Mission
Girls First is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3), out-of-school program for girls in grades one through four that provides tuition-free services.
The mission of Girls First is to build character, instill a positive sense of self, and provide tangible life skills through a creative curriculum of arts exploration, academic reinforcement, and emotional learning.
Girls First provides a safe, stable environment where students practice respect for self and others, exercise appropriate interactions with peers and adults, discover new skills and talents, and develop tools that will allow them to achieve greater success in school and beyond.
History
Girls First of Norristown (then known as St. Augustine Academy) opened our doors in 2009, an outreach endeavor supported financially by St. David's Church in Radnor. The idea originated with the young woman serving as a Deacon at St. Augustine’s in Norristown. A fundraiser provided the seed money for our independent, non-religious program to be launched.
At first, Girls First operated just one day each week working specifically with second graders. Over time, our program has grown - we’ve added additional program days and grade levels - and evolved so that we now provide academic and social-emotional support through a trauma-informed, arts-based curriculum during after-school and summer programming.
Since the beginning, the goals of our program have been quite specific; we wanted to enrich the lives of young girls through exposure to the arts, music, live theater, creative writing, dance, culinary arts, painting, and more. In addition, we offered homework support, and a full meal. But above all we wanted to create a safe place where they could discover their creative gifts and build self-esteem.
Girls First Timeline
2009-2023
