Rosie’s Girls Santa Monica (RGSM) is the recipient of the League of California Cities’ 2011 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence for engaging its youth in city government.
Using a model initially created for private non-profits, RGSM is unique for building upon the national curriculum by adding something different: civic engagement.
“Our program takes the original Rosie’s Girls model one step further by transforming participants’ very hometown into a classroom. Learning about a city from the inside out creates an extraordinary opportunity to connect girls with their community… all while having lots of fun,” said Julie Rusk, Santa Monica Human Services Division Manager and co-founder of RGSM.
Through unique RGSM components, such as mock City Council meetings and working as Youth Liaisons for the City’s Commission on the Status of Women, program participants, as well as alumni, get the opportunity to grow as leaders and create a stronger community through increased community service and advocacy.
Each year, approximately eighty 11 to 13-year old middle school girls don hardhats and jumpsuits and head into the trade shops at the City Yards to learn how to operate saws, drills, welding torches and other tools of the trades.
This isn’t your typical day camp, this is RGSM, a program designed to build self-esteem, physical confidence and leadership through an exploration of the trades and other non-traditional activities, including carpentry and welding.
RGSM will be offered in the spring, April 9-13, and summer, June 25-July 13 and July 23-August 10, 2012. Generous financial assistance is available to qualifying families and payment plans are offered upon request.
For more details, visit www.rosiesgirls.smgov.net.
