Enriching young women with positive formative experiences that replace obstacles with opportunities.
What We Do
Experience
Opportunities to explore new things help girls to develop a sense of self as well as discover their gifts and talents.
Enrich
Structured routine, regular academic assistance, and a trusted advocate create a path to personal fulfillment.
Empower
Developing responsibility and life skills create confidence, which leads to better choices and a brighter future.
Donate
Donors and supporters help foster young women by enabling GirlUp GVL to provide after-school programs, academic support, transportation, field trips, and other programs
Volunteer
The support of our volunteers inspires the girls to discover their gifts, explore their talents and learn new skills, all while surrounded by love and encouragement.
GirlUp GVL on Instagram
Here’s to full plates and full hearts 💕
Our annual thanksgiving meal is another opportunity for the girls to show off what they have learned in clubs (and other areas of life). Earlier on in clubs this fall, the middle school crew learned to make fresh rolls with the help of the talented @elizabethweaver0902. When our Thanksgiving meal rolled around, the girls were able to make rolls themselves using the skills they had previously learned. Not to mention all the math, planning, and team work that goes into cooking. They did an amazing job at it all!! 🥇
Be sure to keep an eye out for how you can #givetothefuture and support the clubs at #girlupgvl!
“My mom.” “Life.” “Education.” “Friends.” These are a few of the things the high school crew are thankful for 💕 It’s always insightful to hear from the girls about what they are feeling and experiencing. Taking the time to listen, it’s a symphony of all of what life throws their way in a season where they are trying to put the pieces together and make sense of it - heartache, joy, social awareness, new experiences, self discovery. We are thankful for THEM and who they are 💕 swipe to see more of what they are grateful for and let us know ⬇️ below what you would add!
1️⃣ week from today is #GivingTuesday - a big day of giving where you have the chance to support us! This one day of support helps us to provide the daily programming that empowers the girls, leading to strong futures and success. Swipe through to learn more about this day and how you can help #girlupgvl 💕
Ready to #givetothefuture today? Click the link in our bio!
We had a great time with one of our favorite community partners @jenisicecreams last week! The middle school girls we’re given the opportunity to practice their interviewing skills with the shopkeeper and assistant manager! They were very nervous to do this at first but were given great feedback and left the experience with more confidence knowing they are prepared for future interviews. THEN three of our high school girls went into the shop and participated in job shadowing. They got to sample all the different flavors, learn how to make waffle cones, and lean about what it takes to run a shift. These were some very sweet (😉)experiences that were such a great combination of fun and stepping out of comfort zones! 💕
We think the song captures it pretty well, but we’re feeling pretty BLESSED this Thanksgiving season! It is always a special time when we get to sit together, enjoy a meal, and share the things we are thankful for this year. This tradition is one we always look forward to and what makes the meal even more special is that we all have a hand in it. We are all looking forward to a week tor rest and reflect on what we’re grateful for! 💕
On Monday we met with our dear friend @butlercollegecounseling to talk about decision making! This is a topic that some of the girls had identified they wanted to talk more about as they are in a season of their lives where they are making a lot of decisions about their futures. The girls started off by going to different posters around the room with certain “end goals” and spending 5 minutes at each brainstorming what decisions would have to be made to reach the desired outcome. Once we finished the girls were able to talk through their answers and compare them with other students, and see decisions that they may have not thought of but their peers did. Finally, @_emilycbutler_ shared more information with us on how to think critically in our decision making process! We’re thankful for this space where we are able to talk collaboratively about different topics that are relevant to ALL of our lives! 💕
Thank you to everyone who came out and helped make our Yard Sale SUCH a success! These girls did an amazing job preparing for this event, thinking through pricing, negotiating sales with customers, and making sure the details of the day were taken care of! We also had the most AMAZING volunteers who were so willing to go hard for GirlUp GVL (including standing out in front of the road holding up signs and literally getting cars to turn around for our sale 😂). This was such a fun day and we are so thankful for our community showing up and making it such a special day! 💕
Is it too soon?!! 🎄
Listen, we love the holidays and are kicking the season TODAY with a group field trip. One of our traditions is secret Santa, where the girls draw names of one of the other girls and pick out the gift for their friend. In the past, we have relied on online shopping. But this year (thanks to a donor and volunteers), we are taking a group field trip so the girls can shop for the gifts. Stay tuned to the stories later today to catch a glimpse of some hot ticket items for teens💕
Let us know below some of your traditions! Gingerbread house? Ice skating?
We are SO proud of these two girls for working hard and making the varsity basketball teams at their schools! We know they will both be amazing additions, and will bring lots of determination and energy to their teams. We are excited to watch them play, and even see them play each other! 💕
Look at how we built our new garden beds from start to finish! We worked with @clemson_extension last Saturday to upgrade our garden. The girls used their building skills from their time with @skillsetprogram and were able to put the beds together. After building the beds, we added some soil and planted cabbage and broccoli. It looks amazing!! We couldn’t have done with without the @gvlbreakfastrotary helping make it all happen. We can’t wait to eat all of the vegetables that we grow in our new garden!
