Step Up provides its members with hands-on volunteer opportunities with underserved teen girls.
Step Up empowers high school girls in underserved communities to reach their full potential through dynamic after-school and Saturday enrichment programming that helps girls become confident, college-bound, and career-ready.
Who are Step Up teen girls?
- urban high school students living at or below the federal poverty level
- often face difficult family situations like violence, abuse, addiction, unemployment & illness
- most will be 1st in family to attend college
- 1/3+ of peers will not complete high school
- in Step Up, each girl receives approx. 100 hours/yr of enrichment programming
- 100% of Step Up seniors in the Class of 2010 graduated high school
- 100% of Class of 2010 accepted into college for fall
Step Up teen programs include...
- After-school confidence-building programming
- College prep & campus tours
- Career exploration & paid internships
- Mentoring
Step Up successes
- More than 450 underserved teens received an average of 100+ hours of Step Up programming during the 2009-10 school year. By the time the average Step Up freshman graduates, she will have experienced more than 400 hours of programming to help her become confident, college-bound and career-ready.
- 100% of Step Up seniors in the Class of 2010 graduated high school and were admitted to college for the fall of 2010.
- During adolescence, girls’ self-esteem drops twice as much as boys’ self-esteem. But more than 85% of Step Up girls report feeling more positive about themselves.
- Approximately 1 in 3 girls does not feel that she has an opportunity for open discussion in the classroom. But more than 90% of Step Up girls report feeling more comfortable speaking in class.
- Women over age 16 without a college degree are 2.5 times more likely to be unemployed. But more than 85% of Step Up girls report that Step Up pushes them to consider new college and career possibilities.
