The Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta (BGCMA) is proud to partner with Girls Empowering Movement (GEM) to get BGCMA girls active, develop their leadership skills and help them make an impact in their own communities.
The GEM program is a statewide initiative to increase physical activity and fitness levels of Georgia’s middle school girls through activities designed and led by girls. BGCMA’s partnership began in Summer 2021 and will continue through 2024 at our Lawrenceville, Grant, Douglas, A. Worley Brown, Warren, Barksdale and Anderson Club sites.
Teen Director Billy Anderson shares two ways middle-school aged GEM Ambassadors at our Douglas County Club are making sustainable changes in their own communities.
1. The girls held a yoga session with Mrs. Harris from Keep It Moving Yoga. Some girls surprised themselves with their stretching abilities and all were proud of their accomplishments.
2. The GEM Ambassadors also created a jump rope challenge, where they learned how to push and reward themselves. They challenged themselves by creating a positive and competitive atmosphere. They then rewarded themselves at the end of the jump rope challenge by making and eating chocolate covered strawberries.
“The GEM Program changed our girl’s perspective of being active and believing in themselves,” Anderson said. “GEM helped the girls become more self-empowered, self-motivated, and self-aware.”
