The conference will be held at the Greene Community Center, 32 Church Street, on Saturday, April 30.