Help us give a big Funny Girls welcome to our brand new 2020-2021 partners! They include (drum roll please): Henry Street Settlement’s Abrons Art Center, International Girls Ensemble, NYC Great!, and LEAP NYC. Our partnerships serve girls in four out of five boroughs in New York City this year (Staten Island was welcome to join Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx in our virtual sessions & workshops over Zoom tho). We’re proud to work with organizations that hold social justice at their core AND prioritize uplifting young girls to be the best leaders in their communities.
Our partnerships begin with a 3 year philanthropic investment. We train and provide coaching support for the partner organizations’ Teaching Artists. These are the instructors who guide our Funny Girls as they master various leadership skills through our curriculum. After the 3 years are up, we continue to keep these Teaching Artists connected so we’re available with support for their use of our Funny Girls curriculum going forward. After years of wonderful partnership with SAYA, Global Kids, and Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education, Funny Girls will proudly continue collaborating with their staff & students.
Henry Street Settlement is a legend in child and family services in New York City – founded in 1893! We’re so lucky to partner with this historic champion of the community. One of Henry Street’s core programs is the Abrons Art Center, home to interdisciplinary arts and where all the Funny Girls magic happens. We totally agree with Abrons Art Center that “access to the arts for everyone is core to free, healthy society.” Oooh, we can’t wait to work with your talented Teaching Artists & the youth you serve.
International Girls Ensemble (IGE)’s impact goes beyond city limits. Sure, they have students in New York City, but their mission includes communities in Thailand and Cambodia. IGE works to help girls feel comfortable and confident in a strong and safe community, giving them a place where they can grow in themselves through the arts.This nonprofit focuses on community building, creating sisterhood, and developing trust. The students learn key SEL skills. We think this partnership is a slam dunk!
Led by the formidable LeslieAnn Dunn, NYC DOE Leadership Program NYC Great! prepares young women to persist and achieve their personal and professional heights. The support includes college readiness, leadership and communication skills, and academic attention. After high school, they’re still supported on the path to college and beyond. NYCGreat! works with each student to help them understand their greatness within so they can achieve all that they are capable of. We can see how they’ve gotten their name!
Also located in New York City, our new partnership with LEAP NYC has us hopping with happiness! LEAP serves students whose NYC schools don’t currently offer arts programs. Our expertly delivered curriculum will be a welcome addition to the opportunities for students. We know it will be nothing short of a transformational experience for their Funny Girls.
We also want to give a shout-out to our returning champs! Back for their third year, we salute Arab-American Family Support Center. Located in downtown Brooklyn & Queens, AAFSC is an integral and intergenerational resource for Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, & South Asian communities. It’s a second home for people of ALL ages, but their youth programs in particular encourage the positive development of leadership skills, academic excellence, and community values like equity, justice and peace. Nuanced in their approach, instructors from AAFSC work with Funny Girls to teach leadership skills with their cultural values in mind.
After such a challenging year, we’re glad to have the chance to provide a springboard for the leadership development of so many girls. Their leadership is needed more than ever, and in 2021, they will have historic new role models of female leadership. Follow Funny Girls on Twitter, Facebook (check out our weekly Tip of the Week!), Instagram, and sign up for our newsletter to stay updated on tips for your future leader and our progress!