Local nonprofit SEEDS will be presented with a 2015 Project of the Year
Award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. in February at the annual
conference of The Corps Network, a national association of Conservation
Corps.
The project, "GURLS! Corps – Girls United for Resilience, Leadership
and Service," was created through a partnership with Child and Family
Services of Northwest Michigan to provide opportunities for teenagers
aging out of the foster care system and supported financially by the
Biederman Foundation.
Throughout the summer, the GURLS! Corps worked alongside local women
who work for the National Park Service, regional land conservancies and
local businesses. They worked with and were mentored by women who are
historical architects, farmers, chefs, business owners, skill trades
workers and biologists.
"We were fortunate to be connected with five extraordinary young women –
two of whom are sisters – and we knew that creating a girls-only team
with a female team leader would free them of the complicated social
pressures that arise when young men and women work together," says Bill
Watson, director of youth programs at SEEDS. "The safe space that was
created allowed them to share their difficult family backgrounds and
really explore and cultivate their own resilience and leadership."
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