If you’ve ever been to Mississippi in the summer, you know it is no place for the faint of heart, and you might wonder what brings me back year after year. It’s exactly that — heart — in the form of bright, fierce young women and the community we’ve built together through Girls Write the World, a girls-only literacy and youth development nonprofit.
The program was born out of my Teach for America experience. When I left Holy Cross and arrived at Delta State University following my graduation in summer 2012, I was eagerly joining hundreds of other soon-to-be teachers at Teach for America’s summer training institute in Cleveland, Mississippi. I had no idea that even the rigor of Holy Cross would not have prepared me for the challenges I faced as a first-year teacher in a community completely unfamiliar to me.
As I struggled through my first two years of teaching seventh grade English in Greenville, Mississippi, my emotions ran the gamut from despair to elation, from hopeless to optimistic. I lost and regained faith in my teaching abilities and fell in love with the community and my students. Along the way, I couldn’t help but notice my students’ lack of resources — not just books and school supplies — but spaces to grapple with sexism, racism and the challenges of girlhood; creative outlets; inspirational and informative literature; leadership opportunities; sex and health education; and college preparatory information.
At the end of my Teach for America commitment, I knew there was more work to do in Greenville. Girls Write the World was a way to address many of the concerns I was unable to tackle as a teacher and create a new, alternative space for my female students. In summer 2015, full of renewed energy, my three co-founders and I (all former English teachers) launched our inaugural summer program.
My memories from that first summer come in bursts. Sleeping in a house with no air conditioning because a gracious friend offered it for free. Hand-painting invitations to our first poetry showcase because we didn’t have access to a color printer. Driving all around town each morning and afternoon to pick up and drop off campers because we were afraid if we didn’t, they might not come.
All of those memories don’t begin to capture the overwhelming feelings of awe and gratitude when I look back at that first bumpy summer. Gratitude for the parents who trusted us, the campers who jumped in with both feet and community members who provided a free space for our campers to gather. Awe that our three essential rules — be kind, supportive and brave — and a lot of love created an incredible community that is continuing to grow.
We’ve come a long way in terms of organization and capital since that first summer, but our goals have not changed. First and foremost, we aim to create a safe space for our eighth-through 12th-grade female campers to create, explore and grow, a place where they are supported and celebrated. We do this through morning poetry workshops, where we read, discuss and analyze poetry written by women of color and write and share our own poetry. Second, we aim to provide specific, tangible resources to help our campers navigate their high school years. We do this through a variety of afternoon workshops. In the past, we’ve covered topics such as healthy relationships, mental health, sex ed, college 101, financial literacy and self-defense. We end the week with a college field trip and poetry showcase, in which campers perform their original work for family, friends and community members.
As the program continues to grow, we have turned our sights on more leadership and ownership opportunities for our campers. This past summer, we introduced two new elements: a G-Lead role, which creates a pathway for students to develop from camper to counselor, and a community day, which provides an opportunity for campers to act as counselors for a day and guide their family, friends and community members through a part of Girls Write the World’s curriculum.