About GirlVentures
Organizational Overview

The mission of GirlVentures is to empower adolescent girls to develop and express their strengths. At GirlVentures, we explore self, community, culture and environment through outdoor adventure, creative arts and group experiences.

At GirlVentures, we are committed to helping girls sustain the clarity, voice and self-confidence that they risk losing during the difficult transition to adolescence. Our programs are designed to help each girl regain and sustain her "true self" by developing and expressing her strengths. We strive to:

• Provide opportunities for girls to express thoughts and feelings, to work and play with a community of other girls and women
• Facilitate a process for girls to learn about themselves through their relationships with others
• Encourage leadership and self-discovery through outdoor adventure and creative arts
• Help girls discover strength and talent through a range of verbal, physical and creative self-expression activities

Core to our success and unique to GirlVentures is our commitment to bringing together girls from diverse ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds. The rich diversity of the participants on our courses provides a rare opportunity for adolescent girls to embrace what makes each of them unique and to learn about and appreciate the differences in others.

Since its founding in 1997, GirlVentures has played a pivotal role in the lives of over 2,700 diverse Bay Area girls through our four core program areas:

• Summer Outdoor Adventure Programs
• School-Year Programs
• Leadership Development Program
• Community Courses

GirlVentures is a community-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located in The Women’s Building in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Cultivating the Courageous Self
Our Unique Approach

GirlVentures was founded on the belief that every girl has natural strengths including courage, creativity, leadership, intuition, body wisdom, and compassion that will help her develop into a healthy woman. Investing in girls—particularly in the critical pre-adolescent phase by encouraging them to stretch beyond their comfort zone and explore new physical and creative activities that nurture and exercise their strengths—can provide a lasting impact that girls carry with them throughout their teenage years. At GirlVentures, we encourage physical and creative risk-taking in a safe and supportive environment

Through our single gender programs we explore self, community, culture, and the environment through outdoor adventure, creative arts, and group experiences.  All of our programs provide our girls with opportunities to: 1) experience physical success; 2) express creativity; 3) celebrate girls' diverse identities; 4) practice group decision making and problem solving; 5) develop community responsibility; 6) engage in healthy conflict resolution; and, 7) cultivate a sense of appreciation and stewardship for nature and the environment.