Oasis For Girls' programs are rooted in a strong commitment to a mentorship model and to providing girls and young women with a comprehensive leadership development experience -- one in which they have a direct role. We believe that it is imperative to give youth a primary role in the direction of their learning and goal setting. Our experience has shown that, given ownership of their education, the girls we serve have lived up-to (and most often surpassed) the expectations set for them, as well as their own expectations of themselves. Therefore, all of our programs are designed to provide the participating girls with a leadership and initiative role in the programming. In addition, all of our programs are offered at no cost and paid internships are available for girls who have demonstrated a strong commitment to developing and advancing their creativity, education, technology, and leadership development potential.

What Makes Oasis For Girls a Special Place?
We've looked closely at what makes Oasis For Girls a special place. The two greatest strengths that we've identified are: 1) Oasis For Girls serves a broad range of ages of girls (ages 11– 24), which has led to opportunities for more specialized and longer-term mentoring and enhanced community partnerships. Oasis For Girls staff and advisory board works to build both individual and community partnerships that support the growth and development of a girl. 2) Oasis for Girls provides a diverse, yet streamlined selection of focus areas that appeal to multiple learning styles and interests that can be modified for age appropriateness as well as address a girl holistically (creatively, physically, mentally, culturally, spiritually, and socially).

Oasis For Girls is taking a concerted approach to girls and young women's development by offering a continuous cycle of programs where a girl can build on her skills through: 1) a deeper commitment to community building; 2) stronger support for girl-led advocacy and activism; 3) a well-rounded program curriculum through which girls can better understand and take action on their individual situations, larger social, political, and economic structures – and 4) connecting girls with adults who support their efforts.

Our goal is to fulfill and support the life cycle of a girl from middle school through high school and slightly beyond – through interdisciplinary programming that builds on each step of the way through a girl's development. We've prioritized our programming and services to reflect this; some of our programs are offered to specific age groups, while others are open to all girls to build on our mentorship model. Opportunities for growth exist through our Arts and Arts Education, Leadership Development and Life Skills Education programs.

Over the years, Oasis young women leaders and staff have taken an active role in ensuring that the organization continues to meet the needs of the girls and young women it serves. The both youth led, youth informed and community surveys, Oasis For Girls has stayed true to listening and evaluating to make sure the needs and issues are true to the lives of the girls we work with. We are pleased to share the surveys with you, too.

Oasis for Girls Youth Led Assessment and Organization Evaluation: Our Voice 2004 (PowerPoint)