This past week in GOALS we had an impactful and enlightening conversation on the Kavanaugh hearing. We focused on how to prevent sexual assault both from the victim and perpetrator’s viewpoint, as well as how the students can get involved in politics and prevent injustice.

This week at GOALS, we continued with some icebreakers to help everyone get to know each other. But we also discussed our first topic: kneeling during the national anthem. Many were already familiar with Kaepernick’s work & protests and had amazing insights to offer.

Kicked off the GOALS 2018-2019 school year with an introduction to the program and some fun games with a big mix of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. We were excited to hear the long list of topic ideas the kids want to cover this year, and we cannot wait for the weeks to come!

A Recap of 2017-2018:

​As cheesy as this sounds, I truly cannot believe the second year of GOALS has come to an end already. Since this was our second year, we were able to apply to knowledge we gained from year one to improve our program. This time around, we decided to switch off each week between focusing on academics one week to zoning in on a social issue the next week. We knew in order to emphasize both aspects of GOALS, we would need to dedicate a week to academics and a week to social issues. During the week where we focused on academia, we would help the members with their homework, and once they finished, we would play educational games, do activities, and one week, I was able to perform some science experiments for them. We like to ingrain STEM into our academic curriculum because many of the girls there particularly enjoy math and science, and we want to ensure that passion does not die down as they grow older, which happens frequently. This year we tackled a variety of social issues, from intersectional feminism to police brutality, and we were, once again, met with amazing insights from the girls. When we discussed cultural appropriation, it was saddening to see their reactions to the images I showed them of people outside of a certain culture wearing the garments of a certain culture in a comedic way, as a costume, or as a fashion statement. When I showed an image of a white man in a sombrero and poncho, the Latina girls were offended and upset that people steal pieces of their culture for a Halloween culture. They mentioned that even non-Latinx students at their school dress in sombreros for Halloween, and it always frustrates them. When we discussed intersectional feminism, many of the girls shared personal stories of racism, sexism, and xenophobia they have faced, since intersectional feminism encompasses all those issues and numerous more. We noticed that the members were much more open this year, since for some of them it was their second year with us, which allowed for much more vulnerable dialogue this year.
​ This time around, like last year, we also brought in guest speakers. Our first one was Ms. Lina Gonzalez, who works with Mount Diablo Resource and Recovery Center. She helped facilitate the donation of recycling and composting bins to Oak Grove Middle School, which will be discussed later in the blog, and reviewed what items goes in what bins with the girls. This was crucial information because in order to have a successful waste system at the school, the leaders of it must be informed of the proper disposal. This was such an important and interesting lesson for us and the members alike. Our next guest was Livia Doporto, who is a 2018 graduate from Northgate High School. She runs a blog, livwithgrace.net , where she discusses struggles she has faced with her mental health, such as depression and anxiety. She held a conversation about mental health in GOALS, and many of the girls had questions for her and also asked for her advice. Her transparency and vulnerability was so moving and helped the girls to reflect on their own mental health. She also asked them to write a love letter to themselves, in which they detailed what they loved about themselves, and what they did not love so much, but she told them to write their “flaws” followed by “that is okay” or “I love it/them anyways”. The love letter caused the girls to get in touch with their mental health and emotions, which can be a difficult task. Lastly, Wells Fargo Women’s Team Network from the Bay Area came in to discuss money, credit, and financial literacy. They were able to engage the members with extremely relevant information, activities, and prizes; this was one of the most informative days at GOALS to date. These group of women from diverse backgrounds shared their stories of how they were able to take control of their finances and secure their living situation. One woman mentioned when she first immigrated from Nepal, she was extremely confused by the United States economy. But, she with research and help from friends, she was able to grasp it, and is now sharing the knowledge with community members around the Bay Area.
​The end of the year was focused on implementing a recycling and composting program. As mentioned earlier, Ms. Gonzalez and her team were able to donate recycling bins to each classroom at Oak Grove Middle School, and next year they will do the same with composting bins as well as larger recycling and composting bins for the cafeteria. Establishing a proper waste system at the school has been a mission of the girls since last year, and we were able to gather the resources and materials to do so. The girls spent time making posters with horrifying statistics, graphics, and demands to recycle and compost correctly. They want to improve the cleanliness of their school and reduce the pollution that comes from not disposing trash or putting it all in the landfill. We put the posters on the walls of the school the same time the recycling bins were put into the classrooms in order to initiate the waste system with full-force.

GOALS was also recognized by the Soroptimist Club this year and received the Outstanding Youth Organization Award!

Ashley, Ellora, and I are thrilled to see next year unfold and the large-scale community impact these girls will have. As John F. Kennedy famously said, “If not us, who? If not now, when?”

-Aava Farhadi

Thank you to the Wells Fargo Women’s Team Member Network in the Bay Area for coming in this week! They helped educate GOALS on saving money, credit, & financial literacy. Plus, they had very engaging activities that everyone loved.

In preparation for the recycling and composting system on the way, the girls made posters & planned out the next few weeks. We are so proud of their leadership and creativity!

Thank you Soroptimist International of Diablo Vista for awarding us the Youth Recognition Award. It’s truly an honor to serve our community through GOALS. We will use the generous
$500 scholarship towards the activities geared at our program

Last week, Northgate High School Senior Livia Doporto spoke to the girls about living with a mental illness & how she overcomes the challenge she faces. Thank you Livia for sharing your story and allowing the girls to open up to you. Please read her inspiring blogs at (link: http://livwithgrace.net) livwithgrace.net

When we started GOALS in 2016 and asked what the girls wished to do for a community service project they asked for a recycling and composting program for their school. We are making great strides and to have a program implemented at Oak Grove Middle School. Over Christmas break we picked up some recycling bins from the Livermore School District and delivered them to Oak Grove. We are also getting assistance from the Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery with the program’s implementation. Today Ms Lina Gonzalez from Mt Diablo Resource Recovery was at our meeting and talked to the girls about their important role in setting up this program the their school. The girls will be painting and cleaning up the bins to make their school green!

This week, we discussed one of the most important topics to date, because it is encompassing of every issue we have touched on-intersectional feminism. Intersectional feminism the theory that explains how race, class, gender identity, sexuality, and ability are complexly connected. We began by asking how many of the girls had heard of feminism and to our surprise, nobody raised her hand. So, we gave a short history lesson. We explained how feminism really first appeared in the Progressive Era, where issues such as suffrage and birth control were the focus of the movement. In my history class, we had just discussed Alice Paul, who was a fierce leader of the feminist movement in the 1900s, so I decided to teach the girls about this powerful woman. She was a leader of the British suffrage movement and was incarcerated several times. Her time in prison taught her lessons in civil disobedience, and she most famously participated in hunger striking. After the 19th Amendment was passed, Paul led the movement to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, which was a proposed amendment to the US Constitution stating that civil rights may not be denied on the basis of one’s sex. But, that was denied. We then moved on to explaining intersectionality and many well-known intersectional feminists, such as Yara Shahidi and Rowan Blanchard. They were upset to hear that some feminist movements exclude LGBTQ+ folks, people of color, and disabled individuals. We reminded them that inclusivity is key to any social movement. We asked the girls to explain situations in which they have been targeted for their race, class, or gender, if they felt comfortable, and many said they had, but, it was difficult for them to share. Ellora, Ashley, and I all shared moments where we have been discriminated against for our race or gender, reminding them of the importance of intersectional feminism. Lastly, we asked the girls to share some inspirational women in their lives, and many said their mothers and aunts, but some said specific women, such as Michelle Obama and Oprah. It was an educational conversation for not only this girls, but for us, for we learned what it means to be a middle school girl during this time.

–Aava F