In response to the growing need to provide young women with the necessary skills to “say no” to drugs, alcohol and premature sexual activity at an early age, the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley is introducing SMART Girls.

The goal of the SMART Girls program is to help girls develop healthy attitudes and lifestyles. To accomplish this, the program addresses health and social issues that are specific to female Club members. SMART Girls is designed for two age-group levels, 8 to 12 and 13 to 17, according to their physiological, mental and emotional needs. In addition, the program is intended to help girls make positive decisions at this critical stage in their development.

“SMART Girls is exactly the kind of program we’ve been looking for to reach our younger female members,” said Buddy Escoto, Site Director of the Boys & Girls of Santa Clara Valley, Fillmore Clubhouse. “We have a great deal of confidence in the effectiveness of SMART Girls because it’s based upon the award-winning SMART Moves program that has been developed and tested for many years by Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and is currently in use in several of the Boys & Girls Clubs in Ventura County.”

SMART Girls takes the skills, mastery and resistance training concept even further by providing gender- and age-specific information to help young women develop the necessary skills to have a long and healthy life. The specific curriculum for SMART Girls teaches young women how to do the following:
• understand and appreciate the physical, emotional and social changes their bodies are experiencing;
• develop positive lifelong nutritional habits based on the nutritional needs specific to females;
• adopt healthy exercise routines, including a broad range of physical and leisure-time activities;
• learn how to access the healthcare delivery service in their community;
• develop and enhance important female relationships through the involvement of adult female role models/mentors (specifically mothers, grandmothers and other family members); and
• develop communication skills for building cooperative relationships by recognizing and avoiding abusive behavior.

“We are pleased to have a program that improves relationships between young women and the older significant females in their lives. We think it’s important for a young woman to establish a positive relationship with an adult female, a relationship that can foster self-esteem and a ‘can-do’ attitude,” said Sheila Tate, Chief Executive Officer of the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley.

It is important at this stage of a girl’s life to offer guidance and help, especially in the areas of social and health-related behaviors. For girls at this age, making a positive transition depends upon several factors: self-esteem and self-confidence; attitudes about their bodies; developing practical life skills; opportunities to contribute to their communities; and the influence of positive female mentors/role models in their lives. As always, it is crucial that sensitive and complex issues be addressed with sensitivity in a safe environment.
The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley is open to all youth between the ages of 6 and 18, Club membership is $25 per year, and no child is turned away for lack of ability to pay the membership fee. The Club has served the kids of the Santa Clara Valley for 60+ years, and serves 700 children daily in Fillmore and Santa Paula. More information about the Club and its programs can be obtained by calling 805-525-7910.