The Movement: #BIOGirls

2018 was the year of the social movements. Think #metoo #ibelieveher #blacklivesmatter and many more. Movements get people to engage in conversation, whether they stand for or against it. Movements get people to act with passion. Movements can and do propel change.

At BIO Girls we have created a movement of our own. A movement with tremendous momentum. A movement snowballing organically. A movement with life-changing impact.

#BIOGirls

Our first BIO Girls program commenced in the spring of 2013, with 30-some participants, 10 mentors, 1 sponsor and a lot of heart. BIO Girls offered participants a respite from all the stressors of adolescence and provided the opportunity to participate in a program that didn’t focus on being THE best, rather the focus was on being you. While we were shooting from this hip much of the original 12-weeks, the spark was lit for this movement, which continues to gain momentum.

In 2019, we project to have 30 sites, impacting 1,000 participants, a volunteer force of 350+ adults serving as role models, and support from hundreds of business and individuals. We have hired four employees, secured a small office location (come visit us!), are planning a big fundraiser event and continuously receive interest from passionate people wanting to bring this movement, #BIOGirls, to their community.

Why has this movement taken off? Because #BIOGirls is fighting an epidemic, low self-esteem in our adolescent girls. The stats are staggering – 62% of girls suffer from low self-esteem.

By age 10 girls are trying to lose weight or won’t participate in activities
because they feel negatively towards their bodies.

Elementary age girls feel tremendous pressure to be beautiful and base their standards on what they see in the media. They are basing their self-worth on external acceptance, rather than their values, talents and philanthropy.

Our success seeking culture has our girls believing they have to be superhuman, turned friends into competitors, diminished time spent as a family and amplified social comparison. Girls are taught to seek success at all costs.

A lot has changed since that first year in 2013, but our mission is unchanged. #BIOGirls is working to combat these social pressures and help girls understand and value their worth – based on internal cues, not external acceptance. BIO Girls helps girls build a strong foundation of self-esteem and provides a tool-box of life-skills for girls to access as they continue to grow. No matter what changes, our focus is our adolescent girls – because every girl deserves to have the confidence to be themselves.

Our blog posts will dig deeper into the WHY behind BIO Girls and provide tips for parents to address these social pressures at home. Thank you for joining our #BIOGirls movement. We are just scratching the surface in our quest to help all girls know they are Beautiful Inside and Out and it will take passionate people like you to fuel the fire. #BIOGirls