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about the TGTL program
United Way’s Today’s Girls…Tomorrow’s Leaders (TGTL) aims to fill the void of too little gender-specific or gender-sensitive programming for girls, to focus on the positive aspects of girls' experiences, and to support and enhance girl programming. Funded through the annual Women’s Leadership Breakfast and ongoing donor support, TGTL awards grants to qualified programs through a yearly grant process. In 2004-2005, TGTL awarded $1.7 million to over 40 programs in the Greater Boston area (both UWMB-affiliates and non-affiliates).
Since its inception in 1996, TGTL has:
- Provided nearly 200,000 girls between the ages of 7-18 with innovative programs and opportunities.
- Has invested nearly $7 million in young girls through programs that pair girls with mentors, provide them with technical skills, and educate them about healthy lifestyles.
In addition to extensive funding of programs, United Way has also improved agencies' capacity to strengthen co-ed programs through the Increasing Gender Sensitivity Project, which provided training consultation to youth-serving agencies to work more effectively with girls, while measuring outcomes and designing more responsive and effective programs.
A Success Story from a TGTL-funded program:
A young woman began rowing with a TGTL -funded athletic program in 7th grade. Now a junior in high school, she was recently featured in Sports Illustrated as a young woman who is proactive about staying healthy and addressing her family’s health history. This young woman lives at home with her mother and younger brother, both of whom suffer from severe obesity and diabetes. She says that rowing is what motivates her to keep her own health under control. She hates to miss a single workout because she understands the implications. Since committing to the intensive program her sophomore year, she has made the following changes:
- She has taken candy out of her diet.
- She does body circuits at home and persuades her mom to do them with her.
- The medication for her diabetes has been reduced.
- She no longer has to take a daily blood sugar test.
"We are proud of this young woman on so many levels, and we are grateful to the United Way for supporting our work with the girls. Thank you for your very generous help."
-- TGTL Grantee Program Staff