News from Germaine Lawrence - December 2009

Dear Friends

I am so grateful for your continued support of Germaine Lawrence. Volunteering with the girls, joining our event committees, supporting us financially, participating in our holiday gift drive: these are among the many ways that you show your commitment to Germaine Lawrence.

By doing so, you are giving our girls the best gift of all this holiday season - showing them that you care about them. Your generosity, kindness and compassion are gifts that will last a lifetime for our girls. Thank you for all that you do.

We would love to hear your feedback and suggestions on what news or information you would like to receive from us. Please take a moment to email me your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you.

Wishing you and your family a happy holiday season.

Yours,

David Hirshberg
Executive Director

Holidays at Germaine Lawrence

Germaine Lawrence has many special holiday traditions. As you prepare for your own family’s holiday tradition, we would like to share with you how we celebrate the holiday season.

Combining fun and learning is a Germaine Lawrence tradition. Students and staff pair up as secret snowflakes. The objective of the game is to guess who your secret snowflake is. Throughout a one week period, participants provide clues of who they are to their snowflake. Clues become easier as the week comes to a close, at which time all secret snowflakes are revealed to each other. The exercise promotes creative thinking – and it’s just a lot of fun.

Each program is assigned a holiday that they have to research and present at our “Visit to Whooville” Campus fair in December. This year – the holidays covered are Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, Kwanza and Chinese New Year. Girls design a presentation about their holiday. In addition, they start preparing their song and/or skit for festival of lights.

Our Annual Festival of Lights celebration is one of the most special evenings of the year. We transform the hall at the United Calvary Methodist Church in Arlington with decorations made by our art teacher. The girls dress in their best evening wear while staff serve a sit-down meal complete with eggnog and cider. Dorms provide entertainment through stylized holiday music and skits. It is a night filled with fun and the wonderment. Upon returning to the program the girls open one present.

Christmas morning is when all the magic culminates. The whole day is pajama day, the funnier the better! The girls wake up and together with staff they make and eat a special breakfast. After clean-up is done – everyone sits around the Christmas tree and opens presents while listening to music and sharing stories. The whole day is lighthearted and fun.

Our holiday gift drive has become a community tradition. So many of you contribute to our “wish list,” helping to make the holidays brighter for our girls. Stars in the Night - the local Barry Manilow fan club - raises money throughout the year to make a gift bag for each girl. Several local churches, including All Saints Episcopal Church, the Parish of the Epiphany and the First Congregational Church of Winchester all help fulfill wish cards that each girl fills out. The Winchester Rotary does many special activities in the Hirshberg program. Hundreds of individuals, book club members and friends donated special gifts to brighten the holidays for our girls.

At this time of year, the entire community becomes family to our girls, dispelling some of their anticipated stress of the holidays and filling them with warmth and security. Your holiday donations play a huge role in making this time of year magical!

Click here to view our holiday wish list.

Girls Inspired by Local Author

Author Laurie Faria Stolarz, writer of countless mystery/thrillers for young adults, made her annual visit for intimate talk sessions with the Germaine Lawrence girls in our library. Spearheaded by library volunteer Kris Montgomery, Laurie created a relaxed atmosphere where her awestruck Germaine Lawrence fan base were engaged in a Q & A about plot development, character choices and symbols such as the amethyst ring that is referenced in many of the books (which Laurie was wearing much to the delight of those who noticed!).

Questions such as, “What’s it like to have a job you really like?” and “Do you follow what you learned from your English classes long ago?” triggered a response from Laurie that was unexpected to our girls. Laurie explained that she came from a family who struggled financially and her mother had to work jobs she did not enjoy. As a result, Laurie has a special appreciation for doing something she loves every day. She began working at the age of nine and never thought she had the potential to author a book. In fact, she almost failed high school but turned around her life with the encouragement and challenge of different teachers along the way. Laurie has now carved out a path for herself replete with national lectures and book signings as well as movie options for a few of the bestsellers!

Laurie Faria Stolarz is the author of Blue is for Nightmares, White is for Magic, Silver is for Secrets, Red is for Remembrance, Black is for Beginnings, Bleed, Project 17, Deadly Little Secret, and Deadly Little Lies (Nov. 2009). Visit her website: www.lauriestolarz.com

Women of Excellence Breakfast Helps Dreams Come True

Those who attended the Women of Excellence Breakfast helped create a spirit of enthusiasm in support of the lives of young women. Over 300 people attended the breakfast and drew inspiration from our honorees as they drew connections between their work and Germaine Lawrence.

Jessica Henderson Daniel, PhD, director of training at Children's Hospital and past president of the Society for the Psychology of Women in the APA, most graciously accepted her award with reference to her deep understanding of the racial, ethnic and diversity issues that affect all adolescent girls. Her Booking It program has introduced free books to the hospital waiting rooms in Adolescent Medicine.

Gloria Nemerowicz, Ph.D, is president of Pine Manor College and has been influential in opening the doors of this college over the past decade to students like ours. Giving underprivileged and undervalued teens an opportunity to experience an excellent 4-year college has been beyond the dreams of most GL girls. Those at WOE witnessed this in action during a pivotal moment when Gloria invited our student speaker, Danezia, to apply to Pine Manor. When she turned to Danezia and said "Pine Manor needs you!", there was not a dry eye to be seen.

Mariko Sakurai, PhD, heads Project GROW (Girls' Relationships Offer Well Being), which essentially addresses the "mean girl" phenomenon as well as isolation resulting from racial and cultural identity issues with afterschool support groups for middle school girls. Mariko helps girls find "islands of competence" as a way for young teen girls to bolster their confidence. She helps the girls develop successful friendships devoid of bullying and cruelty.

Talia Rivera, our Rising Star, is the Executive Director of Villages without Walls, where she works with high-risk gang members in Boston. Talia 'wow'-ed the attendees of WOE when she made reference to herself as a former inmate, drug dealer and teenage mother who has walked in the shoes of our GL population and has come about her professional success step by step. Her parenting blog integrates the wisdom she has gleaned from her difficult childhood.

Germaine Lawrence Launches In-Home Therapy Program

All over the country, state agencies and child support advocates are seeking ways to be able to serve at risk children in their own communities. To meet this need, Germaine Lawrence is expanding our In Home Therapy program.

This past year, the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership awarded Germaine Lawrence a contract to provide in-home therapy to troubled youth and families. We hired Dawn Alexander as our new Program Director for our In-Home Therapy Program. Dawn Alexander comes to Germaine Lawrence with seventeen years of experience working in residential and community-based settings with adults, families, and teens, including four years of coordinating a home-based family therapy program. She is especially interested in families affected by substance abuse and in adolescent identity development.

Dawn and her team have begun working with families of girls referred to our short term program. They start while the daughter is still at Germaine Lawrence, helping the family define what they need to keep their child safe, valuing their individual strengths, viewpoints and challenges.

The In-Home Therapy services are flexible and unique for each family. The participants, approaches, and goals are decided upon by the family members with the in-home team. Generally there are two major components of the program depending on the family’s needs. First, families may benefit from day-to-day in the moment coaching and problem solving, as well as help with skills such as conflict resolution, negotiation, limit setting, communication, and advocacy. Secondly, we help families identify community supports and resources that are available to them. These resources may include friends, family members, faith communities, neighbors or other social networks on which families may depend.
The ultimate goal of our in-home family program is to help families keep their child safe and develop open, strong family relationships.

Join us on Facebook!