How Does Ophelia Work?
School Counselors recruit/recommend girls who have potential yet need motivation and support to overcome one or more risk factors in their lives. Girls start in 8th grade and continue through their senior year. Unlike other mentoring programs, Ophelia Project takes place in the schools during school, at the invitation of each Unified School District. A Memorandum of Understanding has been maintained with all Coachella Valley School Districts, indicating their agreement to financially support and assist in the implementation of the program at each School/District.
Ophelia sessions provide constant reinforcement of the importance of education. Ophelia:
- Increases GPA and graduation rates,
- Improves academic achievement,
- Encourages college preparation and career readiness, and
- Provides college scholarships
Lesson plans focus on: Attendance and academics; Mental/Behavioral Health supporting greater health and well-being; strengthening girls’ emotional intelligence focusing on Social Emotional Health; goal setting to instill growth mindset; all keys to personal and professional success. Ophelia addresses mental/behavioral health needs by weaving three proven lifelong tools for anxiety and stress relief throughout each session: journaling, positive affirmations, and meditation skills training.
Girls receive a minimum of two mentoring sessions per month, 12 per school year delivered by certified volunteer mentor base of 90+ professional women mentors and presenters who provide support and encouragement, resulting in a 100% graduation rate. All Ophelia girls graduate with college and/or career plans.
Juniors and seniors can also apply to join the Student Ambassador Leadership Team. Ambassadors support and represent the program in their schools, and at community events. Participants develop skills in leadership, public speaking, collaboration, and service to others.
Why Ophelia
We too often take for granted things like security, serenity, optimism and stability – things that many adolescent girls are missing. These girls live without a safety net, a stable home or positive role models in their lives. More than 90% percent live in poverty – the kind of poverty that starves you of hope and ambition.
Hopelessness that feeds your fears that you’re not good enough.
Fear that leads you to give up, to make harmful, risky choices.
The consequences play out locally in chronic absenteeism in our schools, drop-out rates higher than the region, the county, the date and the nation. In higher rates of teen pregnancy, STDs, mental health issues, drugs, alcohol and criminal behavior.
Ophelia brings hope, health and opportunity to vulnerable, teenage girls.
Thanks to Ophelia, higher high school graduation and college-going rates mean stronger, healthier girls better prepared for life, family and the local workforce.
Young girls with mentors are more likely to volunteer in their communities and want to become mentors when they are older. All of this benefits the greater good. That means our community organizations and projects have more eager volunteers who want to make a difference—whether that’s working at a food bank, organizing community events, or mentoring someone in the future.
Ophelia restores health, hope and opportunity to our local girls currently at risk. We restore confidence, provide positive support and experiences and help these vulnerable girls believe there is hope and a brighter future ahead.
With your support, we can change the trajectory of our vulnerable, adolescent girls and show them they can do better, be better, and aim higher. We can expand Ophelia to every middle and high school to restore hope, health, opportunity and the confidence that dreams do come true.