We are Girls Inc. of the Valley

"People need to know what women have done and continue to do for the military. Because if we don’t speak up and share our experiences they will never know."

On this Veteran's Day we are amplifying Amanda Huffman's voice and spotlighting her work. The U.S. Air Force veteran has made it her mission to tell and record the stories of military women, covering their contributions (past and present), deployment experiences, and touching on issues, "ranging from sexual assault, rape and discrimination" to "the struggle of transitioning, post-traumatic stress disorder, and feeling so alone." This is her inspiring story... ... See more

♥️🇺🇸💙 #VeteransDay

Here's a kernel of truth: Director of Elementary School Partnerships, Becca Neubardt, is this week's #SpotlightSaturday feature!

Becca has worked at Girls Inc. of the Valley for 10 months, and says the best part about being involved with Girls Inc. is her, "quirky, smart, creative, and above all, supportive, co-workers"!

At the Mariposa Center, Becca says at least one of the girls will invite her to eat snack with them every day - instantly putting her in a better mood!

Snack with strong, smart, and bold girls sounds good to us, too! 🍎🥕

#strongsmartbold #girlsinc #girlsincvalley #cornpuns #mariposacenter #elementaryschoolparternships #holyoke #springfield #chicopee ... See more

First lady, Michelle Obama, sending us into the weekend feeling strong, smart, and bold!

Cindy Dawson was told “nice girls don’t join the military”. Well, she proved them wrong!

"I was going to attend the Air Force Academy and I was going to graduate and I was going to be a pilot," a young Cindy Dawson told her sixth grade class. Her teacher laughed in her face. "He said, 'You can't do that. Nice girls don't join the military,'" she recalled. "I said, 'Not only can I, but I will,'" she remembered. "He motivated me in a way that probably nobody else could have because I had to prove him wrong." On Friday, more than 1,700 KC-135 Stratotanker flight hours later (including co-piloting one of the first all-female KC-135 flight crews), Lt. Col. Cindy Dawson, "became the new commander of the fourth squadron in Fairchild's 92nd Air Refueling Wing, the largest force of air refueling tankers in the world." ... See more

Bravo!

All five top awards were won by 14-year-old girls.

"We love this photo of Tammy. It reminds us of her courage as she took on the state of Wisconsin..."

Filmmakers Jo Ardinger and Rosalie Miller captured Tammy's story in their eye-opening documentary, Personhood, which has its big screen, world premiere in 5 days. We will be there and have a pair of screening tix for one interested WYSK reader... those details 👇 ... See more

Executive Director, Suzanne Parker, traveled to Westfield yesterday for a morning shoot for the upcoming BusinessWest Women of Impact Award Reception. Thanks to Vadim from Midav Media for your professionalism and spirit! Check out some behind the scenes photos below 👇.

Follow this link to purchase tickets to the 2019 Women of of Impact luncheon: https://bit.ly/36EpAly ... See more

Meet "America's Top Young Scientist", Kara Fan!

With her nano-silver liquid bandage, teen inventor, Kara Fan, "hopes to reduce the number of incidents related to drug-resistant infections."