Girls Inc. Of Pinellas Dives Into Summer

PINELLAS PARK, FL — This summer girls ages 5 through 18 attending the Girls Inc. summer program will enjoy marine biology-themed activities including investigating water and discovering how its unique properties shape oceans, its currents and its biomes both under the sea and at the beach.

Girls will also learn about marine life and explore food webs and marine adaptations. They will round out the summer by looking at humankind's impact on the ocean as a whole.

All girls will also participate in GirlSMART reading program, a Girls Inc. national literacy initiative, as well as the United Way Summer Bridge program, designed to foster a love of reading, improve literacy skills and reduce summer learning loss.

Girls Inc.’s summer program includes weekly field trips to fun and educational attractions such as Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Florida Botanical Gardens and the Museum of Science & Industry.

Each week Girls Inc. will host a Working Women Wednesday program where women business leaders share stories about their childhood, early educational experiences, their academic and vocational journey and real-life scenarios from their current roles.

Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Bayfront Health, Johnson & Johnson, the U.S. Navy and Citigroup are among the companies represented.

Speakers include LaTasha Barnes, chief financial officer; Dr. Divya Joshi, pediatric hematologist-oncologist; Christina Wojcik, director of technology & innovation; Lt. Jessica King, pilot; Deidre Netto, global segment delivery lead; Vicky Sanchez, senior director of strategic initiatives; and Kimi Ramsay, external manufacturing senior manager.

“We are excited to offer in-person programs,” said Lisa Mitchell, Girls Inc. director of programs. “After running successful in-person programs over the last year, we are confident we can provide safe programming for the girls. As always, we are closely monitoring COVID-19 guidelines to ensure we can offer in-person programming safely.”

This year Girls Inc. was able to offer scholarships to military families as well as families of health care workers and first responders. Thanks to the generosity of its foundation and community partners including United Way Summer Care, corporate and individual donors, 80 percent of the campers are attending Girls Inc. free of charge this summer.

This press release was produced by Girls Inc. of Pinellas. The views expressed here are the author’s own.