Girls Inc. was founded in 1864 to serve girls and young women who were experiencing upheaval in the aftermath of the Civil War. Across the decades, we adapted to meet the specific environmental challenges facing girls and young women, always working in partnership with schools and communities, and guided by our founders’ fundamental belief in the inherent potential of each girl. Woven into those early girls’ clubs are the same core values of Girls Inc. today: the importance of creating a safe gathering place for girls to learn and to share in a sisterhood, and a strong premise that each girl can develop her own capacities, self- confidence, and grow up healthy, educated, and independent.
LOCAL AFFILIATE HISTORY
Girls Inc. includes a national nonprofit organization and 80+ affiliates, a federated network that operates collaboratively to carry out the Girls Inc. mission throughout the U.S. and Canada. Each affiliate operates independently through its own nonprofit status. As a nonprofit created in 1968, Girls Inc. Dallas was originally established as Girls Club of Dallas by a group of civic minded women as a response to the needs of low-income, inner city girls in the community. Since then, Girls Inc. of Metropolitan Dallas has provided high quality afterschool and summer programs for girls ages six to 18 from low-income communities in Dallas County.