Girl Action Team Projects in Silicon Valley Spring 2011

San Mateo County:

Sequoia High School, Redwood City
LIGHT: Preventing Teen Homelessness
The girls on the Team identified teen homelessness as a serious issue in the community.  They felt that problems at home were the reason teens end up on the street.  In order to help bring better communication and a lack of understanding amongst teen and parents the team raised money to help them fund their own workshop for parents and students after school at Hoover Middle School.   They hope that parents and children will seek support for issues at home in order to prevent another teen from turning to the streets.

Garfield Elementary School, Menlo Park
Coexist – Education to Prevent Racism
The Team at Garfield wanted to help prevent racism in their community.  They decided to tackle this issue by helping to educate peers at their school on the importance of diversity.  The girls created posters and bookmarks, which were dispersed around the school in hopes of helping people coexist.

Selby Lane School, Redwood City
Allow Our Teacher To Attend Graduation
The Team at Selby Lane felt that there was a lack of communication between staff and students as to why one of their favorite teachers had to leave the school before the end of the year.  The girls decided to create a Facebook page and a T-shirt campaign to draw attention to their cause. They also wrote a letter to the school board that included signatures from the entire 8th grade in order to have their teacher attend the 8th grade graduation.

McKinley Institute of Technology, Redwood City
End The Drama
The McKinley Team felt that gossip between students at the school was causing too much “drama” that lead to misunderstandings and loss of friendship.  They designed T-shirts and wore them to school in order to bring awareness and encourage their peers not to create “drama” on campus by gossiping in order to maintain friendships and not hurt the feelings of others.

Redwood High School, Redwood City
Teen Pregnancy and Unprotected Sex
The Redwood High Team was committed to make change around the issue of teen pregnancy.  They focused on the lack of education around unprotected sex and created shirts and a poster to help raise awareness for this issue.  They want other teens to feel empowered to seek out information and education on safe sex in order to prevent teen pregnancy in the community.

Santa Clara County:

KIPP Heartwood Academy, San Jose
UBU (You Be You)
The Team at KIPP felt that the media portrays a certain message that makes it hard for teens to be themselves.  The decided to change this issue through a school presentation that involved a skit on the importance of high self-esteem, a snippet of the documentary by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, “Miss Representation”, and a poem on the importance of remaining true to yourself no matter what the circumstance.  They hoped that by spreading their message to their fellow students that they would realize that it’s okay to be yourself and love who you are.

Sherman Oaks Elementary School, San Jose
Environmental Poster Campaign
Team members at Sherman Oaks felt that there was a lack of information as to how to care for the environment.  They took action by creating posters on how to take better care of the earth through recycling and energy conservation reminders such as “Please recycle” and “Turn off the light!”  The girls hung their posters in high traffic areas at school in order to highlight the importance of everyone playing their role in caring for the environment.

Sierramont Middle School, San Jose
Teen Pregnancy Prevention Poster
The Sierramont Girl Action Team felt that teen pregnancy was a community issue that could be prevented through the support of good friends.  The girls wanted to encourage students at school to be better friends so they created a poster for the school to bring awareness to the issue.  The poster design focused on ways to be a supportive friend in order to help others to make decisions they feel good about and bring positive effects to help prevent teen pregnancy.

Monroe Middle School, San Jose
Don’t let your snack wrap become a death trap!
The girls on the Team at Monroe were passionate about changing the issue of animals being harmed by trash that is not disposed of properly.  They created bookmarks to hand out to students and posters to hang on campus that have facts about the impact of trash on animals.  By educating their peers on the dangers of throwing their snack trash on the ground they aim to spread their message on campus to prevent harm to animals in the community.

Saint Elizabeth Seton, Palo Alto
Confidence Booth
The girls at Saint Elizabeth Seton wanted to tackle the issue of teen pregnancy.  They used the Spring Festival at their school as a platform to spread their message to students, parents, and other attendees that high self-esteem can prevent teen pregnancy.  They set up an info booth that had a game and bake sale to raise money for the sports and dance teams at the school.   The girls feel that by supporting these school programs students will have a better chance at feeling confident and raising their self-esteem and therefore prevent teen pregnancy.

Ocala Middle School, San Jose
Pressure To Join Gangs
The Ocala Team wanted to bring awareness to the dangers of joining a gang to their school community.  They decided that wearing T-shirts of their own design to instead of the school uniform for would get the attention of the school body.  They want students to understand the peer pressure is a main factor as to why kids join gangs.  The girls want their classmates to understand that they don’t have to give into the peer pressure and that they have other options that joining a gang. 

Downtown College Prep Alameda, San Jose
Love is Love
The Team at DCP Alameda identified lack of support from family and friends as one of the main reasons people join gangs.  They felt that it was time to help bring attention to this issue at their school.  The girls passed out rubber bracelets at their school with the saying, “Love is Love”, to remind other students the importance of supporting and loving your friends and family so they don’t make decisions that lead to them joining gangs.

Friends Outside of Santa Clara County, San Jose
Bullying Awareness Skit
The Girl Action Team of Friends Outside felt that it was time to take a stand against teen suicide caused by bullying.   They created a video skit that symbolizes the pain felt by someone who is bullied because of the way they look, sexual orientation, gender, etc.   They hope that people will see this video and realize that bullying has a more serious outcome and shouldn’t be taken lightly.

East Palo Alto Boys & Girls Club, East Palo Alto
End Child Abuse Now
The girls at EPA Boys & Girl Club want to put a stop to child abuse by helping parents to learn better parenting skills.  The team researched resources of parenting skills and included them on a flyer they designed.  They passed out their flyer to parents that came to the club to pick up their children.  They hope that parents will use these resources in order to acquire parenting skills that will help potential child abuse in the community.

Eastside College Preparatory School, East Palo Alto
Community Fair
Team members at Eastside wanted to help make their community a safer place to live.  They hosted a community fair at the school in order to raise awareness about the services the local law enforcement and city provide.  They hope that by promoting these services and mending the relationship between the residents and law enforcement the community will encourage and participate in safety in order to help make EPA a safe and peaceful place to live.

Santa Cruz County:

Lakeview Middle School, Watsonville
Child Abuse Prevention Video
The Girl Action Team at Lakeview are tired of hearing about child abuse!  They decided to address the issue by writing a skit for a video that encourages others to think twice before taking their stress out on their children in abusive ways.  The team acted out a skit that shows a mother taking out her stress on her child who in turn becomes a bully at school.  The girls hope that this video will encourage people to seek positive stress relief to help break the cycle of abuse.

Haven of Hope, Aptos
T-shirt Campaign for Mental Health
The girls at Haven of Hope felt that there wasn’t enough awareness around the importance of maintaining good mental health.  In order to tackle the issue of depression the team decided to create T-shirts with tips, words of encouragement, and things that make them happy.  They want their shirts to be reminders for themselves as well as others to take a stand against depression by being proactive toward mental health.

Alameda County:

Leadership Public School Hayward, Hayward
Anti-Bullying Presentation
The girls at LPS Hayward wanted to empower others at their school to take action against bullying.  They felt that the cycle of bullying occurs because people have an overwhelming feeling of helplessness around this widespread issue.  The team developed a presentation for their entire student body that included facts, personal stories, and resources.  They hope their presentation will encourage their peers to seek help if they are bullied or to think about the consequences before bullying some.

Girl Action Team Projects in Silicon Valley Fall 2010

Santa Clara County:

Team #1, Downtown College Prep Alameda, San Jose - STOP Peer Pressure!
The DCP Alameda Team identified the lack of education as the main cause of peer pressure. In order to bring awareness to the issue they spoke to their fellow classmates on the importance of ending peer pressure at their school. They handed out bracelets to students with the message of STOP Peer Pressure to promote their message and gain support for the issue.

Team #3, Rancho Milpitas Middle School, Milpitas - Stop Bullying
The girls at Rancho Milpitas are tired of the bullying they see at their school.  They decided that the cause of this issue was a lack of respect amongst students toward individual differences.  The girls designed and hung a poster in the main school office that promotes the tolerance of differences in hopes of preventing bullying in their school.

Team #4, Fremont High School, Sunnyvale - Change The Way You Think, Not the Way You Look
The girls at Fremont High School wanted to do something about the exploitation of women in society. They feel that low self-esteem is the main cause. The created a poster campaign at their school with the message, "Love Yourself" to encourage girls not to buy into the exploitation of women by raising "self-full" awareness and thinking twice about putting yourself first.

Team # 5, Peter Burnett Middle School, San Jose - Leaving a Mark on Peer Pressure
The girls at Peter Burnett have seen the negative effects on peer pressure from the lack of people standing up for what they believe in. In order to prevent others from giving into peer pressure and pressuring others they created bookmarks to hang out on campus. The design included messages of encouragement to stand up for what you believe in and to be an individual in order to "leave a mark" on peer pressure.

Team #12, August Boeger Middle School, San Jose - Don’t Back Up Girl Drama!
The girls at August Boeger want to take action against girl drama at their school! They put together an info booth for 6th grade girls to inform them on the importance of not getting involved in and supporting girl drama and gossip. They hope spreading their message and having girls sign a pledge poster will decrease broken friendships, hurt feelings, and fights at their school.

Team #5, Leadership Public Public School, San Jose: Sexual Harassment in Education
Team members at LPS San Jose feel that a lack of education is the main cause of sexual harassment amongst their peers. They produced a video to inform students on the definition of sexual harassment. They felt this will give others a better understanding of what constitutes harassment and that it is okay to speak up.

Team #6, Piedmont Hills High School, San Jose -  Be Empathetic Campaign
The Piedmont Hills Girl Action Team want the people around them to have a better connection with one another in order sustain a positive community. They designed a t-shirt campaign to inform their community of the importance of having empathy toward others to create a more tolerant, connected, and better environment to live in.

Team #7, Clyde Fischer Middle School, San Jose - This Stuff is Bananas!
The girls at Fischer want their peers to understand that proper nutrition is a main cause for a healthy life. They handed out flyers and healthy snacks at lunch directing students and parents toward a YouTube video they produced about the importance of eating healthy and smart food choices.

Team #8, Notre Dame High School, San Jose - Facebook Anti-Bullying Campaign
The team members at Notre Dame feel that bullying is a serious issue effecting students all over the country. They feel others just don't understand that joking about stereotypes is bullying and can cause some serious consequences. They developed a Facebook page to build support for their issue and educate others on the importance of identifying bullying behavior. 

Team #9, Monroe Middle School, San Jose - Communicating Job Placement Resources and Where to Find Work
The girls from Team #9 want break-ins to stop! They feel that a lack of finances to job loss is the main factor contributing to theft. They created a flyer campaign to distribute in the community featuring job-finding resources. They hope that employment will help provide the finances people need to live instead of stealing from others.

Team #11, Downtown College Prep Alviso, Alviso - Self-Esteem Tree
The girls on team #11 want to help other students understand the importance of having high self-esteem. They designed two tree murals that represent low and high self-esteem. They presented the murals in a school assembly to their peers on the potential effects of both low and high self-esteem in order to educate others on the importance of making good choices to encourage high self-esteem.

Team #13, Friends Outside of Santa Clara County, San Jose - "Say No to Bullying"
Team #13 decided they were tired of seeing people disrespect and bully each other at their schools due to insecurity. The girls arranged for daily announcements to bring attention to posters they hung for students to sign and pledge that they would "Say No To Bullying." They hope this will shed light on the severity of the issue and influence people to stop bullying.

San Mateo County:

Team #15, Garfield Elementary School, Menlo Park - Creating Awareness For Proper Care of Pets
The girls at Garfield see the affect of animals that aren't cared for properly and they are committed to taking action! They feel that lazy pet ownership causes harm to not only the animals but to the community as well. They want people to understand their responsibility as a pet owner so the team created bookmarks to hand out to their classmates to raise awareness around this issue.

East Palo Alto College Track, East Palo Alto - Rising Above Media Influence
The team members at EPA College Track are tired of the media influencing teen's decisions around such issues as teen pregnancy and drug use. They decided to address this issue by creating a video project incorporating music, poems, and messages of hope and strength to encourage others to rise above the influence of the media. They created burgundy butterfly ribbons and handed them out as reminders that everyone is beautiful in their own way.

Projects in Alameda County:

Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy (high school), Oakland
The girls felt that guys aren't taking their share of responsibility when it comes to the issue of teen pregnancy. The girls want guys to understand that safe sex education is the responsibility of both parties involved. The girls created a human billboard campaign of t-shirts with the message, "Who is responsible: Both of us!" They also got the word out by texting their fellow classmates to wear purple the same day they wore their shirts to stand in solidarity and to help prevent teen pregnancy.

Leadership Public Schools College Park, Oakland: Stop the Jokes!
The girls at LPS College Park are tired of hearing jokes about race and stereotypes at their school. After having a round table discussion about why people stereotype and how it has personally affected their lives, the girls decided to get the word out by making posters to combat common racial stereotypes. By starting this conversation they hope people can find common ground rather than continue to make hurtful jokes.

Projects in San Francisco County:

College Track San Francisco, San Francisco
The girls at College Track SF wanted to put an end to domestic violence. They felt that by educating men and women on how domestic violence affects both genders, that people would have a better understanding on how to prevent it from happening in their community. The girls created posters and flyers with statistics on domestic abuse by both men and women in order to spread the word that it affects everyone. They also provided San Francisco domestic abuse resources and hotlines for those seeking more information on how to stop the cycle of domestic violence.

Projects in Santa Cruz County:

Team #16, Lakeview Middle School, Watsonville - Harsh Borders
The girls on Team #16 are tired of people dying due to dangerous conditions while crossing the US/Mexico border. They want others to understand just how dangerous this journey really is to out a human face on immigration, in the hopes of preventing loss of life. In order to educate others they wrote and performed a poem to illuminate the issue that has affected so many people looking for a better quality of life.

Complete list of past SV team projects

For contact information for Girl Action Teams in Silicon Valley click here