Inspiring all girls to be
strong, smart, and bold
Announcing our 2018 Strong, Smart, and Bold Breakfast Honorees
Girls Inc. will honor Emily Bittenbender , Managing Partner of Bittenbender Construction, LP, Simi Hoque , Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering at Drexel University,
and Monica Malpass , 6ABC Live Action News Anchor at the breakfast for their many inspirational achievements. Girls Inc. will also honor Macquarie Investment Management as our Corporate Champion for Girls for its significant contributions ensuring the success of Girls Inc. and the girls we serve by funding innovative and impactful programs. Shawn Lytle , President, Delaware Funds by Macquarie, Deputy Global Head, Macquarie Investment Management will accept the award. 
The 16th Annual
Strong, Smart, and Bold Breakfast
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
8:30 AM to 10:00 AM
The Union League of Philadelphia
K'NEX inspires Girls Inc. to be Mighty Makers
Left: K'NEX President & CEO Michael Araten talks to the girls about the company and STEM Right: Lily, Maya, and Alyssa proudly showing off their complete K'NEX planes
On December 9, K'NEX President & CEO Michael​ ​Araten and his colleagues visited Girls Inc. to engage and excite our 1st through 5th graders about the fun of STEM with Mighty Makers–​​a product ​line of​ ​engineering​ ​toys​ ​for​ ​girls. K'NEX generously donated​ ​their​ ​Up,​ ​Up​ ​and​ ​Away​ ​Building​ ​sets from the line. The donation equates to ​2,647​ ​pieces ​and​ ​will​ ​be​ ​distributed​ ​to​ ​​20​ ​Girls Inc.​ ​school and after-school program sites in Greater Philadelphia & Southern New Jersey.

Together with our program facilitators, the K'NEX volunteers helped the girls build their sets and develop their STEM skills. Thank you, K'NEX for encouraging our girls to be Mighty Makers every day! You can watch 6ABC Action News coverage of the day here .
For a second consecutive year, Chubb has awarded Girls Inc. an extremely generous Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) gift. CHUBB's contribution of $40,000 will go towards for our Education Improvement Organization (EIO) Operation SMART programs, designed to inspire girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. Operation SMART develops girls’ enthusiasm for and skills in STEM. Through hands-on activities, girls explore, ask questions, persist, and solve problems. By interacting with women and men in STEM fields, girls come to view these careers as exciting and realistic options for themselves. 
What is the EITC Program?

Through Pennsylvania's Educational Tax Credit (EITC) program, qualified businesses can make a donation to Girls Inc. and receive tax credits equal to a percentage of their gift.

Girls Inc. is an approved Educational Improvement Organization (EIO) in the EITC program. Gifts through the EIO program help Girls Inc. provide programming to over 2,200 girls in the Philadelphia region annually. 

Learn how your company can support Girls Inc. with an EITC gift here !
Sigrid E. Lundby, Vice President, Sr. Wealth Manager of BNY Mellon Wealth Management and Girls Inc. GPHSNJ Board Director led a financial literacy workshop on December 20

We are so grateful for the support BNY Mellon has provided to Girls Inc.! During 2017, BNY Mellon and a trust they administer contributed $30,000 to support our STEM and Career Exploration programs, and enabled us to launch our robotics program this past fall. Thank you, BNY Mellon for helping us inspire the next generation of female scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians to dream big and pursue their dreams.  
-Cherice Arrington, Education and Outreach Coordinator
This month, we celebrate Education and Outreach Coordinator, Cherice Arrington's TEN YEARS with Girls Inc.! Cherice joined our organization in August 2007 to complete her Senior internship while studying at Temple University. As an intern, she was highly motivated, eager to learn, and consistently showed that the girls were the center of her work. Upon graduation, she was offered a full time position as a program facilitator. During the summer of 2008, Cherice had the opportunity to lead our first STEM Camp where she developed the curriculum and activities and worked closely with 20 middle school girls. She then facilitated programs at local schools in Philadelphia and launched our STEM Gems program in partnership with Lockheed Martin. In 2015 she was promoted to Education and Outreach Coordinator and continues to flourish. 

In her 10 years, Cherice has made our STEM initiative one of our premier programs, has cultivated strong community, school, and corporate partnerships, strengthened our communication with families, helped train and supervise over 300 interns, helped increase the number of girls we serve, and has facilitated programs for over 1,000 girls. 

Cherice has a BS in Public Health, Temple University.
She recently completed her MS. ED with a focus on STEM from St. Joseph University.