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M.E.A.N. Girls Empowerment fosters a safe space for girls who may be impacted by the growing pains of bullying, aggression and crime that largely affects impoverished and low income communities.

WHO ARE WE 

Founded in 2014, starting with just five girls, Manage Emotions Avoid Negativity Girls Inc. affectionately known as M.E.A.N. Girls Empowerment™ is a charitable, tax exempt 501(c)3 non-profit organization, serving the Chicagoland area.  Our organization aims to prevent bullying; and we strive to empower young ladies to live a positive healthy lifestyle and achieve their personal best. 

M.E.A.N. Girls Empowerment is the only Chicago based “Girls Mentoring Program” exclusively developed to help tackle bullying by educating girls; and the organization was recognized as a 2022 CHAMPION by the Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center (PNBPC) for its dedication to promoting change and advocating for bullying prevention. Additionally, M.E.A.N. Girls Empowerment received the 2023 Unity Award by (PNBPC) for promoting bullying prevention in the community. To date, more than 1500+ girls have benefitted from MGE programs.

Mission

Our mission is to empower girls ages 8 to 18 to avoid negativity, build self-confidence, and pursue their goals through perseverance, courage, and creativity. We carry out our work through community-based mentoring programs that operate every spring and fall at local schools, libraries, churches, and community centers.

Vision

To create a safe supportive space for young ladies that are dealing with bullying, aggression, harassment, violence, abuse, and related issues while empowering those young ladies to be advocates for change in the community.
M.E.A.N. Girls Empowerment fosters a safe space for girls who may be impacted by the growing pains of bullying, aggression and crime that largely affects impoverished and low income communities.
M.E.A.N. Girls Empowerment fosters a safe space for girls who may be impacted by the growing pains of bullying, aggression and crime that largely affects impoverished and low income communities.

Our Core Values

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M.E.A.N. Girls Empowerment is committed to a diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment where all board members, staff members, volunteers, parents and participants feel respected and valued regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or identity, disability, religions education, or any other bias.

The Need & Problem

Based on statistics from stopbullying.gov, 28% of U.S. students in 6th-12th grade have experienced bullying and just under 20% of high school students were bullied on school property. Girls make up 20.2% of those cases (CDC, 2019 data). The research further indicates that bullying in school not only affects students’ physical, emotional, and psychosocial lives, it also affects their academic achievements and their classwork directly.

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BULLYING NATIONWIDE

Research has shown that girls are more likely to be victims of bullying than boys. (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2019 ) https://www.pacer.org/bullying/info/stats.asp 

Over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year. Data and statistics have been compiled from: https://worldofchildren.org/children-issues/bullying/ 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bullying has been identified as a major public health concern that demands attention, research over the years has shown that bullying behavior and its effects can lead to long-term health issues and without proper treatment, bullying behavior is likely to continue into adulthood. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/yv/bullying-factsheet508.pdf 

The research results indicated that bullying in school not only affects students’ physical, emotional, and psychosocial lives, it is also found to affect their academic achievements and their classwork directly. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1144634.pdf 

23% of African-American students, 23% of Caucasian students, 16% of Hispanic students, and 7% of Asian students report being bullied at school (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2019)

Research has shown black females, grades 9-12, were 60 percent more likely to attempt suicide in 2019, as compared to non-Hispanic white females of the same age. JAMA Network June 14, 2021. Temporal Trends in Suicidal Ideation and Attempts Among US Adolescents by Sex and Race/Ethnicity, 1991-2019 | Adolescent Medicine | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

Bullied students reported that bullying occurred in the following places: the hallway or stairwell at school (43%), inside the classroom (42%), in the cafeteria (27%), outside on school grounds (22%), online or by text (15%), in the bathroom or locker room (12%), and on the school bus (8%).

70.1% of LGBTQ students were verbally bullied (e.g., called names, threatened) in the past year because of their sexual orientation and 59.1% because of their gender expression, and 53.2% based on gender (Kosciw, Greytak, Zongrone, Clark, & Truong, 2018) 

ILLINOIS FACTS ABOUT BULLYING

19.9 percent of Illinois high school students were bullied on school property in 2019, while another 16 percent reported being cyberbullied. Both were above the U.S. average.

7.5 percent of Illinois high school students reported being in a fight on school property in 2019, with 9.5 percent reporting they were threatened or injured with a weapon on school property. 

9.1 percent of Illinois high school students reported skipping school at least once in the last 30 days due to concerns for their safety.

16.6 percent of Illinois high school students seriously considered suicide, and 10.2 percent attempted suicide.

Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2019 results of their biennial Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS).

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