BY GIGI PICARD ’22
On Feb. 8, Mount Holyoke’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) partnered with Girls Inc., a local non-profit organization, to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD).
Founded in 1864, Girls Inc. was established to serve girls and young women who were experiencing upheaval in the aftermath of the Civil War. As time went on, the organization grew to adapt to obstacles faced by young women and girls by partnering with schools and communities.
Currently, there are more than 1,500 Girls Inc. sites in 350 cities located in the United States and Canada. Girls Inc. serves girls ages six through 18 and says that they value a safe environment to form “a sisterhood and a strong premise that each girl can develop her own capacities, self-confidence, and grow up healthy, educated and independent.”
NGWSD was originally a tribute in memory of Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman, for her accomplishments as an athlete and for promoting equality in women’s sports. Hyman passed away due to Marfan’s Syndrome in 1986. On Feb. 3, 1987, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation that declared Feb. 4 “National Women in Sports Day.”
Over time, NGWSD grew to encompass all female athletes and the ongoing struggle for gender equality in sports. This year, the 34th annual NGWSD was celebrated on Feb. 5. The theme of this year’s NGWSD was, “Lead Her Forward.”
“Girls Inc. uses a combination of a pro-girl environment, research-based programming and long-lasting mentoring relationships to engage with the girls who are typically minorities with lower socioeconomic status,” Community Health & Wellness and Athletics Fellow Louisa Zebrowski ’21, said.
Mount Holyoke is involved with Girls Inc. as a partner with the Community Based Learning (CBL) program. Zebrowski connected with Girls Inc. through her CBL fellowship.
“I was looking for a collaborative partner that shared the same vision and goals as Mount Holyoke and we found that in Girls Inc,” she said.
She met and worked with local community partners to find a way to incorporate a program with Mount Holyoke Athletics.
Eight girls and two staff members from Girls Inc. came to Mount Holyoke’s Mildred Howard Gymnasium to watch the Lyons’ Basketball game versus Wellesley College on Saturday. Girls Inc. was honored at the game’s halftime.
They also attended sports clinics organized by 12 Mount Holyoke student-athletes from the field hockey and track and field teams.
The student-athletes played basketball, held a panel about health and wellness, ate lunch with the girls in the dining hall and gave them an informal campus tour with and for the girls.
“Watching the girls play basketball was one of the things that people said was impactful to them, seeing the girls engage and either try out something new or play with someone new,” Zebrowski said.
“I loved watching the girls in the bleachers get excited to watch the Mount Holyoke team play,” said Libby Sams ’21, who attended the game. “It was all around a wonderful experience to watch my friends empower those young women. Even better, I got to watch a great game of basketball at the same time.”
“At Mount Holyoke College, every day is National Girls and Women in Sports Day,” Associate Director of Athletics Erica Lemm said. “During this time, we recognize the progress and struggle for equality in sports and while we celebrate our accomplishments, we acknowledge that there’s still work to be done.”
“Some of the girls were talking about wanting to come here for college and wanting to come back, which means that we were able to make some strong connections that we can hopefully build on in the future,” Zebrowski said.
The College will continue their partnership with Girls Inc. when Mount Holyoke student-athletes travel to Chestnut Middle School to participate in an afterschool program on March 10. On April 18, the girls from Girls Inc. will return to Mount Holyoke College for another visit.
“It was amazing to start to build personal relationships between the girls and MHC students,” Zebrowski said.