Be the Change: October
This month, HWFC’s Be the Change program is featuring and raising funds to support two local organizations: Girls, inc. girlsinccapitalregion.org and Eagle Island Campership for Indigenous Girls eagleisland.org.
Girls Inc. of the Greater Capital Region, is an affiliate of Girls Inc. National, 501(c)(3), founded in 1864 after the Civil War to support women and girls in recovering from post-war upheaval. As the longest-running girl’s leadership organization, Girls Inc. has served millions of girls across the United States and Canada at more than 800 sites across more than 350 cities. At any given time more than 100,000 girls ages 5-18 are registered, most of them are girls of color living in homes with annual incomes of less than $30,000. “Woven into those early girls’ clubs are the same core values of Girls Inc. today: the importance of creating a supportive gathering place for girls to learn and to share in sisterhood and a strong premise that each girl can develop her capacities and self-confidence and grow up healthy, educated, and independent.”
Girls Inc. of the Greater Capital Region was founded in 1937, as the the Schenectady Girls Club, merging in 2001 with the Albany Girls Club (founded in 1961), and subsequently folding into the national Girls, Inc. This regional organization serves girls in Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga, and Rensselaer counties offering “award-winning, research-based programs designed to inspire girls to be strong, smart, and bold.” The central locations in Albany, Troy, and Schenectady offer after-school programs to more than 150 girls each day. They provide an empowering environment where girls are supported through mentorship and programming that teaches them the skills they need to thrive and bring change to their local communities.
Eagle Island, a 501(c)(3), is not only a youth camp but also a National Historic Landmark— one of the best-preserved architectural examples of Adirondack Great Camps. Built in 1903 and gifted to the Girl Scouts in 1937, Eagle Island was acquired by a nonprofit preservation group in 2015; they rehabbed and then reopened the camp in 2019. Currently, through a large revitalization campaign, Eagle Island hopes to accommodate 132 campers a week by 2027. It will offer “a unique opportunity for children to live, learn, and play in a historic Great Camp setting while at the same time providing a way to preserve and maintain the integrity of the historic resource.”
Eagle Island’s mission is to “inspire and empower girls and young women to be confident, collaborative, and courageous through unplugged Adirondack experiences.”
Your donation will support the “campership” (or scholarship branch) of their program for Indigenous girls. With the belief that camping is an extension of core education, the program provides physical activities and instruction in boating, sailing, swimming, nature stewardship, and team-building. “We provide a safe, unplugged environment for campers and staff to reconnect with nature, explore freely, and engage in STEAM-inspired outdoor learning to deepen their connection with the environment.”
For the month of October, remember to round up to the nearest dollar and donate to support our community!
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