Every year we measure our success and impact in different ways. One of the ways in which we do this is with our Annual Impact Report. Like the year preceeding it, last year was a very unique year.
21/22 was a time of tremendous change as many of us tried to figure out what our future following Pandemic lockdowns looked like.
Our 21/22 annual report looks back on that first post-lockdown year. Marking our return to groups, relaunches for those who lost numbers in the Pandemic and new openings in areas with a growing need for GFS.
As the chair of our Board of Trustees, Leanne Massey, says in the report, “We have come to understand only too well how difficult the world has become for the girls we work with. They need their friendships, their safe place and for many that just does not exist without Girls Friendly Society (GFS) in their lives.”
Many of the girls who come to GFS feel as though they “don’t fit in” anywhere else.
Our research shows that girls who attend GFS are likely to be less happy at school than the national average.
Many of our girls have tried other after school activities but not enjoyed them, and struggle with friendships outside of GFS.
“I don’t really have any friends at school, but I take part in the activities at GFS because I can trust the people here.”
-Bella, GFS Anfield.
But healthy relationships are vital to children’s overall well-being and the need for spaces like GFS cannot be ignored.
And while there is growing evidence, beyond our own, that children are in desperate need of services like ours, YMCA revealed that in the past ten years there has been a £1.1bn cut in youth services funding in England.
That’s a decline of 74%.
Meanwhile, The Big Ask 2021 found that half of girls nationwide say they are unhappy with youth services in their area.
Of those that do exist, very few offer girls a safe single gender space, which ignores growing findings about girls’ feelings on their safety. Research from OFTSED and LSE’s shows that girls often don’t feel safe in mixed-gender recreational settings.
Pressure, lack of spaces and limiting gender stereotypes are leading to isolation, a lack of confidence, low goals, poor self-esteem and, ultimately, worse outcomes for girls. For girls with multiple intersections, as well as those who simply “don’t fit in”, these challenges are even bigger.
Without support, by their teenage years, these girls are lonely, demotivated, increasingly unhappy and vulnerable. This poor self-image goes on to impact other areas of life.
That’s why the GFS approach is so effective and important.
Not only do studies show that it’s easier to maintain self-esteem, resilience and ambition built in childhood than later in life, but we have seen the results with our girls first-hand.
Attending our weekly single-gender, non-competitive groups can provide a strong base that prepares our girls for growing up.
Right now, the need is greater than ever.
Of course, GFS is working to meet the need wherever we can, but we remain reliant on funding and volunteer power to make this happen. So, we needed to think more deeply on how to support volunteers, both centrally and on the ground.
After the return of some pilot groups in summer 2021, the Autumn Term focused on supporting volunteers to fully reopen their groups following COVID-closures.
In 21/22 we introduced Group Coordinators, local paid positions designed to take some of the stress off of volunteers and making it easier to run multiple local groups – or cluster areas as we like to call them.
We introduced ‘The GFS Girl’ model, providing a uniquely-GFS blueprint for creating sessions that empower girls and young women. To help build a programme around that blueprint and measure the value of our work, we also hired our first Programme and Impact Manager to lead this project, in January 2021.
But girls are facing a serious shortfall, which has been particularly damaging to those in low-income areas.
This stands to worsen in the face of the Cost of Living Crisis.
As families are forced to increasingly cut out costly activities, girls are left with few options.
Alternative activities are typically costly and inaccessible, with uniform/kit, travel costs, and upfront termly fees putting them out of reach.
As a result, parents find themselves having to choose between after school activities and heating their homes. While fee waivers have informally been offered at GFS for some time, in 21/22 we formally introduced and widely promoted our fee-waiver scheme, making them more accessible to all who need them.
Girls and young women from low-income families are being reduced to survival, rather than living. We sincerely believe that childhood should be about more than just getting by.
Read our Annual Impact Report 21/22 to see how we supported girls last year. And visit our volunteering section to find out how you can get involved, or visit our fundraising page to find out how you can help GFS expand our support to girls who need it.
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