Be a 'Girl in Power'

Melinda Crown, a successful public relations, marketing and event planner, was once plagued with feelings of self-doubt, worthlessness and thoughts of suicide as an adolescent, according to an article in the Ventura County Star. After years of therapy, Crown is now utilizing her personal experiences in an effort to empower young girls, ages 8 through 16, through Girls in Power Foundation, her own nonprofit organization, said the report.

Girls in Power Foundation is launching a series of free classes beginning the week of Feb. 27 that are designed to help young girls realize their full potential in life. This pilot program, held at the Conejo Valley YMCA, will be made up of 56 individual workshops held over a 14-week period, said the Star.

According to the article, each girl selected to participate in the workshops will be paired with a mentor who will provide guidance and support throughout the program, which includes two one-on-one meetings over the course of the 14 weeks and weekly "check-in" calls to monitor the girls' progress.

Among the areas of focus are the arts, health and fitness, purpose and community, and fellowship, said the Star. There also will be a reading challenge, similar to a book club, and daily journal writing assignments, tasks which foster healthy habits, Crown told the Star.

"By holding the Girls in Power workshops here at the Conejo Valley YMCA, they get to utilize the facilities — the gym and pool, and the activity rooms — over the 14 weeks of workshops and we're able to target the needs of an age group, girls in grades six through 10, while also bringing an awareness to our facilities," Meghan Lopez, healthy living director with the Conejo Valley YMCA, one of the Girls in Power workshops' partners, told the Star.

Girls interested in participating in the Girls in Power workshops can apply online through the Conejo Valley YMCA at http://www.sevymca.org/conejo.

For registration, sponsorship information or other involvement opportunities, contact Melinda Crown, GIP Founder at W: 805.559.4447 or at melinda@girlsinpower.org; or Megan Lopez, Healthy Living Director, at mlopez@conejovalleyymca.org