ACOG Report 2018-19 (Individual Pages)

2018 - 2019 report
Titania’s fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
A COMPANY OF GIRLS
portland, maine
The paints and supplies have
been put away. The props
and costumes are back in
storage. The school year has
ended, but the impact continues
in the hearts and minds of the
young artists who make up
A Company of Girls.
CURTAIN CALL
PO Box 7527, Portland, ME 04112 / 207-874-2107
www.acompanyofgirls.org
We have much to celebrate as our 2018-19 program year has
come to a close - and what a year it was!
At ACOG, we know the tremendous power of art and mentorship
to transform lives. We have seen it. For over 20 years!
This past October, we moved to our current location in the
Woodfords Church. We are thrilled to have remained part
of the Woodfords Corner community, which has been so
welcoming to ACOG and our girls over the past few years,
and the church has turned out to be a great fit for our needs:
offering office and programming space, access to a large,
professional kitchen facility, ample parking, convenient pickup/drop-off,
and new opportunities for collaboration and
growth. Everyone has been so welcoming as we have settled
in, and we couldn’t be more pleased with our new space.
As we look back over this past year, we recognize that
what we do would not be possible without the generosity
of the community, and our collective belief in uplifting and
empowering our city’s girls.
Thank you from the bottom of hearts for playing a part in
their success!
ACOG Executive Director
ACOG’s new gallery wall in Woodfords Church
A Company of Girls’ (ACOG) intensive core afterschool
program, coupled with our outreach efforts during the
school year and summer, provides a depth and breadth of
exposure to the arts — visual, culinary, and performing —
as tools for self-expression and empowerment, opening
new horizons, building resiliency, and helping develop the
social-emotional and 21st century skills girls need to thrive.

the work
Over the past twelve months, ACOG’s staff mentors have worked with 22 elementary,
middle and high school girls through our Core Afterschool Resiliency and Empowerment
Program for Girls, meeting twice a week for 2-3 hours per session, totaling approximately
200+ hours of afterschool enrichment per girl. An additional 10 alumnae participated as
volunteers, ambassadors and/or staff throughout the year, following our commitment
to remain connected to girls even after they leave the Core program.
Months of rehearsals culminated in first-rate productions where the girls performed The
Snow Queen and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the public. From improving literacy
through script reading and analysis, to multimedia arts explorations threaded with
contemporary issues, we focus our curriculum on the four common traits of resiliency:
independence, problem solving, optimism and social connection. Small ratios of
instructors to participants allows for much needed individualized attention and “high
touch” transformative impact.
Additionally, we worked with 35+ primarily refugee/immigrant population girls through
our Outreach and Leadership Programming with the Portland Mentoring Alliance and
Portland Housing Authority. Through workshops and weekly meetings, these girls
worked on identifying and developing leadership skills, increasing communication
proficiency, and building community.
Key Components of our programming:
• Low “youth-to-staff” ratio provides opportunities for positive adult role modeling
and staff mentorship.
• Safe place to go after school where girls engage in healthy behaviors, expand
their horizons, and build positive ideas of self.
• Strong commitment expectations in order to foster and develop a safe and
supportive community of girls, and learn responsibility.
• Curriculum in the visual, performing, and culinary arts used as a vehicle to develop
skills and build relationships.
• Goal setting and reflection as a way to create aspirations, promote hard work, and
feel a sense of accomplishment.
• Public performances and/or exhibitions that build girls’ self-esteem and selfconfidence
through public recognition and community engagement.
• Opportunities to develop leadership skills and increased comfort with
public speaking.
• Exposure to a diverse community of girls working towards building
shared experiences.
By making programs accessible, and available at no cost, we are able to reach youth
most in need, developing imaginative capacity and nurturing future leaders with a
spirit of inclusiveness and a desire to excel.
the impact
Through our programs we strive to enable girls to:
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develop creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and other related skills
practice leadership and decision making
feel empowered through positive risk taking and recognition
build meaningful relationships with peers, adult mentors
and community members
By building these critical skills and attitudes in our participants, ACOG lays the
foundation for positive risk-taking and decision-making, healthy adult, family, and
peer relationships, leadership opportunities, and success in school, which leads to
increased high school graduation and girls with aspirations for the future.
the data
In 2018-19,
96% of youth attended more
than 90% of sessions, and
82% of girls have been in the
program two years or longer.
100% feel that...
• ACOG staff supports them and
wants them to succeed.
• ACOG has helped
them develop leadership skills.
• Being in ACOG has positively
influenced the choices they
make.
96%
reported feelings of improved
self-worth and self-confidence
after being in ACOG programming.
88%
report feeling more accepting of
others who are different than them.
88%
feel more confident to speak up
in class or in front of people after
participating in ACOG.
96%
developed and/or are showing
improvement in team-building
and problem-solving skills.
and...
100%
plan to graduate high school and
continue on to college or some other
type of post-secondary education
_________________________________
“ACOG helped me
learn how to be free
with my thoughts
and be myself!”
_________________________________
In order to watch for issues or
pre-cursors, we monitor girls
mid and year-end grades and
attendance. This year:
92% improved their grades from
the beginning to the end of the
year and/or maintained high-grade
standards (A/B’s / 3/4’s)
96% attended school on a regular
basis (missing less than 14 days)

Empow{h}er!
Last November, ACOG held our 2nd Annual Empow{h}er
celebration — a night out to support ACOG’s mission to
strengthen and empower girls and their families and foster
community through the arts.
The night featured our first ever Empow{h}er Awards honoring
Mary Allen Lindemann & ACOG Alumna Mackenzie Marles and
included an encore performance of #girltalk. First performed at
the 2017 Empow{h}er, #girltalk was written and performed by A
Company of Girls Ambassadors (high-school aged girls who have
been in the program for more than 2 years) and reflects, through
their eyes and words, what it’s like being a girl in today’s complicated
world. The night also included a silent auction, yummy treats made
by our ACOG girls, and opportunities for friends and supporters to
engage with ACOG’s mission.
highlights + events
A huge thank you to our 2018 Empow{h}er sponsors: Abbott,
Coffee by Design, Dead River Company, Androscoggin Bank,
five-fifty-five, United Insurance, the Galarneau Group, MRG, Clark
Insurance, Moody’s Collision, Scott and Sunny Townsend, and
Carol Wilson Architect.
Our committee is already hard at work
planning Empow{h}er 2019!
Watch for details on this year’s date & Awardees...
We hope to see you there!
Mary Allen Lindemann receives our
first-ever Empow{h}er Award!
#girltalk performance with Hana, Bryanna, Graceson and Frances!
Empowerment Exploration
and Self Defense Training Workshop
with Clara Porter of Prevention. Action. Change.
2019 Supporter Appreciation Tea!
ACOG was featured in
Maine Women Magazine’s 2019 “Leadership” Issue!
WANT TO VISIT?
202 Woodford Street, Portland
call today for a tour: 207-874-2107
WANT TO MAKE A DONATION?
PO Box 7527, Portland, ME 04112
or www.acompanyofgirls.org/donate
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
www.acompanyofgirls.org

“I get to be
myself
with people
I care about.”
- ACOG Participant
“I have witnessed firsthand the power of this amazing after school program. A Company of Girls
provides a safe, fun environment for girls, while surrounding them with caring, supportive and
encouraging adults and peers. Their close knit groups foster much needed social skills for girls who
may struggle with connectedness, inclusiveness and belonging. A Company of Girls also helps
encourage and increase girls’ feelings of confidence and competence, thus positively affecting
academics.” – LCSW at Spurwink & School Social Worker at Lyseth Elementary