Late last year, Girl Power held its 15th year reunion in Parma. The group was formed by Parma High School to help young women develop their leadership skills.
The reunion's keynote speaker was Cassandra Johnson, a former principal at the school, who was one of those who founded Girl Power. She discussed how important it is to empower young women, who face a constant steam of negative images, both on social media and in society, about how women should behave and look. They also spend too much time demeaning one another, instead of being supportive.
In an effort to help female students overcome these obstacles, the high school developed the Girl Power extracurricular program. The program's co-facilitators, Michele Schneider and Marian Armstrong, said that when they first began the effort, they asked teachers for recommendations of students who demonstrated leadership qualities, even if they weren't particularly good students.
Since Girl Power's inception, about 600 girls have been part of the program, which includes activities such as visiting colleges, and discussing mentoring and building relationships. The group meets once a month to hear a guest speaker, many of them female attorneys and female police officers. Banner printing can be used to create appropriate decorations for such an event.
Eve Vishnick, a current senior at Parma, is part of Girl Power, and says the group has helped her make friends, as well as opening doors at school and in the community.