IMPROVING SELF-ESTEEM IN ADOLESCENT GIRLS

In 2013, BIO (Beautiful Inside and Out) Girls began with just 10 site locations and about 400 girls served. Since then, the organization’s mission has grown exponentially. In the past calendar year, the program served just under 2,500 participants at 75 sites in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

BIO Girls is a 12-week program for girls grades 2-6. The sessions are led by volunteer mentors teaching lessons centered around topics such as leadership, mental wellness, healthy relationships, and kindness.

Giving Hearts Day 2022

The overall success Giving Hearts Day is incredible to see, but focusing in on a charity like BIO Girls shows what a giving day can do to elevate a single nonprofit’s mission. From their first Giving Hearts Day in 2017 — where they raised about $12,000 — that total has steadily increased each year. Giving Hearts Day 2022 was a banner year for the team, as they broke the $100,000 mark for the first time.

One in Six

In 2022, BIO Girls served one in 13 North Dakota girls. By 2025, the charity aims to reach one in six, or 3,500, North Dakota girls. Based on their research, this is a statistically important number to reach to effect community-level change.

To do this, BIO Girls is working to expand the ways they are reaching adolescent girls and eliminating any barriers that may stand in the way of participation. Currently, the sites serve girls in grades 2-6, but the team is working on piloting their first teen program. They have also introduced new program activity options such as yoga and CrossFit as alternatives to the typical BIO Girls 5k run.

As Founder Missy Heilman explains, “I often talk about low self-esteem, and how if you don’t address it, the little things keep chipping away. Pretty soon it turns from something that you can’t see (an internal struggle) into something you can (eating disorders, substance abuse, etc.).”

When finances aren’t an issue, the door opens for even more young girls to be molded into strong, confident, beautiful (inside and out) girls.

This record-breaking year was the culmination of strong donor relationships they have nurtured and the powerful messaging they are using to become a recognized name in the community. Not only that, but the impact of the program speaks for itself. Over the past year, seven out of 10 participants reported that they experienced an increase in overall self-esteem.

BIO Girls was drawn as the winner of the $25,000 prize in the inaugural Giving Hearts Day Social Challenge.

Fargo business Light Pilates & Yoga chose BIO Girls to receive a $5,000 Giving Hearts Day boost as a business sign-up incentive.