Our History
Girls Inc. is the longest-running girls’ leadership organization.
Our Mission
Girls Inc. inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.
Our Vision
Powerful girls in an equitable society.
Our Values
Respect the dignity of each human being.
Recognize and support the strength in every girl.
Appreciate, embrace, and advance diversity.
Drive for results anchored in accountability.
Operate collaboratively.
Founded in 2000
Strong Women Strong Girls (SWSG) was founded in 2000 as a student group in Boston to create mentorship opportunities for women and girls.
In its first year, SWSG engaged just six college women and 30 elementary school girls. SWSG incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 2004 and expanded to Pittsburgh, PA, in 2006. Since that time, our elementary school girl program has grown rapidly at the request of schools, communities, parents, and college women to serve more than 1,100 girls every year.
All programs are designed to fulfill the Girls Inc. mission to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.
Girls Inc. was founded in 1864 to serve girls and young women who were experiencing upheaval in the aftermath of the Civil War.
Across the decades, we adapted to meet the specific environmental challenges facing girls and young women, always working in partnership with schools and communities, and guided by our founders’ fundamental belief in the inherent potential of each girl. Woven into those early girls’ clubs are the same core values of Girls Inc. today: the importance of creating a safe gathering place for girls to learn and to share in a sisterhood and a strong premise that each girl can develop her own capacities, self- confidence, and grow up healthy, educated, and independent.