11 minute read
Girls Inc
12 – 19 March 2020 MONTECITO JOURNAL32 “If I cannot fly, let me sing.” – Stephen Sondheim EDITORIAL (Continued from page 5) a monstrous portrayal of one’s mother. Is it possible that smart men make us feel safe and smart women make us feel dumb?
If electing a woman is so important to so many women, why didn’t we, as women, throw our collective support behind one?
In 1960, when JFK defeated Nixon in the popular vote by only 100,000 or so votes, it is notable that he received 75% of the Catholic vote – which was critical. Likewise, when Obama defeated McCain by 51% to 47%, he was supported by non-whites in historic numbers, with 90% of registered black voters participating and at least 95% of them voting for Barack. Obama defeated McCain riding a wave of non-white voters, the preponderance of whom (95%) voted for the guy who “more looked like or seemed like them” as the polling phrased it at the time. So why aren’t more women supporting women? After all, we have the right to vote. And while we may take that right for granted, the fact is, once upon a time the 19 th
Amendment guarantee was just a dream, too. 2020 marks the “Suffrage Centennial” – the 100 th
anniversary of the passage of that amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women’s constitutional right to vote. Only after years of suffragists risking everything for equality, like Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, Lucy Stone, Margaret Fuller, Elizabeth Cady Stanton… and yes, even some men like Frederick Douglas, did it finally come to pass. And that was before women had the power to vote for their own cause. My point is, women having the right to vote felt like it was out of reach, until it wasn’t. The odds of achieving anything that brings about monumental change, at any given moment, are slim. Everything can’t be done… until someone does it. Consider the odds of some British upstarts taking up arms to challenge the King of England and creating the greatest nation on earth. No way. Putting a human on the moon. Yeah, right. A machine that can fly humans across the Atlantic? Not likely. That machine flown solo by a female pilot? Even less likely. Who thought a woman would ever be in a Grand Slam Final, post pregnancy? Serena Williams did. Who thought a woman could ever win the popular vote for US President? Hillary Clinton did. And she was right. Thomas Edison said: “I know 60,000 ways not to make a lightbulb.” Everything can’t be done… until it can. If we have the right to vote, we can elect a woman president.
In the mean time, we have no shortage of women leaders at every level of our nation, beginning with a most impressive list here at home. Our community is filled with women and men who understand, as we like to say at the MJ, that “doing well means doing good.”
I believe one day, not long from now, we will see the first woman president. But until then, there is important work being done by many women who, though they’ve not been elected president, are making a real difference. •MJ Girls Take the Lead by Megan Waldrep G wyn Lurie sits in the back office of the Montecito Journal. Mock-ups of issues are fanned to one side as she types on her laptop at her long wooden desk. A large-scale photograph by Alan Kozlowski is propped on the wall behind her screen, waiting to be hung. The image titled “The Lake of Turquoise Lion’s Tears” shows a crystal lake at the base of the Himalayas, mirroring the sky as Buddhist monks and spiritual seekers circle the rim; a contrast to the fast-paced energy of a weekly newspaper. It’s there, Gwyn works. Quietly writing at times but mostly encouraging writers, meeting with advertising reps, conferring with business partners and, most importantly, listening to new ideas to produce a quality paper and other new platforms. How Gwyn accepts challenges parallels the motto of Girls Inc.: “Inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.” This quality of being both personable and passionate not only makes her qualified to be the CEO of the Montecito Journal Media Group, but to be the featured speaker for the Girls Inc. 35th Annual Scholarship Luncheon with this year’s theme entitled, She Leads.
Girls Inc. is well known in our community but the history, maybe less so. Founded in 1864, towards the end of the Civil War, Girls Inc. began as a way to assist young women and girls during a time of social and political discord. But Santa Barbara’s story begins almost a century later, in 1955, when the Girls Club of Santa Barbara formed. The idea for the group came three years earlier when the Junior Women’s Club of Santa Barbara heard a local teenager on the “Free Speech” radio program ask, “Why can’t we have a Girls Club in Santa Barbara?” With a mission to help girls become “good wives, mothers, homemakers, and citizens,” the Girls Club of Santa Barbara became a non profit in 1958 and served almost three hundred girls per year from ages six to eighteen with a membership fee of a dollar. Six years later, the group raised enough funds to build a Girls Club facility on East Ortega Street, where Girls Inc. stands today. Soon after, the Girls Club of Goleta opened its doors and with more than sixty years in operation, both centers have served more than thirteen hundred girls each year.
As times changed with each generation, so did Girls Inc. But what remained was the “founders’ fundamental belief in the inherent potential of each girl.” For example, the ‘70s shifted the mission of domestic pursuits to encouraging well-rounded and independent young women, a mission carried forth as the number of women increased in colleges and in the workplace. In the ‘90s, the Girls Club of SB affiliated with the national Girls Inc. organization to become Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara, adding to affiliates in over 1,500 locations in 350 cities in Canada and the U.S. After-school and teen programs, gymnastics, and summer camps are just a few resources available for schoolgirls age six and up. Research based programs including Project Bold, Operation SMART (STEM), Media Literacy, Economic Literacy, Healthy Sexuality, and She Votes are also in the mix. The core principals of Girls Inc. are found in the Girls’ Bill of Rights which states a commitment to allow young women to be themselves and to resist gender stereotypes, express themselves with originality and enthusiasm, take risks to strive freely and to take pride in success, accept and appreciate their bodies, have confidence and be safe in the world, and to prepare for interesting work and economic independence. Girls Inc. keeps these core values in mind when inviting women leaders to speak at their annual scholarship luncheons. This year, it’s Gwyn Lurie.
For Gwyn, it’s also personal: years ago, her daughters attended gymnastics with Girls Inc. and as a mom at Montecito Union School, Lurie discovered the organization was helpful in connecting with other moms in the community. Operation Smart: Girls Inc. offers STEM and STEAM enrichment programs to capture, explore and sustain girls’ interests in these underrepresented fields of study and careers
Girls Inc. girls and teens use the creative arts to learn about gender equity, inspiring female leaders, and social justice topics involving women and representation
Both Girls Inc. and the Montecito Journal interviewed Gwyn on her journey through leadership and, coinciding with the Girls Inc. Girls’ Bill of Rights, we’ve listed her answers here.
Allow Young Women to Be Themselves and to Resist Gender Stereotypes ... When I was girl, I always competed against boys. I ran for office every year from the fifth grade to my senior year of college – vice president of elementary school, student body president of junior high and high school, student body president of UCLA. For some reason, I always gravitated towards student politics and I often ran against boys. I never really thought about the differences between boys and girls and never felt intimidated by competing against boys. It was not until I went to work after graduating from college that I began to see the difference between men and women and the ways in which women are treated differently. And it was a rude awakening. I began to understand that it was not only about doing good work, but that I’d have to learn to navigate the power structure that was mostly controlled by men. In some ways, that was the most challenging part of most jobs.
MONTECITO SANITARY DISTRICT PROTECTING YOUR HEALTH AND THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT MONTECITO SANITARY DISTRICT PROTECTING YOUR HEALTH AND THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT MONTECITO SANITARY DISTRICT PROTECTING YOUR HEALTH AND THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT It takes great strength and resolve to plot and follow your own path, to take chances. Someone recently asked me, after I raised the money to buy the Montecito Journal, “What about the way you were raised allows you to try to do things that so many women would never attempt?” In other words, “What makes you think you’re good enough or strong enough or qualified enough to pursue the things you do?” I was surprised by the question. I had never been asked that before. Truthfully, I even took a little umbrage because somewhere in that question I heard the judgement: how do you pull these things off when you’re not necessarily qualified enough to do it? But I thought it was an interesting question. One worth contemplating. I had never thought of it that way. And after thinking about it, I decided the answer was in the question itself. “Why do I have the audacity to believe I can do things?” I manage to do things simply because I have the audacity to believe I can. Maybe a small part of that audacity comes from a naïve place. Sometimes maybe even ignorance. But couldn’t GIRLS INC. Page 434
Laboratory Manager Carole Rollins tests wastewater, confirming it is fully disinfected to kill pathogens and viruse Since 1962, the Montecito Sanitary District has been safely collecting, treating, and disposing of Montecito’s wastewater. The District’s certified laboratory and operators ensure the protection of the local environment by continuous monitoring using the latest testing equipment and technology. The District’s well‐maintained facilities and award winning staff serve the Montecito community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you have any questions call General Manager Diane Gabriel at 805‐969‐4200. For more information, visit our website at www.montsan.org Laboratory Manager Carole Rollins tests wastewater, confirming it is fully disinfected to kill pathogens and viruses. Since 1962, the Montecito Sanitary District has been safely collecting, treating, and disposing of Montecito’s wastewater. The District’s certified laboratory and operators ensure the protection of the local environment by continuous monitoring using the latest testing equipment and technology. The District’s well‐maintained facilities and award winning staff serve the Montecito community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you have any questions call General Manager Diane Gabriel at 805‐969‐4200. For more information, visit our website at www.montsan.org Since 1962, the Montecito Sanitary District has been safely collecting, treating, and disposing of Montecito’s wastewater. The District’s certified laboratory and operators ensure the protection of the local environment by continuous monitoring using the latest testing equipment and technology. The District’s well-maintained facilities and award winning staff serve the Montecito community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you have any questions call General Manager Diane Gabriel at 805-969-4200.
If you are interested in touring MSD facilities, please contact the District at 805-969-4200 or email staff@montsan.org Laboratory Manager Carole Rollins tests wastewater, confirming it is fully disinfected to kill pathogens and viruses. Services: • grant cycles • applicant research and vetting • funding recommendations • unsolicited proposals • website development • reporting Jaimie Jenks, MPA Philanthropy Advisor Bridging the gap between donors’ visions and organizations’ needs Contact Jaimie Jenks to schedule a free consultation jaimie@bettergrantmaking.com 805-570-3961 bettergrantmaking.com Girls Inc.’s mission to be Strong, Smart and Bold completely aligns with my personal and professional missions. My professional mission, as defined by my current endeavor with the Montecito Journal Media Group, is to build community through inspired content. My personal mission is to be an upstander and, during my brief stay on this earth, to make my life matter by bringing about meaningful change. I don’t think you can do that without being strong, smart, and bold.
We live in complicated times. Daily we are being fed messages that being like everyone else is a good thing. Social media puts great pressure on girls, and all of us, to follow the crowd. It’s so easy to measure ourselves daily against the curated pictures of other peoples’ lives. I see how prevalent this theme is in the young lives of my two teenage daughters and my heart goes out to them. My sister, one of my most cherished role models, always advised me: “stay in your own lane.” Her metaphor was from her days as a competitive swimmer where, every time you look over your shoulder to see where someone else is, you’re losing time. To follow your own path and become your own person demands us to be strong, bold, and smart. Because the opposite of that is to be weak, impressionable, and to organize your life choices based around the opinions of others. My personal experience has taught me that that is a path to disappointment and regret. A path that will never lead to greatness, joy, or fulfillment. I’d much rather fail on my own terms than live on someone else’s.
