Sixth-grade girls take part in ‘Leaders Who Lunch’

After the success of the grass-roots effort “Leaders Who Lunch” program in Cedar Rapids and Anamosa in previous years, F&M Bank decided to bring the concept to Monticello. 

The idea is simple: Female leaders in the community treat sixth-grade middle school girls to lunch. They discuss what the girls are doing in school, what it means to be a leader, future career opportunities, and just have fun. 

Karen Verhagen and Lisa McQuillen with F&M Bank, are excited to offer the program in Monticello. 

“It allows kids to open up,” said Verhagen. “It’s a judgment-free safe zone.” 

Verhagen admitted after she met with a young girl in Anamosa last year, she got just as much out of the program as the youth. 

McQuillen agreed. “It seems kids listen to someone else better than their parent.” 

In addition to providing someone for the girls to open up to, Leaders Who Lunch also exposes the girls to local career opportunities. Both Verhagen and McQuillen said sixth grade is a transitional year between elementary and middle school. 

“It’s an impressionable age,” said Verhagen. “We want to help them build relationships, inspire them, and encourage them where they’re at in life. We want to break the cycle and include these kids in the community.” 

The women chosen for the program come from a wide variety of backgrounds, careers, and community service. McQuillen said it’s important to expose the girls to career opportunities outside of the norm. 

“F&M Bank is passionate about providing opportunities around women-owned businesses and leaders in our market,” said McQuillen. 

F&M not only worked with local women leaders, but with Kathy Larson, middle school counselor. 

Verhagen said the girls receive so much encouragement from the leaders during the one-on-one lunch outing. 

“It doesn’t happen enough,” she said. “This is something the girls won’t forget.” 

“The girls get 45 minutes of undivided attention,” added McQuillen. “And they get to go out to eat.” 

With October being the first outing for Leaders Who Lunch, there are three more opportunities planned so every sixth grade girl gets to take part in the experience. 

“It’s very organic,” explained McQuillen of the relationships forged. “They can move in any direction.” 

When the girls and leaders walked into The Jitney on Oct. 29, Verhagen said most just naturally gravitated toward one another. 

One of the female leaders who took part in the October lunch was Julie Welter, career counselor and academic advisor at the Kirkwood center in Monticello. Welter said she was excited to be asked to take part, and hopefully influence the lives of the young girls. 

“This is a great opportunity to make a positive connection with a young person in our community,” urged Welter. “My personal goal in being involved with this group is to empower a young person to start thinking about her future and the many opportunities out there. I also want to encourage her to get involved with school activities and the community, to set her goals high, and to work hard to achieve these goals. I realize this is a lofty goal to accomplish in an hour, but any positive connections these girls have at this age can help lead them in the right direction.” 

The next lunch date, Nov. 13 is full. However, there will be two more dates in 2020 for leaders to take part and sign up.