Girls with Ideas impacts MNRC

     Eleven sixth grade girls from Monticello Middle School recently took part in the pilot program, Girls with Ideas.

     This program was held at the Monticello EXCEL Center for Entrepreneurship, and instructed by Jen Jaeger.

     The Girls with Ideas program was actually started by Dr. Allison Poss to empower young girls to share their ideas and visions, to change the world.

     The EXCEL Center brought the 11-week program to Monticello to further creativity for local girls and help them expand or develop their their leadership skills.

     The curriculum teaches young girls to come up with an idea, narrow their choices down to a realistic goal, create an action plan, and implement the idea.

     Jaeger said the girls had to come up with ideas that were either a problem or an opportunity for the school or community. Some of the ideas included addressing bullying within the middle school, starting an art class instead of recess, building a playground at the middle school, building a new school, and building a bike trail.

     The group came to a consensus on helping the Monticello Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. They held a fundraiser, a scooter party, on April 14 at the Berndes Center. They charged $3 a kid at the door and sold food and snacks during the evening event. In all, the girls raised $500!

     Jaeger said the girls did everything themselves from setting the date for the event to reserving the Berndes Center. Jaeger was in charge of paying the deposit.

     With the money they raised, the group purchased individual bags of chips, goodies, craft items, blankets, water bottles, large print word puzzles, wall decorations, and dozens of bottles of nail polish for the MNRC.

     Jaeger said she contacted MNRC Activities Director Heather Dudley about what some of the needs might be.

     “I don’t think they (the MNRC) knew exactly what we were doing,” said Jaeger. But when the girls and Jaeger walked into the nursing home on April 18 with their loot, the residents and even some staff members got teary eyed.

     After showing off all of the goodies they bought, Jaeger said they stuck around to play BINGO with the residents, too.

     “You could tell some of the girls had never been around elderly people,” she said of some apprehension. She said even now, weeks later, some of the girls can’t stop talking about the experience, wanting to continue to volunteer with the MNRC.

     “With the class over,” said Jaeger, “it’s up to them whether they go back and visit on their own.

     “All 11 girls have definitely been impacted by this program.,” she continued. “Even I was impacted. It had a ripple effect. Every girl took part in the success.”

     Jaeger said all of the parents donated snacks for the scooter party, which attracted about 70 kids. Chris Tuetken, one of the parents, volunteered his time as a DJ.

     Jaeger plans on teaching another Girls with Ideas class in the near future through The EXCEL Center.

     “Keep an eye out for more information,” she offered.

     Jaeger and her husband, Brian, are new to the Monticello community. (Brian is the superintendent of Monticello schools.) With three girls of their own, Jaeger said that was one of the reasons she wanted to explore Girls with Ideas.

     “I also have a counseling background,” she said. “I see a need for girls to understand the need to be leaders.”

     As for the size of the group, Jaeger said it needs to be manageable by one person, yet big enough to make an impact.

     “The girls all learned from one another, and I learned from them, too,” she said. “We all got something out of it.”

     The activities outlined in the program curriculum help the girls learn different leadership styles, team building, and collaborative group work. Jaeger said, not to mention, it’s fun!

     “They all worked together to accomplish a goal and problem solve,” reflected Jaeger. “Every one of the girls has different values and strengths. They developed a bond with one another, too.”

     For more information on The EXCEL Center and what they have to offer, visit www.excelmonticello.com/.