Girls Empowered and Motivated to Succeed (GEMS) is a program in Henry County for 5^th grade girls held after school.  The program was designed to prepare young ladies for the next chapter of education and the challenges they will face with beginning a new school.  The program consisted of 12 participants who met weekly to learn about empowerment and how being motivated can make them successful. The Henry County Cooperative Extension Service was asked to provide hands-on lessons for these girls that would build life skills; therefore, the Extension Agents collectively decided that they would offer a series of lessons on nutrition, self-care and wellness, social media awareness, laundry and ironing basics, and basic sewing repairs.

During the nutrition lesson, the girls were transported to the Extension Office where they learned about the My Plate model on balancing the five food groups and table etiquette.  They prepared two healthy, nutritious snacks that could be enjoyed after they get home from school and learned about table manners and setting a table correctly; During the self-care lesson, the girls participated in fun-interactive games to open discussions about ways to care for themselves through hygiene and skincare.  They also enjoyed receiving gift bags of self-care items to use at home; During the laundry lesson, the girls learned to read clothing labels, how water temperature is important, the various types of detergents, and the dryer settings.  They also learned how to iron a shirt correctly; On social media lesson day, the girls learned how to protect themselves on social media, including on their devices and how to be aware of problems that are prevalent for younger audiences.  On the final lesson day with the girls, they learned how to sew on a button by hand and the basics of using a sewing machine.

At the conclusion of the series, the director of the program expressed the girl’s enthusiasm about the lessons taught by the Extension Agents.  The girls shared how much they learned from the series of lessons and feel motivated to make changes in their lives to make them feel more successful and empowered.