PEARLS COMING EVENTS

Our Primary Goal of PEARLS Programs

The primary goal of PEARLS programs is to help girls become confident, self-directed, self-sufficient leaders by offering them opportunities to excavate and experience their personal power and inner assets to improve the quality of life for themselves, their families and our entire community. Through supportive conversation circles, personal goal-setting, peer and adult mentoring and a variety of community-based activities, PEARLS girls practice important skills including listening to and understanding the viewpoints of others, communicating clearly, thinking critically, goal-setting and sound decision making. PEARLS girls develop social, emotional and intellectual tools to help them avoid negative traps like teen pregnancy, low educational attainment and violence, create a positive life vision, develop success skills, serve as community role models, and access the resources they need to achieve in school, a career and life. 

Recognition:  PEARLS has repeatedly been recognized as a leader and innovator in youth programming locally and nationally.

• In 2004 the Greater Milwaukee Foundation officially designated PEARLS as a model program. 
• An 8/7/05 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial about the violence currently plaguing Milwaukee’s central city cites PEARLS as an effective antidote to community ills: “PEARLS is intervening with the girls themselves, striving to make them emotionally healthy and getting them to think meaningfully about their futures…”
• PEARLS was invited in both 2004 and 2005 to present its girl-driven/ Action Science approach to program evaluation and youth goal setting to the national conference of the American Evaluators Association.
• PEARLS received a three-year $105,000 grant from the national Ms. Foundation and PEARLS girls and staff participated in several annual Ms. Foundation national summits to learn from and share with girl-serving organizations from around the country.

The PEARLS model is intended to impact girls' lives over time. Helping girls develop the skill of setting a relevant life goal, putting a plan into play and ultimately accomplishing the goal will serve them well all of their lives. Plus, as girls develop the capability of seeing the gap between what is said and what is done, and know how to close the gap, remarkable headway is made toward self-efficacy and life success. By staying focused on the Leadership Compass and practicing the attributes of the PEARLS Promise, we are achieving significant outcomes.

PEARLS Outcomes are:

Short Term

• Girls’ leadership skills/ self-efficacy developed. (Indicators: Girl involvement in community, parent/facilitator feedback, rigorous evidence of goal accomplishment provided, self-assessments)
• Girls build partnerships/ supportive relationships with teen and adult facilitators. (Indicators: Retention of girls and staff, participation in programs, waiting lists for groups)
• Action Learning is successfully integrated into PEARLS. (Indicators: Girls and staff are demonstrating ability to bridge gap between intention and action. Ability to self-reflect and self-correct in real time is evidenced. Plus, all aspects of the process are documented)

Long Term

• Girls continue education post-high school. (Indicators: 90% of PEARLS girls complete high school and qualify for post-high school PEARLS scholarship funds)
• Action Learning/ girl-driven goal setting utilized by youth serving organizations. (Indicators: Number of youth organizations willing to invest in integration of action learning into their programs)
• PEARLS participants continue to be invested, safe and engaged in the community. (Indicators: Number of girls achieving education/ career goals, amount of networking with community leaders, utilization of community resources)
• PEARLS model is effectively replicated and sustained. (Indicators: Ongoing funding to grow number of sites, effective curriculum/ evaluation replication in new sites, retention of staff/ program participants, and documentation of results)

PEARLS Contract

Become Part of the PEARLS Family

Are you ready to have important conversations about issues of interest and concern to girls your age? Are you ready to have fun with many creative activities that will help you practice:

• Personal Responsibility: “I believe I can make a difference.”
• Empathy: “I will try to understand what it feels like to walk in your shoes.”
• Awareness: “I want to know myself and the world around me.”
• Respect: “I will value you and your opinions, even if we disagree.”
• Leadership:” I want to put my beliefs into action and make this world a better place.”
• Support: “I want to help and encourage.”

If the answer is yes, download a PEARLS Contract (in Microsoft Word format) and start filling out your application today!

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